Hooper promises more beauty, less beast from Wallabies

SYDNEY (Reuters) - The Wallabies played an attractive game of running rugby to beat France in Brisbane, then won ugly in the second test in Melbourne, but captain Michael Hooper knows which way he would prefer for the third and final test in Sydney on Saturday.





"We want to be playing attacking rugby - three o'clock, sunny weather is perfect for us," the 22-year-old flanker told reporters on Friday. "Watching your backs run in tries, it's a really happy day for myself and the team.

"Going back to the first game, it was really nice, really positive to see seven tries being scored.

"To go to the next week and not see a single try scored, we've won two ways and we enjoyed winning the way we did in the first game.

"So we'll be looking to run it and looking to impose our game on the French again and that game is scoring tries."

Australia came in for criticism at home after failing to score a try in the dour 6-0 win at Melbourne's Docklands stadium, but lost in the debate was a sound defence that kept Les Bleus scoreless for one of the few times in their history.

Although the possibility of a seventh straight win looms, which would equal the Wallabies' best run since 1999, scrumhalf Nic White suggested Australia would need to be on their game to prevent France from breaking their 24-year winning drought on Australian soil.

"They've got all the ingredients. When it all clicks together, they're a very dangerous side and that's the type of side we're preparing for this weekend, that's for sure," White said.

"They're as physical as the Africans and at times as skilful as the Kiwis so, when they're on, they've got all the ingredients to show why they're at the business end of a World Cup."





(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)


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