Jim Williams has heaped praise on the quality of the touring Irish squad ahead of the one-off Test in Melbourne on June 14.
Assistant boss issues warning ahead of Test Down Under
Wallabies assistant coach Jim Williams has heaped praise on the quality of the touring Irish squad ahead of the one-off Test in Melbourne on June 14.
Williams has joined head coach Robbie Deans' coaching staff following a successful four-year stint with 2008 Heineken Cup winners Munster.
With 10 members of the Munster squad selected in the Irish touring party, Williams is more qualified than most to pass judgment on the threat posed by the men in green.
"That's a quality side that they (Ireland) are bringing out, I suppose maybe in the past the quality hasn't been there," said Williams.
"But with the likes of Paul O'Connell, Denis Leamy and Jerry Flannery in the forward pack along with John Hayes and Marcus Horan, like I said, they're all quality players coming off a great (club) season.
Underdogs
"(Brian) O' Driscoll's going to be there, Ronan O'Gara's at the top of his game, and (Eoin) Reddan and guys like Shane Horgan so that's a world class team that they've got there."
Asked what expectations the Irish side would carry into the clash Williams said: "It's a favourite thing of theirs to come in through as the underdogs.
"But I think realistically when you look at the quality of player that they've got, they're some of the best players in the world.
"They'll probably publicly be playing down their expectations but certainly they'll be looking for a good performance this week coming against New Zealand to try and keep that momentum going.
"Obviously like I said with Munster doing well in the Heineken Cup, they've got a forward pack there that's got good momentum coming in to the national team and they'll want to carry that over into their Test (team)."
