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As Nic White spoke of wanting to get out on the field to rid the demons of last weekend’s horrow show, Suliasi Vunivalu took time out to reflect after a high-octane past week.
After the code-hopper’s controversial maiden start turned out far from how he would have envisioned, Vunivalu was the first at training on Tuesday in Manly.
With the sun shining, Vunivalu arrived at training by himself well before his teammates came over in a series of clusters.
With just a handful of backroom staff setting up training, the 27-year-old sat on a bag and got his notebook out and started writing. A penny for his thoughts after the highs of his maiden start and the lows of being yellow carded and struggling to make an impact.
Before the rest of his teammates arrived at training, Suli Vunivalu was seen writing in his diary by himself. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
But there was something curious and unique about seeing the maligned winger out on his lonesome.
At the very least, it revealed a person committed to the cause before the blaring beats arrived with the arrival of the rest of the pack, particularly with the winger set to miss selection in Sydney.
After touching back to Sydney on Monday afternoon, the Wallabies hit the gym on Tuesday morning before training on Tuesday afternoon where players were put through their core specific roles and drills.
Earlier, White, one of the leaders of the group, gave a frank assessment of his side’s performance.
“That’s not one we were proud of,” he said.
“Obviously we went over there with a plan, things didn’t go to plan. A bit of a baptism of fire out there.
“They’re a bloody good side, showed why they’re world champs and current World Cup holders.
“So it kind of shows how far off the mark we are.
“We went over there on the weekend with an opportunity to win the game and create a bit of history and fell a long way short but now the opportunity is to see where we fell short – and we fell short by quite a way – and to really look at those areas.”
Kurt-Lee Arendse scored a hattrick in the Springboks’ massive win over the Wallabies Loftus Versfeld Stadium on July 08, 2023 in Pretoria. (Photo by Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
The Wallabies don’t need to look far for motivation.
In a World Cup year, plane tickets to France are up for grabs.
Jones is likely to give more opportunities this weekend against Argentina.
After all, if not now, when?
With a two-Test Bledisloe series to follow, Jones has just three Tests to settle on his squad before having to name his squad to follow him to France.
It means players such as halfback Ryan Lonergan and playmaker Carter Gordon will likely be afforded opportunities to press their claims, while the brute size and gain line that Andre Esterhuizen offered will likely be on show after Samu Kerevi was eased back via the bench last week from injury.
White, who started at halfback in the 43-12 drubbing against the Springboks in Pretoria, said the Wallabies were desperate to get back out on the field to avenge the defeat.
“It’s easy to get up after a loss,” he said.
“To be honest, there are a lot of boys hurting in this group at the moment, who would have loved a chance to play yesterday if they could just to get rid of the demons.
“There is motivation regardless.
“We don’t want to be the side that has to lose to get up for a win. We want to be a side where we are consistent, like the good sides in the world.”
Nic White says the Wallabies had to accept what they dished up wasn’t good enough. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
To do that, the Wallabies will have to significantly improve their discipline.
The Wallabies have had 15 players sent to the sin bin in the past 11 Tests, with Vunivalu and hooker Dave Porecki both shown yellow cards against the Boks in incidents that resulted in penalty tries.
Unlike previous years, however, the Wallabies’ ill-discipline wasn’t necessarily a result of high tackles and pushing the ledger at the breakdown but rather because they were smashed at the contact zone and at the set-piece.
As such, White said it was crucial the Wallabies do the basics well so they give themselves a chance.
Asked whether Jones had opted to put an arm around the team or delivered some hard truths, White admitted he had adopted both approaches.
“Unfortunately there are some hard truths for us as a team and as individuals,” he said.
“But nothing is personal. It is about where we want this team to go, as a group. We have been really good at that, saying what needs to be said.’ But we will put an arm around and be supportive.”
Nor are the Wallabies the only ones under the gun either, after Cheika’s Pumas were hammered 41-12 as Ian Foster’s All Blacks raced out of the blocks to stun the home crowd.
White said the Pumas couldn’t be taken for granted and that their gritty second half, where they won the second half 12-10, was a more accurate showing of what Cheika’s side were capable of.
But they only have to look at the sides the Pumas took down last year to understand the threat of the South Americans too, with Cheika’s side recording a record-breaking win over the Wallabies and historic victories over the All Blacks in New Zealand and England at Twickenham.
“The All Blacks made it look a lot easier than it’s going to be at times,” White said.
“The second half was probably more of a reflection of the side they were last year and the side that you’ll get for the rest of the year.
“They’re a well coached side, Cheik will have them firing over here in Australia and yeah it’s going to be a tough one.
“I think everyone in world rugby now is seeing them as a top-tier team that, if you’re slightly off your game, can hurt you.
“They’re a very good defensive side, [David] Kidwell’s doing an amazing job with them and they’re starting to play some really good footy in attack, some really good shapes, very organised.
“So gone are those days, they’re a bloody good side.”
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.