Deans delighted with spirit

Cardiff club side lose for first time in seven meetings with Wallabies

Last updated: 24th November 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Deans delighted with spirit

Deans: Delighted with midweek win

Related links

Teams

Also see

Australia coach Robbie Deans is hoping the midweek win for his second string over Cardiff Blues will rub off on the rest of his squad ahead of Saturday's clash with Wales.

The Wallabies bounced back from their shock 9-8 loss to Scotland at the weekend with a 31-3 mauling of the Magners League side on Tuesday night.

Kurtley Beale grabbed two tries while Ryan Cross and Luke Morahan also touched down for the tourists at Cardiff City Stadium.

Deans believes the performance has helped quickly erase the memory of the result at Murrayfield, where Matt Giteau missed a stoppage-time conversion that would have won Australia the game.

Spirit

"The boys played with spirit and played as one, which was good to see," said Deans.

"We certainly hope it will rub off on Saturday against Wales. We're lucky to have that opportunity, rather than having to go into the summer on the back of a loss to Scotland."

Victory came at a cost, though, as Matt Toomua and Mitchell Chapman both picked up injuries,

"A few lads got their first chance to play for Australia. Matt Toomua was unlucky to break his jaw, but at least he's worn the shirt," Deans added.

"We've lost him and Mitchell Chapman turned his ankle, but none of our other injured players have had any setbacks."

The Blues' Australian backs coach, Billy Millard, was full of praise for the Test side, admitting the hosts had failed to pose enough problems in attack.

"The Wallabies showed a lot of class in broken play, they kicked well and were very physical at the breakdown," he said.

"Our boys never stopped trying to attack, but we were never able to generate quick ball in the right areas."