Australia put faith in mind games to rattle NZ

In Iraq they called it psy-ops. In Sydney the Aussies are launching the same kind of brain-bashing to beef up their own prospects of victory in the World Rugby Club.

In this case, after losing the Tri-Nations and the Bledisloe to the All Blacks, the biggest target is New Zealand.

Last week it was former Cup-winning Wallabies captain Nick Farr-Jones bashing away at All Black morale by tipping victory for England, but not ruling out the Wallabies while predicting the Blacks would collapse under pressure like a wet paper bag.

This week former Wallabies coach and talkback heavy-hitter Alan Jones joined the psyche-out squad, also saying the All Blacks would not have the mental stamina to snatch victory.

"I don't believe New Zealand are mentally ready to win this World Cup," he said.

"They have very good players, but I think they have been bruised with failure and whether they have been able to purge themselves of that I don't know."

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