IT MIGHT BE going a bit too far to credit Australia with another great rugby innovation for this, but it’s certainly further proof that they’re not afraid to think their way around the hurdles presented to them.
Michael Cheika’s side are in the tournament’s clear Pool of Death alongside England, Wales and Fiji. Uruguay are the fifth team in Pool A and the only team not in the world’s top 10.
Tournament schedulers have treated the Wallabies to two Tests in four short days to start off with. Not to worry, assistant coach Stephen Larkham says they will openly mark mark out two parallel build-ups for each game.
“Once we get over (to England) it is 10 days before the first game and we are splitting into two teams basically,” Larkham told Fox Sports.
“We will have one team getting prepped for Fiji while the other team is prepping for Uruguay. One team will, for example, have a captains run on the Tuesday and the other team, that will be their Monday session. It is a tricky week once we get over there so this week in the US will be our last chance to train together until Uruguay.”
The tight turnaround and plans for wholesale change also means that Cheika hopes to use the bench sparingly in the opening two fixtures. But after they are out of the way, Australia can regroup and channel all their resources in to the clashes against England and Wales.
