James Slipper and the Wallabies are ready to put the uncertainty behind them as they look to avenge their back-to-back defeats in Perth.
Any fears of the All Blacks remaining in NZ have been alleviated with the side boarding a plane for Perth on Thursday for the second round of the Rugby Championship, set to be played on Sunday September 5 at 4pm (AEST).
After a hectic France series last month, the unexpected rest period has come in handy for the Wallabies and Slipper, who were eager to put their poor performances and the uncertainty behind them.
“The uncertainty is the hardest thing to prepare for. Not knowing what’s coming, are we or not, all that stuff weighs heavily on players,” he said.
“At the end of the day, once the game is scheduled and we have over a week to prepare, we’ll be right to go.
“We’ve had the start of this week..it’s been good actually to go around Perth and have a couple of swims at the beaches here.
“We’ve obviously been very disappointed with how we have played, especially that second Test.
“For us as a new group, we’re really trying to forge our identity and how we want to play. We let ourselves down to be honest...To play the All Blacks for 80 minutes, it’s irrelevant which country you are in, you’ve got to play well and take your opportunities when you get them.”
The final Bledisloe has been confirmed for September 5, which could see both sides take the field after two back-to-back days of AFL semi-finals.
However, Slipper was confident it would do little damage to the playing surface.
“Not at all. After a rugby game, it’s pretty worn out but playing after an AFL game, I don’t see any issue with that,” Slipper said. “I’m just one of the players that will turn up whenever and play wherever.
“Last week was a bit different, we flew straight from NZ a couple of weeks ago and we were expecting to play this week. Clearly, that didn’t happen which was disappointing but I think in this climate, you’ve got to adapt to anything.
“The schedule changes all the time and I can’t see that changing for the rest of the year.”
Slipper spoke as the side got their second and final COVID-19 vaccinations, stressing the importance of doing their bit for the wider community as Australia looks to open up.
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This is critical especially for the Sydney-based players, who are expected to spend a six-month period away from their loved ones, with the Wallabies heading on their Spring Tour after the Rugby Championship.
“We’re very excited to be vaccinated. I feel like as a Wallaby, we’re doing our bit to make the community safer and for us to move forward as a country and a world, vaccination is key to an open world and life as we knew it," he added.
“There’s a lot of players from Sydney who haven’t seen their families for probably three months now and that’s not going to change until the end of the year,” Slipper conceded.
“It’s obviously difficult and there’s a couple of players here expecting babies and other players who have kids who they haven’t been able to see for months.
“It’s been very hard but we’re in a position that we’re still able to work so we’re forever grateful for what we do and we’re allowed to do what we do as we try and bring a bit of happiness to the community.”
