Deans Confident
Australian rugby coach, Robbie Deans, says he is confident that his team can beat South Africa and New Zealand when the Tri Nations series gets under way.
The Wallabies are the big outsiders for the series because of the inexperience in their side and the key injuries to important players. These players have been out of the side for a long time and the team have adapted and introduced youth as a means of coping.
There are worries in Australia that the side could be severely punished by the two opponents they are playing. These opponents are likely to be a lot more ruthless than England were during their tour of the Southern Hemisphere.
However, Deans says the side have a high number of strengths, which can cancel out the weaknesses in the team. He hopes that the Aussies can do all of the important things right as the side looks to mute the influence of their high profile opposition.
Strengths
The main strength of this Australian team is their mentality. They always have an intense determination to win every game they play and this will be important to a side playing against some very big opponents.
The youth in the team will be hungry for experience and success. Younger players are more likely to run all over the pitch trying to make an impression and they will not be content with just trying to absorb pressure and counter attack. This is not the way that the young players would have been brought up to play their rugby.
The Wallabies have plenty of pace and this could work to the advantage of the team. They can use this pace to expose the weaknesses in their opposition. It means that when Australia get into advanced positions on the field they will be able to break through the defence very quickly and get over the line before the opposition can react.
Weaknesses
There are some weaknesses and these will be what the Springboks and the All Blacks will be focusing on right now. The youth in the side means inexperience and this inexperience means mistakes. These mistakes will not go unpunished by the two favourites to win the World Cup next summer.
There is a distinct lack of size around the Aussie team at the moment and this is something, which has never been missing from South Africa or New Zealand. Australia have to be very careful that they don't let their opponents bully them up the field. They will have to work very hard in packs and scrums to make sure they don't lose the ball and concede penalties.
Form has not been perfect for the Australians but this is a weakness they will not be too worried about. England won the last couple of games of their Southern Hemisphere tour, which proved that Australia are beatable in their own country. Form provides confidence but the players should be able to get up for the matches against two of their biggest rivals.
Advice
It would be a surprise if the Aussies flew out of the traps and started wiping the floor with South Africa and New Zealand because no one really expects this to happen. The influence that bigger players can have over a game is likely to prevail and you need to remember this before you decide to back the Wallabies.
If you fancy them to win against their opponents then by all means have a punt, but they will be relying on mistakes and luck, and quite often in top-flight rugby you do not always get the benefit of both during the same game.
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