The Wallabies won’t fall into a grinding battle against a “mechanical” England side, with Michael Cheika vowing to persist with his high-risk attacking game at Twickenham.
A defeat in Saturday’s (Sunday morning AEDT) season-ending Test would result in Australia’s worst spring tour performance since 2005.
The Wallabies have conceded 83 points in three Tests under coach Cheika so far but back-to-back losses to Ireland and France haven’t put him off the aggressive gameplan he wants to implement in the lead-up to next year’s World Cup.
“There’s definitely a place for it (attacking rugby at Test level),” Cheika said.
“The question is do you want to take the risk or not.
“I don’t know if my wife would be happy with it but I’m inherently a risk taker.
“So I want to push for that type of game and push us to train at the quality required so that we can do it under pressure.”
England, like Australia, have lost five of their past six Tests and former player Austin Healy on Friday criticised Stuart Lancaster’s side as being “safe” and “mechanical” but lacking a creative spark.
“I look at Australia’s potential backline this weekend and I fear for England,” the 51-Test former utility wrote in UK newspaper The Telegraph.
Australia were famously demolished by England’s scrum on their disappointing 2005 tour and Cheika fully expects to be targeted in that area again.
England forwards coach Graham Rowntree this week suggested Australia would have some sneaky tactics prepared for the set-piece but Cheika is refusing to get involved in mind games.
“I’m sure they’re expecting they’re going to dominate us and all that talk they carry on about with trying to milk penalties, it’s irrelevant at the end of the day,” Cheika said.
“Our goal at the scrum is to get the ball so we can attack.
“I don’t think we can win the game by getting penalties. Maybe I’m naive but I think that tries help you win games.”
The Wallabies did not train on match eve for the first time on the tour on Friday, with Cheika hoping to freshen his side up after another week of intense preparations.
The coach finalised his eight-man bench for the tour finale, with Brumbies playmaker Nic White earning his first Test call-up as backup to starting halfback Nick Phipps, with Reds veteran Will Genia rested.
“He (White) been really excellent on the trip. He deserves the opportunity, Cheika said.
White joins Quade Cooper and Kurtley Beale as attacking options on the bench.
Wallabies: Israel Folau, Henry Speight, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Matt Toomua, Rob Horne, Bernard Foley, Nick Phipps; Ben McCalman, Michael Hooper (capt), Sean McMahon, Rob Simmons, Sam Carter, Sekope Kepu, Saia Fainga’a, James Slipper. Res: James Hanson, Benn Robinson, Ben Alexander, Will Skelton, Luke Jones, Nic White, Quade Cooper, Kurtley Beale.
