Australia will not mention the World Cup on their European tour this month as they focus on salvaging their reputation on and off the field after a traumatic few weeks left the Wallabies with their third coach in 16 months.
When Michael Cheika was appointed to succeed Ewen McKenzie less than 72 hours before the squad left for London, the first thing he told the players was he intended to win their respect and trust and he expected everyone to be open with each other.
Cheika’s first match in charge saw Australia defeat the Barbarians at Twickenham, but Wales at the Millennium Stadium, which has a new playing surface, on Saturday will provide a far sterner examination of his squad’s ability, character and temperament.
Warren Gatland has said his priority in the coming months will be the World Cup, making sure Wales are at their peak at the start of the tournament for a group that includes England and Australia, but the Wallabies’ focus is on the short term.
“You should not believe anything an opposition coach says, but for us this week is our priority,” said the Australia prop Sekope Kepu. “The coach has said we should take everything week by week and I do not even know who we are playing after Wales. The World Cup will look after itself if we get things right this month.
“When Michael Cheika first met us in a squad, he sat us in a circle and said what he expected. The emphasis was on trust, honesty and transparency. If you develop that off the field it will show on it and this tour is key for us. Cheiks has proved himself as a coach, most recently achieving a massive turnaround at the Waratahs. I am confident he will do the same thing with the Wallabies.
“It is a tough market for rugby union in Australia, something that may be hard for people here to understand, and we will only regain the trust of the public through our performances on the field. Wales will be a tough start for us: they are like a fifth southern hemisphere team in the running style they have and they pose a threat up front, even without Adam Jones.”
Wales have not defeated Australia since 2008 and have lost all nine fixtures in the series, a record the Wallabies’ second row Rob Simmons believes will make it harder for the tourists in Cardiff.
“We know that every time we best them, they are going to come at us even harder the next time,” he said. “We are making it tougher for ourselves, I suppose, but having a long winning record against them does give us confidence and extending it would give us a psychological edge ahead of next year, but we know that only 100% will do.”
Wales name their team on Tuesday, with the centre Jonathan Davies, who suffered a shoulder injury playing for Clermont Auvergne last month, still to prove his fitness. His likely replacement, Scott Williams, is also a doubt after straining a hamstring.
“They both took part in training today but we need to see more of them before knowing whether they will be able to play on Saturday,” said the Wales defence coach, Shaun Edwards. “We have been working hard on fitness levels since we have been in camp and there has been a step up in intensity by the players.”
Dan Lydiate is set to start at wing forward even though he has not played for Racing Métro for more than a month. “He looks nearly as fit as he was at the last World Cup,” said Edwards, “and his conditioning reminds me of 2012 when he was named the player of the Six Nations.
“The pitch at the Millennium Stadium will be quicker and there is not much chance of players losing their feet. Australia play a great brand of rugby and, while we have spoken about getting over the line against one of the Tri Nations teams, I would be more worried if we kept getting beaten by 25 or 30 points.”
