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Rugby: Focused Folau all set to shine, says coach
Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie believes test rugby will see the best of Israel Folau now that his head has been cleared of contractual worries.
Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie believes test rugby will see the best of Israel Folau now that his head has been cleared of contractual worries.
Cagey Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie is keeping his selection cards close to his chest.
Code-hopping star Israel Folau is set to play for the Wallabies through to the 2015 Rugby World Cup after signing a two-year deal.
No one wants to be arrogant or complacent about these things but Australia are not the foe they once were.
The Wallabies are putting the blinkers on about who will wear the vacant All Blacks No 10 jersey, saying they are only focused on improving their own game.
The Wallabies believe a win over the All Blacks in Wellington will buy them time they need to fulfill their potential under new coach Ewen McKenzie.
Pictures from the Bledisloe Cup match between the Wallabies and the All Blacks at ANZ Stadium on August 17, 2013 in Sydney, Australia.
When David Kirk casts his inquiring senses across tonight's transtasman duel, he favours the All Blacks and in particular their forwards to make the damaging inroads.
Mark Ella was a useful five-eighth, which is a bit like suggesting Bradman could hold a bat.
What chance of another Dipak Patel moment or, for those with longer memories, a John Beck chapter in tonight's start to the Bledisloe Cup series.
The feel-good factor sweeping through Australian rugby is not without foundation - there's plenty of evidence to show that new international coaches often enjoy instant success.
The Wallabies haven't held the Bledisloe Cup since 2002. They've won only five of the past 27 cup encounters, and at tonight's venue, they've tasted success just twice in seven matches against the All Blacks.
If the Australians needed further metaphorical motivation for tomorrow's opening Bledisloe test against the All Blacks, they could have found it in the lobby of their swanky downtown Sydney Hotel in the form of a glass ceiling and a Vera Wang bridal shop.
First-five Matt Toomua will make his debut for Australia while Quade Cooper was named on the bench for tomorrow's opening Rugby Championship match.
Mercifully free of the Australian affliction of talk-ing more than performing, the All Blacks haven't made any grandiose statements about this year being the one where they want their forwards to become the dominant pack in world rugby.
Controversial star James O'Connor says it's easy for him to buy into the Wallabies culture set by new coach Ewen McKenzie.
A change of coach and the arrival of new faces has filled the Wallabies with optimism ahead of Saturday's Bledisloe Cup clash. But the All Blacks are viewing things a little differently.
Anyone can see Will Genia is the key to the Wallabies' impetus.
All rugby eyes are on Hamilton tonight as a tasty decider and teaser towards the resumption of transtasman sporting combat.
New Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie has recalled controversial five-eighth Quade Cooper and revealed he is looking at incumbent pivot James O'Connor primarily as an outside back.
QC is back, not the Queens Counsel or anything else the tiresome Crusader crowds would call Quade Cooper.
Did Deans get it wrong in rugby terms, or was there more to it than mere footballing matters?
While his Wallaby side went through their usual parabolic form graph, Deans ploughed on. He had a job to do, writes Wynne Gray.