Eddie Jones keen for Wallabies to put All Blacks ‘under pressure’ in Melbourne

Australia head coach Eddie Jones has revealed that he is eager to put trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand under pressure as he looks to spark his side into form in this year’s Rugby Championship.

Jones and the Wallabies returned to training on the Gold Coast, and are determined to get their season on track after two disappointing defeats to South Africa and Argentina.

All Blacks in unconventional form

The Wallabies will be up against a red-hot All Blacks outfit in Saturday’s clash in Melbourne and Jones notes that it is unconventional for the New Zealanders to be in fine form during a World Cup year.

Recent history backs this up as the Wallabies sealed their biggest ever win over the All Blacks in the corresponding fixture in 2019 while New Zealand suffered defeats to both Australia and South Africa in the 2011 Tri Nations before going on to win the World Cup.

“We’ve got a lot of things to work out ourselves,” Jones told reporters. “We’re trying to work out our best game plan but New Zealand have approached this season a little bit differently than they normally would.

“In a World Cup year, they tend to have a measured build up and it looks like they’re all guns firing at the moment.

“Our aim is to put them under pressure early in the game and see how they cope with pressure on them, because they haven’t had it as yet.

“It’s a massive game, we’re looking forward to it. There’s nothing better than coaching against New Zealand.”

Jones is well aware of the situation his team is facing and welcomed the underdog tag, believing it can help galvanise them while warding off relying on it for constant strong performances.

“If you look at Australia at the moment, probably no one outside our immediate squad thinks we’ve got a chance of winning, which sometimes can drive a bit more closeness within the team, a bit more purpose about what we’re doing,” he explained.

Embracing underdogs tag

“In this situation we need to (embrace it) because we are the underdogs but generally speaking, we want to be a team that can cope with any sort of tag that gets put on the team, whether it be favourites or underdogs.

“You just don’t want to be a team that fronts up when you’re underdogs.

“In this situation this week, where we’re massive underdogs. That creates an opportunity for us because we know if we can put pressure on a team that’s labelled as red hot favourites, sometimes that pressure can turn into increased pressure on them and stress within their team and that’s our aim.”

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