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Wallabies vow to put bodies on line in crunch second Lions Test / Photo: William WEST - AFP
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Wallabies vow to put bodies on line in crunch second Lions Test
Skipper Harry Wilson vowed Friday the Wallabies will "throw their bodies around" to physically dominate the British and Irish Lions with everything on the line in the crunch second Test.
Australia need victory at the cavernous Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday to keep the three-Test series alive after losing the opener in Brisbane 27-19.
They were outgunned in that game around the collision areas but have muscled up with hard-working flanker Rob Valetini and giant lock Will Skelton both back from injuries to beef up the pack.
Hooker Dave Porecki, who suffered a concussion in a warm-up Test against Fiji, also returns, with his lineout throwing skills sorely missed in Brisbane.
Coach Joe Schmidt has also opted for a 6-2 bench split, rather than their usual 5-3, in anticipation of a bruising and wet contest, with six forwards among the replacements.
"We want to go out there and impose ourselves physically," said Wilson.
"We want to back our skills, start fast and with a 6-2 bench it means another person gets to go off the field.
"So more reason start fast, throw your body around knowing there's some quality bench players coming to finish."
Australia need look no further than the tactics employed by a hastily-assembled First Nations and Pasifika XV to see how they can stifle Andy Farrell's men.
They took the game to the Lions on Tuesday with some bone-crunching tackles and plenty of niggle, unsettling the tourists who hung on for a tense 24-19 win.
"A lot of us were there watching and just seeing the way Pasifika went after them, the line speed, the big hits in defence, it was a great blueprint there about how to really try and physically dominate them," said Wilson.
His words echoed Schmidt on Thursday who said the Wallabies "don't want to be nice, and we don't want to be submissive".
Wilson said the squad have had good preparation this week and after slumping 24-5 behind in Brisbane took confidence from how they were able to get back into the game.
"We do feel like we're improving each week this year," he said.
"Obviously we came together and really had to try and fast-track a lot of our relationships in the team to be able to go out there on the field and play well.
"And I guess Fiji, we got away with that one, and then we didn't start too well in that first Test (against the Lions).
"But in that second-half, once we got a bit of possession, a bit of territory, and started playing our sort of footy, we take a lot of confidence from that."
S.Morin--SMC
