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'I love it that he just won't take a backward step' - the Wallaby star backed by ex-enforcer to muscle up on All Blacks

David Croft (Photo by Jonathan Wood/Getty Images)

The Wallabies have been urged to play “abrasive, confrontational” rugby as they look to reverse their form slide and continue a charmed run in Brisbane against New Zealand on Saturday. After a series-opening draw and 20-point loss in game two, Australia were humbled 43-5 last weekend to surrender the Bledisloe Cup to the All Blacks for an 18th-straight year.

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And new coach Dave Rennie has tweaked accordingly, set to debut fiery flanker Lachie Swinton in a backrow featuring next-generation talent Harry Wilson and captain Michael Hooper.

Reece Hodge’s second start at five-eighth in his 43rd Test – Australia’s sixth No.10 in their last eight Tests – will also provide some defensive punch alongside physical centre pairing Hunter Paisami and Jordan Petaia.

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Michael Hooper rips into Bledisloe IV:

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Michael Hooper rips into Bledisloe IV:

Former Wallabies flanker David Croft is on board, saying the message should be simple as they seek a seventh-straight win at Suncorp Stadium.

They have won twice, lost by a point and drawn in their l ast five games against the All Blacks at Suncorp Stadium, while the last 13 Bledisloe Cup games at the various Brisbane venues have been decided by seven points or less.

“There is something magical to the stadium; this is sacred territory for the Wallabies now, they’ll be out there desperately trying to protect it and hopefully that makes for some abrasive confrontational rugby,” Croft said.

“There needs to be some physical confrontations and I think Rennie’s selected a side that can very much do that.”

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Croft is a fan of Swinton’s arrival but saved special praise for Wilson, who will turn 21 later this month, saying he has already shown he’s worth building the Wallabies around.

“I love it that he just won’t take a backward step,” Croft said. “He’s in there stirring them up and he’s not shy of that confrontational battle and we need more people standing either side of him and really taking it to them.”

Roger Gould, Australia’s fullback in the 1980 s, agreed Wilson’s teammates need to follow his lead.

“Their athleticism is undoubted; they need to learn that the pace comes up, the physicality comes up and they just need to absorb that,” he said.

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Bledisloe
Harry Wilson of the Wallabies charges into Beauden Barrett of the All Blacks after his kick during the Bledisloe Cup match between the New Zealand All Blacks and the Australian Wallabies at Eden Park on October 18, 2020 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)

“Some can straight away and Harry Wilson’s a great example. He understood it from the moment he got on the field three Tests ago.

“Other players you can see are a little bit lost in what they do and that can only take a limited amount of time.

“It falls on their shoulders but they’re capable and last week may be a moment for those guys.”

The Test will be prop James Slipper’s 100th for Australia, while winger Tom Wright is set to make his debut and uncapped forward Angus Bell could follow him off the bench.

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Tom 28 minutes ago
Will Bristol's daredevil 'Bears-ball' deliver the trophy they crave?

Also a Bristol fan and echo your sentiments.


I love watching Bristol but their approach will only get them so far I think. Exeter played like this when they first got promoted to the prem and had intermittent success, it wasn't until they wised up and played a more balanced game that they became a consistently top side.


I really want Bristol to continue playing this brand of rugby and I don't mind them running it from under their posts but I don't think they need to do it every single time. They need to be just a little bit more selective about when and where on the pitch they play. Every game they put themselves under so much needless pressure by turning the ball over under their posts trying to do kamikaze moves when it's not required. By all means run it from your goal line if there is a chance for a counter attack, we all want to see Bristol running in 100m tries from under their posts but I think until they learn when to do it and when to be pragmatic, they are unlikely to win the premiership.


Defense has been a real positive from Bristol, they've shown a lot of improvement there... And I will say that I think this kamikaze strategy they employ is a very good one for a struggling side and could be employed by Newcastle. It's seems to have turned around Gloucester's fortunes. The big advantage is even if you don't have the biggest and best players, what you have is cohesion. This is why Scotland keep battering England. England have better individuals but they look muddled as a team, trying to play a mixed strategy under coaches who lack charisma, the team has no identity. Scotland come out and give it full throttle from 1-15 even if they struggle against the top sides, sides like England and Wales who lack that identity drown under the relentless will and synergy of the Scots. If Newcastle did the same they could really surprise some people, I know the weather is bad up there but it hasn't bothered the Scots. Bristol can learn from Scotland too, Pat is on to something when he says the following but Scotland don't play test matches like headless chickens. They still play with the same level of clarity and ambition Bristol do but they are much better at picking their moments. They needed to go back to this mad game to get their cohesion back after a couple of seasons struggling but I hope they get a bit wiser from matches like Leinster and La Rochelle.


“If there’s clarity on what you’re trying to do as a team you can win anything.”

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