Monday press conferences after a Bledisloe Cup defeat would have to rank among the least appealing assignments for any Wallabies player.
asserted
conferences → have → player
Particularly when Saturday’s 50-19 capitulation against the All Blacks at Eden Park marked Australia’s 12th consecutive defeat to their trans-Tasman rivals.
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capitulation → mark → rivals
On the second floor of a hotel across the road from Accor Stadium at Sydney Olympic Park, the venue for Saturday’s dead-rubber Bledisloe clash, Wallabies fullback Tom Wright was the one chosen to explain how Australia had conceded so many points.
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Australia → choose → points
“The guys were obviously really disappointed with the result,” Wright said.
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Wright → disappoint → result
“The group came together on Sunday morning [to] face the music.”
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group → come → music
“The music of the scoreboard,” Wright said.
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Wright → say → scoreboard
“No one wants to be on the receiving end of 50 points.
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one → want → points
No one wants to be on the receiving end of a loss.
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one → want → loss
At 17-14 [in front], we’re right in the contest, and the game was there to be taken.
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game → ’re → contest
We knew the opportunity was there for us.
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opportunity → know → us
“We felt like all the guns were loaded, and we had the ammunition to fire shots and win the game.
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we → feel → game
We didn’t.
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We → do → ?
That’s the music that we’re talking about.
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we → ’ → that
You can be internally so driven to win and when you don’t … that’s the disappointment you’ve got to face.
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you → win → ?
For all the optimism generated by a six-game unbeaten streak before last weekend, including a surprise win over the Springboks, the broader Australian sporting public ultimately judges the Wallabies on one thing: whether they can beat the All Blacks.
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they → generate → Blacks
And when it comes to New Zealand, the same old problems keep resurfacing.
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problems → come → Zealand
Some would have turned on the television expecting a spirited second-half performance, but all they got was a botched Australian lineout deep in Kiwi territory that became the catalyst for an All Blacks onslaught that turned a contest into another humiliating defeat.
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that → turn → defeat
It was a familiar script, even if the Wallabies had spent much of the first half threatening to rewrite it.
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Wallabies → spend → it
Inevitably, out came the same questions that get rolled out every year.
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that → come → ?
Is there a mental inferiority complex when it comes to Eden Park?
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it → come → Park
Wright, one of Australia’s best on Saturday after scoring the opening try on Saturday, is not one for magic solutions.
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Wright → score → solutions
“If I had the golden egg answer, it’d be pretty handy,” Wright said.
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Wright → have → answer
“But I certainly don’t think there are any mental scars.
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I → think → ?
“They’re not a poor team.
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They → ’re → ?
The narrative will always be that ... we haven’t got our hands on the Bledisloe Cup, and we haven’t got a win against them [in 12 attempts].
“We know that the Bledisloe Cup remains across the ditch.
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Cup → get → ditch
We can’t carry that disappointment into the rest of this week because it’s not going to help us win on Saturday, is it?
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it → carry → Saturday
Former Wallaby Tim Horan spoke for plenty of frustrated Australian supporters on Sunday when asked on Channel Nine about the familiar narrative that the Wallabies would “learn” from their mistakes across the ditch.
“I just don’t like hearing, ‘oh we’re going to learn from this’.
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we → speak → this
I think Aussies are sick of getting beaten by the All Blacks,” Horan said.
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Horan → think → Blacks
But for the doom and gloom around Australia’s inability to reclaim the Bledisloe Cup, a drought now stretching 24 years, the Wallabies have promised themselves they won’t spend the week feeling sorry for themselves.
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they → reclaim → themselves
The trophy is gone for another year, but Saturday presents an opportunity to restore some pride and avoid a clean sweep.
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Saturday → go → sweep
Australia and New Zealand also face each other in the pool stages at next year’s Rugby World Cup at the same venue.
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Australia → face → venue
There will be an element of wanting to land an early psychological blow ahead of a game that really matters.
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that → want → game
“You can be disappointed, but you’ve got to pick up the pieces pretty quickly to be able to move on and give ourselves a good opportunity this Saturday,” Wright said.
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Wright → disappoint → opportunity
“The guys are pretty keen to get back on the horse.”
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guys → get → horse
One player unavailable for the Wallabies’ final match before their European spring tour is Jordan Petaia, who missed the Auckland clash after suffering a syndesmosis injury at training last week.
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who → miss → training
Petaia is expected to be sidelined for about a month after being caught in an awkward tackle involving several Wallabies players, including Max Jorgensen, in the lead-up to the first Bledisloe Test.
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Petaia → expect → Test
The Aporia
