The Wallabies want to be about actions rather than words under Michael Cheika, with Australian players out to avoid another war of words with Wales.
Australia head into the first Test of their spring tour, at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on Saturday (Sunday morning AEDT), looking to extend their winning streak against the Welsh to a remarkable ten games.
Another win would ensure the Wallabies an important mental advantage when the sides meet at next year’s World Cup but there were no attempts at mind games from either side on Monday.
Australia’s 30-26 victory in Cardiff a year ago was preceded by plenty of pre-match banter.
Halfback Will Genia claimed Australia’s recent dominance was clearly weighing on Wales’ mind and said the Wallabies had been motivated by some pre-match tough talk from Welsh hardman Richard Hibbard.
Wales coach Warren Gatland also claimed that previous November defeats to Australia were treated more like “friendlies”.
This time around, Wallabies lock Rob Simmons believes it would be a mistake for Australia to get caught up in a slanging match as they concentrate on building a new culture under Cheika to win back the trust of the Australian public.
“Winning the last nine games definitely helps with our confidence,” Simmons said on Monday.
“But we know every time we beat them, the next time we come up against us, they’re going to want to beat us even more.
“It’s almost making it harder for ourselves (to talk about it), so we just need to be on our game 100 per cent.
Prop Sekope Kepu agreed there was little to gain from talking up the winning streak.
“Yeah, it can be an edge leading into a World Cup but I’ve been blessed to play in a World Cup and it’s a whole different ball game,” Kepu told AAP.
“You can talk about things but you’ve got to let your actions speak and Cheik’s all about actions.”
Wales seem intent on a similar low-key approach this year.
Hibbard, who predicted Wales would “batter” the Wallabies twelve months ago, bit his tongue when asked if there would be a similar feeling in the build-up to Saturday’s match.
“I think I fell into a trap last year. It’s just business at usual for us,” Hibbard said after the Welsh trained at the match venue.
Along with seeking results on their month-long tour of Europe, the Wallabies are also aiming to win back fans turned off by the recent controversy including the Kurtley Beale text messaging saga.
Kepu says that will also come from what the Wallabies do, not what the say.
“If we can play the good, hard style of footy Cheika wants us to play we’ll get the respect and trust and all those things, whether it’s from the public, the opposition or everybody else,” Kepu said.
Australia received some good news on Monday with veteran backrower Scott Higginbotham to remain on tour after being cleared of a serious hamstring injury suffered in Saturday’s win over the Barbarians, though he is still expected to miss the Wales Test.