Wallabies have the pieces to complete the Bledisloe puzzle: Haylett-Petty

Mon, Aug 20, 2018, 9:00 AM
Sam Phillips
by Sam Phillips
He's spent most of his time on the wing in Wallabies gold but Dane Haylett-Petty says he'd love the opportunity to play at fullback as cover for the injured Israel Folau. The side relishing a chance at redemption at Eden Park on Saturday night.

Beating the All Blacks with any sort of consistency is akin to solving the most complex of jigsaw puzzles but Dane Haylett-Petty believes the Wallabies have the pieces required to shock the world in Auckland.

Haylett-Petty will almost certainly be charged with filling the sizeable hole left by the injured Israel Folau at fullback and while that presents a fresh set of challenges in itself the facts remain the same.

The Wallabies must beat New Zealand at Eden Park to turn October's Japan Bledisloe into a decider.

It's a feat no Australian side has achieved since 1986 but Haylett-Petty was firm when asked whether the Wallabies have the team capable of causing an enormous upset.

"We definitely believe we have got all the pieces to the puzzle," Haylett-Petty said at the team's Waiheke Island base.

"On each day we are able to beat - at the highest level - the best in the world.

"It's about that consistency week to week and pulling it all together.David Pocock and the Wallabies were outclassed in the second half in Sydney. Photo: RUGBY.com.au/Stuart Walmsley"That's what the All Blacks do every week, week in and week out.

"That's the key and obviously the exciting thing is that when we get that, we'll be hard to beat."

Haylett-Petty believes the Wallabies have all the components needed to beat New Zealand but they also needed to avoid the psychological capitulation that occurred in Sydney.

"We lost that game mentally in the second half," he said.

"It wasn't anything strategic or technical, it was those turnovers.

"We weren't quick enough to react and when they got too far in front...We're the kind of team that can score points fast just like them but I don't think we should ever feel like we are out of the game."

While the All Blacks piled on the points in the first half rather than the second this time last year there is still a sense of deja vu 12 months on from the Dunedin thriller.


A performance of that standard would be a drastic improvement - like it was this time last year - and there is a backs-to-the-wall vibe which the Wallabies will embrace.

"After the game we were all very dark and it always seems like everyone is in a dark spot after the game," lock Adam Coleman said.

"The next 24 hours are always pretty tough and looking at the review the most pleasing thing is that we can turn this around.

"What a challenge - to be in New Zealand and have an opportunity the next week."

For Coleman the challenge largely lies at lineout time after seven Wallabies throws were pinched by cunning All Blacks jumpers.

"In each lineout it was one little thing," he said.

"A lift, a jump, our spacing, a throw.

Adam Coleman believes the Wallabies' lineout can be fixed in time for Saturday's Bledisloe. Photo: RUGBY.com.au/Stuart Walmsley"It wasn't a single thing that was reoccurring all the time.

"The pleasing thing is that if we all do our own individual role we will improve drastically in that area."

The Rebels captain also backed the coaching staff in the wake of veteran rugby scribe Greg Growden's call for changes to be made to the Wallabies' off-field setup.

"We've got full confidence in this coaching staff and we back them 100 percent," Coleman said.

"There has never ever been a question about that so I don't know where that has come from."

The same fans spewing outrage will be the first to pat the Wallabies on the back should they pull off a win as $11 underdogs and while they didn't want nor need a loss to trigger a response Coleman promised exactly that come Saturday.

"It's something that we've spoken about going into the first game - not waiting to be hurt to respond," he said.

"We've been hurt now so now we're going to respond."

The Wallabies face the All Blacks at Eden Park on Saturday, kicking off at 5:30pm AEST, 7:30pm local, broadcast live on Channel Ten and FOX SPORTS. The Wallaroos take on the Black Ferns at 3pm AEST.
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