Michael Cheika
New Wallaby defence coach Nathan Grey believes Australia can turn around their disastrous 2014 campaign if they get it right in the top six inches.
The Wallabies get their five-match year-end tour underway when they take on the Barbarians at Twickenham on Saturday.
While the emphasis is often on entertainment in BaaBaas games, it is when they take on Wales, France, Ireland and England in the following weeks that the heat will be turned up on a Wallaby team in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
Grey said the challenge for the Wallabies was to have a winning mentality.
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“We’re going through the process of looking to change a few things,” Grey said.
“It’s just the close games and certain scenarios that we’ll look to get a bit of polish. That will take time, but we’re not mucking around in terms of getting on board with the players and picking their brains.
“We want to play a style of football that the players are encouraged to be in and the fans love watching us play – that’s taken into consideration.
“It’s between the ears, having a positive mindset about being dominant and maintain that and then being adaptable.”
Head coach Michael Cheika and Grey combined to lead the Waratahs to the Super Rugby title, but said there would be no selection bias to Waratahs players.
“There’s no chance, at this level we extract the positives that all Australian franchises are doing. We’re a collective representation and our game will reflect that,” Grey said.
“Moving forward we have to draw on who we are as a nation and as people and that will put us in a good mindset for the next month and the next 10 years.”
Cheika wants his forwards to be physical and dominant on their five-game year-end tour, but has also detailed his vision to allow the players to back themselves from anywhere on the field.
It’s the same approach that worked for the Waratahs as they clinched their first Super Rugby title this year.
The coach is set to tinker with the Wallabies line-up to play the Barbarians, with Quade Cooper and Will Genia set to get their chance to impress.
“There’s a good view of him out in the big, wide world. But I wouldn’t say he’s that scary when you’re playing underneath him,” halfback Nick Phipps said.
“You’ve got respect for him and you never cross that line. But he’s a bloke who loves getting in there, having a chat with the players and sharing a laugh or a joke.
“In his presentation he was cracking funnies and lightening the mood among the boys. It’s been a stressful few months so just to make sure the players genuinely love and want to play for the Wallabies. That’s what we’re committed to.”
Phipps has established himself as the first-choice halfback, but Genia and Nic White are trying to oust him.
“We want to have that mentality [to have a go], often the right thing to do is to kick it out but we want the mentality that we can have a go,” Phipps said.
“We do want to throw the ball around and have an expansive game, but with the cool, calm heads to know when to do the right thing.”
The Wallabies will play the Barbarians on Sunday morning Australian time less than two weeks after Cheika started in his Test job.