Wallabies believe rewards not far away

While a loss to winless Argentina would spell disaster for the Wallabies, they are trying not to get caught up in results commentary, says Stephen Larkham.

The Wallabies

The Wallabies keep training hard searching for a win in the Rugby Championship against Argentina. (AAP)

The Wallabies are trying not to get caught up in results talk ahead of their clash with Argentina despite staring down the barrel of their worst-ever start to the annual Rugby Championship.

Wallabies assistant coach Stephen Larkham said the team was focused on their preparation for Saturday's match in Canberra rather than the outcome, which he felt contributed to their last two results when they surrendered match-winning leads.

"The performance on the field will reflect the preparation and we've been focused on that and we haven't spoken about outcomes," Larkham said following their final training session on Friday.

"In the last couple of games we've had an opportunity to win them and didn't and maybe some guys were thinking about outcomes in the final few minutes of the game so we want to make sure that thought process isn't in the players' minds at all."

While the Pumas are also winless, the Australians were forced to settle for a draw with South Africa last weekend which followed two losses to New Zealand.

In 2013 they opened with three losses but snapped that with a win in their fourth match, against the Pumas in Perth that year.

Larkham felt the team had made progress but conceded the public might not be satisfied if that didn't equate to wins.

"We're conscious of public perception of us as well and we have to make sure we are getting results. But the best way to get that is not to think about the outcome but more the preparation and we won't shy away from that.

"When we do get the victory there's two things to be proud of - one that we got it and two how we played to get it."

Skipper Michael Hooper said he felt the team was close to the mark and that they needed to regain that winning feeling after such a lean year for Australia's Super Rugby sides.

"It has been a tough year for players but this has been a fun environment and guys have been ripping in at training," Hooper said.

"The stuff we've been doing in training has been huge and we've put out some performances which are very close to the mark.

"It's just that ability to close out the game and apply pressure and when we are 10 points ahead; keep the foot on the throat; have that belief; and we'll be having those results."


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Source: AAP



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