Rugby: Wallaby shrugs off the bugs this time

James Horwill (centre) and his fellow Wallabies are reported to be in fine form. Photo / Getty Images

Sounds familiar. Food poisoning before a big test in Africa. Okay, let's not go there.

Playing the Boks is hard enough when you are a lock, up against Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha.

It is a great deal more difficult when, like Wallaby James Horwill, you have been also dealing with the after-effects of a stomach bug.

"I was pretty crook leading into it. I didn't have a lot of energy and wasn't able to take in a lot of food so that was why I came off at halftime.

"I didn't think I could have given much more," Horwill said of his last test in Cape Town.

"I had a crack anyway."

The odds are far more even in Sydney tonight as Horwill and his Wallaby cronies stack up their credentials against Brad Thorn, Isaac Ross and Co in the lineout and across the track.

Barring late medical reports, the teams are reported to be in good condition for a test which should carry a health warning for all involved.

Horwill allows himself time to reflect on Thorn's longevity and admire his skills, which have allowed him to compete at the top professional level in league and union.

"It is very impressive, isn't it?

"He just seems to get better, he seems like the guy who never ages. [He] performs at the same level week after week, year after year and is an extremely impressive athlete and someone you have got to admire."

Horwill will shelve the appreciation for 80 minutes tonight as the transtasman tribes go at it again in another Bledisloe Cup skirmish.

"His record is amazing," he said of Thorn midweek. "Talented and tough. You know he will deliver a serious physical examination.

"You know when he hits you in the rucks and mauls - just with the shoulder - you certainly know when he is out there."

Horwill acknowledges Thorn's greatest adjustment in switching codes would have been learning all the elements about lineouts. He was now a reliable source of possession.

The Wallaby said Thorn had the ability, at the front of the lineout, to win consistent ball for the All Blacks and get them out of tough defensive situations. He had shown that strength in the recent tests against the Boks.

The All Blacks had their moments but so did the Wallabies when their lineout faltered in Durban.

It cost momentum, it gnawed away at their confidence and gave them fewer options, Horwill said.

"We weren't very happy, it is on our shoulders that this weekend we have a much better performance, especially in the lineout. We need to make sure we secure our ball and also put pressure on the opposition," Horwill said.

It is not just New Zealand under pressure in that area of the game.

"We have to ... make sure we do everything we can to make sure we come away with the right result."

The emphasis is on we, as in the Wallabies. There is no talk about countering the All Blacks so much as what strategies the Wallabies can use.

So when the Wallabies look across at their All Blacks opposites do they dismiss their credentials?

Not at all, Horwill said. That would be foolish. Playing any New Zealand side in provincial, Super 14 or test combat was an exhaustive challenge.

"We are not puffing up our chests and saying we are better than them. Not at all. They are a very good forward pack and I think they showed that against the Springboks, especially at scrum time," he said.

"They really touched them up a bit, which against a team renowned for their scrum play is very impressive.

"We know that this weekend they will have a very good side and we have to match them."