Competition from within the Australian ranks rather than from the opposition is behind Kurtley Beale's evolution as a Wallabies enforcer.
Always a gifted attacker known for his footwork and creativity, Beale has added defensive hard-nut to his list of talents.
His crunching hit on Ireland halfback Conor Murray early in their Test win over Ireland in Brisbane to open the series sent a message to his teammates and rivals about his mindset.
And Beale says the Six Nations champions can expect more of the same from the Wallabies in the second Test at Melbourne's AAMI Park on Saturday night.
"There's a lot of talent in the number 12 jersey at the moment and they're the guys who keep pushing me every day and it's creating healthy competition," Beale told AAP.
"Playing in 12 requires a lot of defence up front and it's been a work-on throughout my career but it's great I'm able to transfer that work into game situations."
Beale said the Wallabies approached the series with the plan to beat the physical Irish at their own game.
"That's one of their main strengths - to physically dominate you in the set piece and in their defence - and we matched that.
"We took it to them first-hand and it was great to be able to see the boys continue that through the whole 80 minutes and it helped us with the way we wanted to play."
Ireland's key playmaker Johnny Sexton started the Brisbane Test on the bench but will be calling the shots in Melbourne with the series on the line.
Beale said his partnership with Murray would make the world No.2 side a different beast.
The veteran Waratah expected Ireland's tactical kicking game to be more effective with Sexton at the helm.
"He's a very influential player with a lot of experience under his belt in big pressure games like this," Beale said.
"His combination with Conor Murray is probably one of the best in the world at the moment so those two guys leading the ship for Ireland will certainly pose a lot of threats but we're very confident with the way we want to play the game and with our strategies."
The Wallabies had a lengthy session on Collingwood's training oval with a few players including lock Adam Coleman sitting out some of the drills but all were expected to be available for selection with the team named on Thursday.
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