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'Can I speak frank?': SBW's grim Wallabies warning as O'Connor puts hand up for Bledisloe Cup return

Sam Worthington
Sam Worthington

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Sonny Bill Williams has issued a grim warning for the Wallabies, who can expect to feel the full wrath of the All Blacks in next week's Bledisloe Cup opener at Eden Park.

New Zealand is reeling from a record loss to the Springboks while Australia have their Rugby Championship destiny in their own hands as they lead the competition by a point with two rounds to play.

All Blacks coach Scott Robertson is under enormous pressure to retain the Bledisloe and emotion will be sky-high come kick-off on September 27 in Auckland.

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"Can I speak frank?" two-time Rugby World Cup winner Williams asked on Stan Sport's Between Two Posts.

"I feel like this is danger signs for the Wallabies. I've been in (All Blacks) camp where we've lost the game and it's like a morgue. It's like a national (funeral), someone's died, and I feel that pressure is going to come out. Where are we playing? Eden Park.

"So I see danger signs for the Wallabies. If the Wallabies have the confidence to play a bit, back themselves, it could be interesting. I feel that we're primed for a really big occasion at Eden Park."

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Coach Scott Robertson of New Zealand.

Coach Scott Robertson of New Zealand. Getty

The Wallabies have not beaten the All Blacks at Eden Park since 1986, the year of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and the referendum which granted Australia full legal independence from the United Kingdom.

Morgan Turinui, the former Wallabies star with an All Blacks fan as his father, believed Robertson could be out of a job if Harry Wilson was lifting the giant trophy in Perth on October.

"Lose the Bledisloe, maybe, but not yet, no. He shouldn't be (sacked) but that's the nature of that coaching job, isn't it? There's so much emotion that goes into that position," Turinui said.

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James O'Connor is hoping to return for the Bledisloe Cup.

James O'Connor is hoping to return for the Bledisloe Cup. Instagram

Meanwhile, Wallabies veteran James O'Connor remains hopeful of featuring in the two Test series despite flying to England to meet his new Leicester Tigers teammates.

"This is not goodbye.. It's see you soon.. hopefully.. Bledisloe," O'Connor wrote on Instagram with a fingers crossed emoji.

The Wallabies will name a revised squad late this week to travel to New Zealand.

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Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt hopes playmakers Tom Lynagh and Ben Donaldson will be fit and available after Tane Edmed had a torrid first start against Argentina on Saturday.

"We're trying to balance that short-term focus with a long-term vision around where we can get this team to in two years' time with where we can get them in two weeks' time when we play in Eden Park," Schmidt said.

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"He (O'Connor) was great value again today, wasn't he? We don't have any experience at 10. We've got three very inexperienced 10s, and they are part of that hub of your team," Schmidt said.

"But how do you get experience?

"That's part of the short-term focus/long-term vision, and we try to balance it by having maybe some inexperience, but having some experience to bring off the bench and to help players during the week.

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"Just to see the right moment to maybe knock a kick or make a pass or set a particular play up. So that's a discussion point."

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