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Wallabies coach Dave Rennie has spoken out against the “unacceptable” limited preparation time his team will have for their Bledisloe Cup test against the All Blacks in New Zealand.
New Zealand Rugby is in the process of scheduling its dates for the two Bledisloe Cup events, to be held in New Zealand prior to Australia hosting the Rugby Championship.
According to the Sydney morning herald, internal sources have said that New Zealand Rugby wants the first test against the Wallabies to take place on 10 October.
However, Rugby Australia prefers the Test to be delayed for a week until October 17, given the strict quarantine restrictions the Wallabies will be subject to once they make landfall in New Zealand.
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If NZR has its way, it would mean that Wallaby’s squad would have to depart for New Zealand on September 20, just one day after the AU Super Rugby final between the Reds and Brumbies, who together contribute 24 members of their squad of 44 men. .
The team would have to spend the first four days in New Zealand isolated in their rooms and could only train together as a full group seven days before the first test.
Meanwhile, the All Blacks could reunite and train together long before then, which Rennie believes would give them an unfair advantage.
“New Zealand Rugby is looking forward to getting us on a plane one day after the Super Rugby final, having two weeks in quarantine where we cannot prepare as a team and playing a test seven days later,” Rennie said.
Under those quarantine arrangements, I can assure you that we will not be playing a test that weekend.
‘Trying to create a culture, spending time on team building, getting our structures and clarity around all the details of our team, is hugely important. But they can’t do that as a group for the first two weeks.
‘We will have some young people introduce themselves to some of our other Wallabies for two weeks at the camp, so it is unacceptable. We will not play a test in those kinds of conditions.
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Photo: Mark Metcalfe / Getty Images
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