Wallaroos captain Michaela Leonard believes a “brutally honest” review has her side primed to bounce back against Wales in Newport.
The Australian skipper didn’t shy away from last week’s 36-10 loss to Ireland, telling media the disappointment had sparked a “huge shift” in on and off-field performance.
“There was some brutal honesty (in our review). There was no shying away from individual accountability or where we needed to be better as a team,” Leonard told reporters on Thursday.
“If we’re going to turn around and be better, we need to be honest with each other. It was probably a little bit hard to hear at some points but exactly what we needed in the moment.
“So we’ve seen a huge shift in standards on and off the field. A massive focus has been on our connection and our speed moving forward with the ball and shoring up some of those areas defensively around the ruck.
“When you review last week’s game, you can see the opportunities were there and we really let ourselves down.”
Leonard’s words will be music to the ears of Australian fans desperate to see their side extend its six-game unbeaten streak against the Welsh dragon.
Wales have been a familiar foe since 2022 with the Wallaroos edging out a 13-7 World Cup victory before last year’s 25-19 thriller at WXV1.
“They’re always close games, always really physical and gritty games, those ones where emotions start to flare a little bit,” Leonard said.
“We know it’s going to be tough and we know we have to execute. For us, the focus will be starting the way we want to play and keeping the intensity whilst maintaining our composure throughout.”
