Stephen Larkham has warned fans to expect another nailbiter as the Wallabies look to restore hope in Australian rugby in Saturday’s Test battle with Scotland.
Under the coaching of legendary playmaker Gregor Townsend and inspired by livewire five-eighth Finn Russell, the Scots are the most improved side in international rugby, up to fifth in the rankings and a force to be reckoned with.
Their emergence as a Test powerhouse comes after decades of living in the shadows of Six Nations giants England, France and Wales – and has the Wallabies on edge.
With last-gasp one-point wins in their past two encounters, assistant coach Larkham says the Wallabies need no reminding of how much of a threat the tourists will be in Sydney.
“That perception (of dourness) is probably a couple of years old,” Larkham said after Friday’s captain’s run at Allianz Stadium.
“They’ve played some really good football. They’ve certainly scared us over the last couple of years and look at their Six Nations form – they’ve won three out of their five games there against Wales and Ireland in particular, beating Italy last week by a good margin.
“They’re a dangerous side. Their defence is really good. They’re underrated as an international side, definitely.”
“This was always going to be our hardest game in these three games, no disrespect to the other teams.
“But if you look at their form coming into this game, we’ve had to make sure our preparation’s spot on because they are a very good side and they’re a team we’re certainly worried about.”
After a dreadful Super Rugby campaign featuring no wins for Australian teams from 21 matches against New Zealand opposition, Larkham admits the Wallabies have a responsibility to breathe life into a code running a distant fourth in popularity behind AFL, soccer and rugby league.
“It’s a stepping stone for us, isn’t it,” said the 1999 World Cup hero.
“I think we built a lot of interest in the game after the World Cup in 2015. Last year, we wanted to solidify that interest.
“We probably had a couple of results overseas that didn’t go our way, which was disappointing for us (and) we didn’t get the Bledisloe (Cup).
“Our challenge as a group is to win every game that comes in front of us.
“That’s what we want to do – we want to be the pride of the nation. We want people to look at us and go, ‘these guys know how to win’.”
The Wallabies will attempt victory with World Cup captain Stephen Moore again starting from the bench.
Relegated in Australia’s 37-14 win over Fiji last Saturday, Moore was again named as a reserve when coach Michael Cheika finalised his 23-man team on Friday.
Prop Scott Sio was also named on the bench in what will be his first match since injuring his knee in April.
Wallabies: Israel Folau, Dane Haylett-Petty, Tevita Kuridrani, Karmichael Hunt, Eto Nabuli, Bernard Foley, Will Genia, Scott Higginbotham, Michael Hooper (capt), Ned Hanigan, Adam Coleman, Sam Carter, Allan Alaalatoa, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Tom Robertson. Reserves: Stephen Moore, Scott Sio, Sekope Kepu, Rory Arnold, Richard Hardwick, Joe Powell, Quade Cooper, Reece Hodge.
