Schmidt says Wallabies must hit the ground running in Melbourne

New Straits Times

a day ago

BRISBANE: Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt says his young side must hit the ground running in the second Test to have any chance of keeping the British and Irish Lions series alive.
The tourists outgunned Australia 27-19 in their opening clash in Brisbane on Saturday, with the scoreline flattering the hosts.
They were slow off the mark, conceding a converted try in the eighth minute, and chased the game for much of the first-half.
Another early lapse soon the restart saw them slump 24-5 behind before a gutsy fightback ensured they will take some confidence into Melbourne next weekend.
"We've got to keep learning fast and hit the ground running next week. Otherwise it becomes a dead rubber in Sydney," Schmidt said, referring to the third and final Test.
"Inevitably you're desperate to keep the series alive and I know that the Lions will want to close it out in Melbourne. So Melbourne is going to be massive for both teams."
Schmidt will almost certainly be making changes to his starting XV.
Experienced forwards Rob Valetini and Will Skelton are fit again and are in line to replace Nick Champion de Crespigny and either Jeremy Williams or Nick Frost.
Australia were also noticeably better in the second-half when scrum-half Tate McDermott came off the bench and Angus Bell was installed at loosehead prop, with a case to be made for their inclusion.
"I felt the bench added value when they came on. In that last 20 to 25 minutes, we did get a bit of momentum, and we weren't far away," said Schmidt.
But with the Lions battle-hardened after winning all six games of their Australia tour so far, the Wallabies know they must lift their level considerably to have any hope of causing an upset at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
"I do think if we can just improve our accuracy, it will help us to be competitive," said Schmidt.
"They've got strength and depth, and they came with a plan that they got the better of us in the first quarter, and we've got to start more strongly next week.
"There's very much some of our collision area work has to be better, just because we know they're coming so hard there.