After enduring six straight losses for NSW, Adam Ashley-Cooper was keen to put the Waratahs’ horror stretch behind him when he joined the Wallabies camp.
But he couldn’t escape the pain when Australia’s opening Test of the year ended in a disastrous loss to lowly ranked Scotland.
So when the utility back and five-eighth Berrick Barnes were joined by half a dozen of their NSW teammates for last week’s first Test against Wales, they were hoping for another fresh start.
“With a new environment, we were pretty quick to put the Tahs’ loss behind us and with the disappointment of Tuesday night against the Scottish, we were keen to put that behind us as well,” Ashley-Cooper said on Tuesday.
“It’s a totally different environment. A new program, new shape, a lot of new faces. It’s relatively easy to put your Super 15 losses behind you and concentrate on your job within the national team.
“That was exciting and fresh for us as Tahs players, something that we were really looking forward to.”
Despite their poor Super 15 results, Australia’s eight Waratahs all played major roles in the 27-19 win over Wales and kept their places in an unchanged lineup for Saturday’s second Test in Melbourne.
The versatile Ashley-Cooper is relishing a return to fullback and the rarity of playing in the same position in two successive Tests.
But he says he’ll be just as happy to go back to the wing or into the centres.
“It’s always nice to play in the same position back to back weeks,” he said.
“But there’s always injuries and changes, so you can’t get too focussed on playing the one position because reality is, it’s not going to happen.”
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