Thursday’s rugby news has Stephen Moore staying grounded, no golf clubs for Cheika, All Blacks make changes and New Zealand to build an All Black themed tourist attraction.
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Moore Staying Grounded
Wallabies captain Stephen Moore is not getting carried away with the hype as the Wallabies take on the All Blacks in the Bledisloe decider this weekend.
“There’s obviously a lot positivity around the win on the weekend and we want our supporters … people on the street to be happy about it,” Moore said.
“That’s a real positive for the game in Australia, but that can’t cross over into our thinking when we prepare for that next match and that’s a key point.” Moore admitted the side had done a good job getting on with business so far in their build-up, thanks largely to coach Michael Cheika.
“It’s not hard with Cheiks reminding us all the time about the importance of that (hard work) and just improving each day and training really hard and that’s been our focus this week … Making sure we are focused and we are not letting any of that stuff put us in a false frame of mind about where we are at … we’ve still got a hell of a lot of work to do and a long way to go to get to where we want to be and we’ve tried to emphasise that this week.”
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No Golf Clubs: Cheika
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika insists he will not use any unorthodox tactics to fire the Wallabies up before their match with the All Blacks at Eden Park.
Cheika brought out the golf clubs in the Waratahs Super Rugby final last year but will stick to traditional methods when motivating the Wallabies
“No. No, no, no,” Cheika chuckled when asked if something had been tucked away for Saturday night.
“I think what we need to be doing is, having the week, just improving every day in our week; you know what I mean? I don’t think anything is going to be solved by any pre-match speech or anything like that; this is all about improving a little bit each day so that we can be ready to perform at a level that is going to keep us competitive with New Zealand on Saturday.”
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AB’s Make Changes
The All Blacks have made three changes to their side that lost to the Wallabies in Sydney including a call-up for Victor Vito in place of Jerome Kaino.
Ma’a Nonu also replaces Sonny Bill Williams whilst Sam Whitelock replaces Luke Romano.
The All Blacks will field their oldest ever backline and 966 combined caps in the whole team.
Team: Ben Smith, Nehe Milner-Skudder, Conrad Smith, Ma’a Nonu, Julian Savea, Daniel Carter, Aaron Smith, Kieran Read, Richie McCaw (capt), Victor Vito, Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Owen Franks, Dane Coles, Tony Woodcock. Reserves: Keven Mealamu, Wyatt Crockett, Nepo Laulala, Jerome Kaino, Sam Cane, TJ Perenara, Colin Slade, Malakai Fekitoa
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All Blacks Disneyland
New Zealand Rugby have announced plans to build an All Black themed tourist attraction dubbed “The All Blacks Experience”.
“We are bringing together the stories of our rugby legends, the drama and excitement of Test match rugby, and the mastery and legacy of the All Blacks into a unique, world class attraction on Auckland’s waterfront,” said NZ Rugby chief executive Steve Tew.
“Many tourists will never get a chance to see an All Blacks game, but most know the black jersey and the haka. The All Blacks Experience will give them an exciting opportunity to get up close to these great symbols of our country, another place to create lasting memories of their time in New Zealand.”
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