The Wallabies are pledging to play traditional running rugby in pursuit of a Bledisloe Cup boilover against the All Blacks on Saturday night.
Raging underdogs, the Australians believe the only way to end a five-Test losing run against the world champions is attacking the All Blacks and starving them of possession at ANZ Stadium.
Deploying an electric 10-12-15 combination of NSW Waratahs trio Bernard Foley, Kurtley Beale and Israel Folau for the first time, coach Michael Cheika has handed his side a licence to thrill.
“The boys have been itching to get out on the field,” Wallabies skills coach Mick Byrne said after Friday’s captain’s run.
“The boys have been working hard, they want to back their fitness and we’re going to play a running game.
“That’s the way Cheik’s been building up all his teams; is to run the ball and play hard.
“Our challenge is to hang on to it. If we’re going to run the ball, hang on to it and back our skills because the quality of work these guys have done, I think you’re going to see a pretty frenetic game tomorrow night.”
Victory in the Sydney opener looms as non-negotiable for the Wallabies, who travel to Dunedin next week for game two of the series having last won in New Zealand in 2001.
The Neutral View From Sweden
Roar Guru
meat eater versus meat eater eh ? Gold Machooka!
Jacko
Guest
Chasing hard is also running Piru
Machooka
Roar Guru
Good luck DavSA against Nobrain's mob... meat eater versus meat eater eh ;)
Highlander
Guest
Haha....not having the double zero is so........Swedish :)
The Neutral View From Sweden
Roar Guru
Yeah, I know the there are serious claims that it was actually not Einstein who said those words... But I did not expect to be called out on it on The Roar. My compliments to you Highlander. P.S. My biggest win ever on roulette came on a heavy bet on the green zero (we don't have the double zero in Sweden), so maybe DavSa's call for a sneaky bet on the Boks winning this year Championship is something to follow ;) But Nah... All Black is still the best bet.
piru
Roar Rookie
They need to look at who they have and start building their game around the team, What possible good can come from trying to out All Black the All Blacks?
Highlander
Guest
Dav, whats the expected crowd?
The Neutral View From Sweden
Roar Guru
Wonderful to hear about another sold out stadium in the republic DavSA. It is heartwarming to see how fast things have turned from armageddon to belief in SA rugby. I do believe that the Boks can push the AB's very very hard this year, but the imbalance among the halves - the Boks halves are not even close to BBBBB/AS/TJ/Lima - and that is a huge obstacle for the Boks to jump over if they want to win the Championship. Just my two cents... P.S. I actually look forward to the next weekend and see the Boks play in their all red outfit. I think it looks awesome by the way, and as a one off, I am all behind it. The Boks will always be green and gold, but nothing wrong with a one off away kit.
Highlander
Guest
Kind of disproves the same thing different result nonsense. And to be a real pedant - that quote has never been proven to come from Einstein, he certainly never wrote it down, and for someone as familiar with quantum mechanics as he, it makes no sense whatsoever. And if in doubt, always bet Black...good call
The Neutral View From Sweden
Roar Guru
All the time Highlander. All the time. And when I play roulette, I always put my money on black...
bigbaz
Roar Guru
I didn't realise the running game was running after ABs.
Highlander
Guest
Ever tried rolling a dice NV
DavSA
Guest
I know off topic but the Springboks are playing Argentina tomorrow as well. I do expect a running game from The Boks . Also the stadium is sold out so this is a game to look forward to. Can get 8/1 on Boks winning The Rugby Championship. It is a bet worth taking .
KiwiHaydn
Guest
They're going to be playing "a running game" while the ABs will be playing "rugby" Piru.
piru
Roar Rookie
The boys have been working hard, they want to back their fitness and we’re going to play a running game. You know there's something you need to have that is key to playing a running game The ball
KiwiHaydn
Guest
Isn't this what the Wallabies have been trying to do for the past 15 years. When are they going to learn to stop the pre-match yap and that test matches are won in the forwards?
Fionn
Guest
It's actually a much more effective strategy when you tell the opposition your game-plan ahead of time.
The Neutral View From Sweden
Roar Guru
The only way this makes sense to me is if Cheika has read some Sun Tzu and all this talk that they are gonna run from everywhere and go all out attack (and has not practiced any kicking) is just a deceptive smoke screen. Otherwise, Einsteins classic quote that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is very very fitting.