Win against Cardiff has Wallabies pumped - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Win against Cardiff has Wallabies pumped

By Darren Walton 26/11/2009 07:44:47 AM Comments (0)

Classy fullback Adam Ashley-Cooper says the mid-week Wallabies's historic victory over Cardiff has the Test side pumped to end their spring tour in style against Wales on Saturday.

Ashley-Cooper said it was "bloody great" to see Australia score their first win over Cardiff in 101 years, the 31-3 triumph snapping a run of six straight defeats stretching back to the Wallabies's maiden northern hemisphere tour in 1908.

"I'm really excited now. It's got me going. The boys played outstanding, really gave it to them," he said.

"That was definitely what we needed, especially coming after that Scotland loss. It's revved us up.

"The spirit and the mood in the dressing room is very contagious and I'm ready to go."

Ashley-Cooper, 25, has added reason to be excited, having never played at Millennium Stadium, one of the great venues in world rugby, despite three previous trips to Wales.

He was on the bench but never got on during Australia's thrilling 29-29 draw in 2006, injured his toe against Japan before the Wallabies's World Cup pool win in 2007 and withdrew from the side with a groin strain three days before last year's 21-18 loss.

"I really want to play footy at Millennium. It will be my first crack and I can't wait," Ashley-Cooper said.

"When that anthem goes off and the roof's closed, it just roars, just buzzes. It's fantastic."

The Wallabies are especially desperate to atone for their numbing defeat at Murrayfield, Australia's first loss to Scotland in 27 years.

Ashley-Cooper said coach Robbie Deans's sobering dressing-room debrief in Edinburgh really stirred the emotions.

"He said we own that part of history and that really sunk in, it hit home, and we've got an opportunity to finish the tour off and make amends and really go home on a positive note," he said.

"So that's very important to me and very important to everyone else. It's our last game of the year, our last game of the tour, and why wouldn't we get up for this."

And while there's no chance of the grand slam, Ashley-Cooper still believes it will have been a successful tour if they can knock off Wales at home for only the second time in five meetings since 2004.

"A win against Wales at Millennium Stadium is always special, very, very special," he said.

"They've had a really good run. They had a great win against Argentina last week and a solid win against Samoa. They're on fire and we are going to have to be on our game to get up against these blokes.

"They're playing some good footy, and they always do; it's always a great contest against Australia here.

"You look at the last couple of games here, they've been cracking games of footy, especially last year, even though we lost, it was a cracking game of footy."

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