Posted February 12, 2019 15:53:55In the 2015 Derby, one of the biggest sporting events in Australia, it was a story of an all-Australian team with the best chance of winning a medal.
But in this year’s race, there was little chance of the Kangaroos’ No.1 prospect, Brendon Bolton, having a great time in the spotlight, as he finished second to No.2 Michael McLeod and No.3 David Carney.
The Kangaroose made their mark on the world stage in 2016, winning the Rio Olympics.
They made a good impression at the World Cup, defeating South Africa 2-0 and qualifying for the semi-finals against the hosts.
But it was the Kangaroo team that got off to a rocky start, falling to eventual finalists England in the first round.
“The players were just a little bit too comfortable,” Kangarooses coach Justin Leppitsch said of the England squad.
“They played a lot of their best footy against us, so they had a lot to prove.”
Kangarooses fans were also left disappointed by their squad.
They had hoped to be among the favourites to make the World Series of the Rugby Championship, where they finished fourth in the Australian league last season, but were disappointed to lose to the eventual winners, the All Blacks in the quarter-finals.
The last two Kangarooserys have failed to win a medal, and Leppich said it was “too early to judge” whether that will be the case this year.
“We’ve got a good squad.
We’ve got some good players in there, but we haven’t really done enough to win it,” he said.”
It’s a big game to win, and we’ve got to do it now.”
You can’t just put a big target on your head and then go and do it, and if you’re not going to do that, then what do you do?
“Injuries to key players, including centre Matt Scott and fullback Josh Papalii, were the biggest knocks on the Kangos’ squad.
Scott missed most of last year’s season after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery.
He returned for the Kangooos’ preliminary final against Australia, but has struggled since.”
Matt is a great guy.
I’ve always been a fan of him, and I think we can be better with him,” Leppch said.
Papalii missed most the 2016 season with a knee injury, but returned to form for the first time in 2018 and scored a try against the All Black side in the semi finals.
He’s now a key member of the starting XV, but Leppoch has said he wants to see Papalīs back at full strength this season.”
He’s had a really good game against the Kangostas, and he is starting to get his head around the game.””
He’s done a good job with the ball and getting his touches.
He’s had a really good game against the Kangostas, and he is starting to get his head around the game.”
I think he’ll be a good fit for us.
“The Kangos have plenty of firepower up front, with prop Ben Hunt, lock Aaron Woods, flyhalf Brett Stewart and wing Jesse Bromwich among the leading pack.”
It’ll be down to the guys who are playing the hardest. “
But I think it will be very close.
It’ll be down to the guys who are playing the hardest.
They know how good they are, they know what they’re capable of, and they’ve just got to play their game and put it in.””
They’re going to be very confident.
They know how good they are, they know what they’re capable of, and they’ve just got to play their game and put it in.”
Australia’s only previous World Series win came in 2009, when they won the final in Australia over South Africa.
The Kangas had their best-ever season last year, finishing with a record of 50-2-0.
The Rugby Championship kicks off on March 10 at the Adelaide Oval.