LONDON :Australia have relished matches in which they were considered underdogs, looking to prove the pundits wrong, said captain Harry Wilson on the eve of Saturday’s clash with England.
The Wallabies begin a tough set of November tests at Twickenham, followed by matches against Italy, Ireland and France, and after a series of mixed results are not fancied for success against England.
But they have shown the ability to pull off surprise results, like their shock 38-22 win in Johannesburg over South Africa at the start of this year’s Rugby Championship.
“I don’t think there’s been many games since I’ve been as captain where we have been the favourites,” Wilson told a press conference on Friday.
“We’re always the outsiders, and not many people back us, and as a group we enjoy that.
“For us, we’re so internally focused on improving, we believe in ourselves, believe in each other and want to go out there and do the job.”
Last year Australia beat England 42-37 at Twickenham after going into the test having lost five of six matches in the 2024 Rugby Championship.
“Last year’s game was a big turning point for us as a group, which really made us believe that on our day, we can beat anybody in the world, and been really trying to build on that, and keep improving as a squad,” said Wilson.
Ahead of the latest clash in the long sporting rivalry between the two countries, England coach Steve Borthwick said his side were at a disadvantage after only four training sessions together since the Six Nations concluded in March.
“Yeah I guess so,” said Wilson. “If they want to put that out there, if it’s an excuse for them, but yes, we’ve had a lot of footy in a row.
“It’s been an awesome year, which we’ve loved, and obviously the continuity’s there, because we’ve been playing a lot, and if we can use that as an advantage, we’ll take it.”
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
