Lote Tuqiri has urged the Wallabies to leave their Welsh disappointment behind and finish their European tour with a bang in Wednesday night’s historic clash with the Barbarians at Wembley.
Tuqiri was gutted to have lost 21-18 at Millennium Stadium on Saturday – a result which denied the Wallabies a rare northern hemisphere sweep of the four Tests – but said there was no point stewing over the defeat.
“It’s a bit of an empty feeling,” he said.
“But everyone says it’s the last game but we’ve still got one more game to go on Wednesday and hopefully we can finish the tour off well in that sense.
“Obviously this was our last Test match. Not good, but you’ve got to give credit to the Welsh. They played pretty well.”
After being a frustrated passenger for most of the tour, Tuqiri was thrust into the action after half an hour as a replacement for injured winger Peter Hynes.
Tuqiri’s eye-catching comeback from knee surgery was one of the few highlights for the Wallabies, but he said the side shouldn’t have any trouble bouncing back for a match against the Barbarians which marks the 100th anniversary since Australia won the rugby gold medal at the 1908 London Olympics.
“It’s going to be pretty special,” Tuqiri said.
“To be part of the first rugby game played would be great as well. It’s another notch on the belt.”
Coach Robbie Deans on Sunday confirmed Wallabies captain Stirling Mortlock would miss the match after being KO’d at Millennium Stadium in an ugly collision that left his Welsh opposite Jamie Roberts with a fractured skull.
“There was no way he was getting up from that,” Tuqiri said after watching the clash in horror from the sideline.
“And apparently the Welsh bloke played with a fractured skull. Very ugly. But you know, we have to move on.
“I thought Quade Cooper held up all right and he’ll be better for that run. It’s a great experience for that kid.”
Cooper said he couldn’t wait for another match in Wallabies colours after looking comfortable in the Test arena, despite playing in the centres for the first time in more than two years.
“The whole tour Robbie’s been saying you’ve got to take your opportunities when they come and I just tried to play some football and try and do as best I can,” he said.
“There was a lot of help from all the rest of the guys. They made me feel at home out there.
“I’m looking forward to playing the Barbarians. They’ve got a dream team the Barbarians so it will be a good test for all of us going up against some of the best players in the world.”
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