Captain James Slipper is hoping the new Allianz Stadium can follow in the footsteps of Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane and develop a “fortress” feel for the Wallabies, starting with a sold-out clash against the Springboks on Saturday night.
And given the short and long-term importance of an elusive quality for the Wallabies – the ability to win strings of matches – the vibe of a buzzing home crowd could be a timely circuit breaker.
“I would like to be in a team where we don’t rely on a stadium to get us up for a game,” Slipper said.
“But it is naturally going to be a help for us, new stadium, big crowd, sold out … the key for us is backing up a good performance and that’s been our theme this week.
“It has been a challenge for us this year. We haven’t been able to back up a good performance with another one, and it’s been spoken about this week.”
The Wallabies were quick to temper their joy at beating the Boks in Adelaide last week, given they’ve already crashed the week after wins this year, against both England and Argentina. That’s been a competition-wide trend, but the Wallabies have struggled with backing up for a long time. In the last ten years – and outside World Cups – the Wallabies have only won two or more consecutive Tests nine times.
James Slipper poses at the new Allianz Stadium.Credit:Getty
Rennie’s team won five straight in 2021 but are up and down in 2022. To beat South Africa and stay in the hunt for the Rugby Championship – and longer term the World Cup – the Wallabies have to break the yo-yo cycle.
“There have been things happening around the team [this year] that haven’t gone to plan, in terms of injury and selection and whatnot,” Slipper said. “But as I said earlier, a bit of consistency in the team can give us a good platform to perform tomorrow. The onus is on us, it’s mindset. We have to come out here and play well, it’s as simple as that. But it is one thing saying, and another thing doing it.
“We know the Springboks will respond. They will want to come out and play a good game. It is the nature of the beast, you tend to respond after a disappointment or a loss.”
After the Wallabies and Springboks both did a walk through on Friday, Slipper said he could see the new Allianz “turning into a fortress for us, with a big Sydney crowd”.
Greg Martin contests a high ball in the Wallabies’ victory over the Lions at the Sydney Football Stadium in 1989.Credit:Craig Golding
It would be actually be more of a revival, given the old Sydney Football Stadium was among the Wallabies’ best venues. In 27 Tests there from 1989, the Wallabies won 19.
The Wallabies’ first game at the SFS was a victory over the British Lions and it saw many famous wins, including Bledisloe triumphs in 1994 and 1998.
The last three visits to Allianz against England, Scotland, Ireland were defeats, however; part of Australia’s horrific record in Sydney over the last decade. In 16 Tests since 2012, the Wallabies have only won four.
Australia’s tryscorers Fraser McReight and Marika Koroibete savour a win.Credit:Getty
Consistency this week won’t just help Australia defeat South Africa and provide momentum for the Bledisloe Cup series, however. It would begin to give the necessary confidence they can do it when it counts, in the knockout stages of the 2023 Rugby World Cup; which Slipper reckons will be one of the most open ever given this year’s results.
“It goes to show the top six, eight, ten teams in the world are very competitive against each other, and that’s what you want in rugby,” he said.
“You look at the World Cup and it’s a tournament, so you have to win more than two in a row if you’re gonna win it.
“It’s important, and we go out there to play every game aiming to win. But knowing your job and doing your job are two different things. For us consistency is a big work on at the moment.”
Watch every match of The Rugby Championship on the Home of Rugby, Stan Sport. Continues this weekend with All Blacks v Argentina (Saturday 4pm AEST) and Wallabies v South Africa (Saturday 7pm AEST). All matches streaming ad-free, live and on demand on Stan Sport.
