Wallabies still need to improve, warns Connolly

John Connolly

BRISBANE - Australian coach John Connolly has told his players not to get carried away with their 49-0 Tri-Nations win over South Africa, warning them they still have a long way to go before they can expect to beat New Zealand.

The Wallabies, still smarting from the criticism over last weekend's 32-12 loss to New Zealand, rebounded with an emphatic six-try demolition of the South Africans at Brisbane's Lang Park on Saturday night.

Connolly said his team had played markedly better than a week ago and the result had given them renewed confidence ahead of their next match against the All Blacks on July 29, but they needed to improve even further if they wanted to win.

The Wallabies backs, led by fly half Stephen Larkham, showed again why they are regarded as one of the best attacking units in the world with inside centre Matt Giteau crossing twice and full-back Chris Latham once, but their performances could not mask some other glaring problems.

The Australians squandered several try-scoring opportunities through sloppy handling and problems at the breakdown, while the scrum, which crumbled so badly against New Zealand, was again suspect.

The Wallabies pack spent most of the first half backpedalling before finally gaining parity only when the big South African forwards began to tire.

However, once the Australian forwards had overcome their deficiencies prop Greg Holmes, hooker Jeremy Paul and replacement lock Mark Chisholm all crossed the line to score tries.

"This win has definitely given us a lot of confidence but we're also aware we have to tighten up a lot of things in our game," Connolly said.

"All those things the All Blacks will kill you for."

Wallabies captain George Gregan also acknowledged the improved performance of Australia's forwards but agreed with Connolly they would have to raise their game against New Zealand, who are unrivalled as the world's top-ranked team.

"They took on the challenge, rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in," Gregan said.

"I think it's a step in the right direction but we don't want to get too carried away. It's important that the team sort of looks in the areas they want to improve on.

"The next contest will be here in two weeks' time against a totally different opposition, but there will be some confidence in the group."

Australia must beat New Zealand to have any chance of regaining the Bledisloe Cup after the All Blacks triumphed 32-12 in the first game of the three-match series in Christchurch earlier this month.

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Meanwhile, the second Bledisloe Cup rugby match between the Wallabies and the All Blacks in Brisbane later this month is officially a sellout, news agency AAP is reporting.

The last 1500 tickets for the July 29 showdown at Suncorp Stadium were snapped up in less than an hour this morning, AAP said.

With a capacity of 52,500 at the ground, the match has a very good chance of setting a new crowd record at Suncorp Stadium.

The current record for a test match is 52,492, which was set in 2004 when the Wallabies played England in the rematch of the 2003 World Cup Final.

- RADIO AUSTRALIA, REUTERS