Wallabies captain Michael Hooper is confident his side can open up their French counterparts as they look to seal the series at AAMI Park in the second Test.
After a less than ideal performance in the first Test, Hooper was looking for the Wallabies to lift their level as they return to Melbourne for the first time in nearly three years.
Get your tickets now for the Wallabies three-Test series with France!
Speaking to media on Tuesday, he believes they have recognised aspects of the French game plan they can exploit to help them 'hurt' their defence.
“We want to improve significantly this week across the board and where we think we can try and hurt these guys. We think we have so much more in us,” Hooper said.
“We’ve got to back our skill set to get there and we think we can do some damage to these guys. Obviously they will want to take it to another level, they’ve made five changes up front and they going to be bringing a lot of emotion and physicality to this game. It’s going to be a great contest.”
The contest is expected to attract a strong crowd at AAMI Park, with projections reportedly nearing the 75% capacity allowed by the Victorian Government.
It will mark their return to Melbourne, with their scheduled 2020 clash against the All Blacks moved due to COVID.
With the ground hosting just one sporting event in the past 50 days (2021 A-League Grand Final), Hooper believes the sporadic use will set up a fast and exciting contest.
“It’s a loud stadium. The line out calls, the crowd is right on top of you and you hear when somethings going down which is a good comparison to where it’s been in the last couple of years where you playing in front of a limited or no crowd,” he remarked.
“I know Matty Philip was playing in front of no fans up in France so to have a near capacity crowd feels great. To not have a game here in a while and come back and hear that sort of discussion is outstanding.
“The ground looks in great condition, it doesn’t look like there’s been a huge amount of footy been played on there, it looks like a fast track.”
READ MORE:
BOUNCEBACK: Rennie calls for improvements despite victory
TEAM: Wallabies name second Test squad
SCARE: All Blacks overcome brave Fiji
With a four-day turnover between the second and third Tests, Hooper concedes whilst they would like to feature in all three, it would be down to how they pulls up on Tuesday evening.
“There’s a lot of variables there so I can't give you an accurate choice right now,” he said on potentially backing up," he added.
“Every time you pull on the jersey is an amazing experience and something we don’t take lightly. We want to put our best team in the field every week and in this case, every four days.
“There’s a fair few variables there and tomorrow’s night the focus so we’ll get to Tuesday evening and back that decision accordingly."
