Wallabies flyhalf Bernard Foley has backed his Test peers to turn their form around as the June Series looms.
It’s been many of Australia’s highest-profile players who have battled most obviously in a dire Australian season, and Foley called on Australia’s international players to demand more of themselves individually.
“Form is only a temporary thing, you know,” he said.
“It’s just thinking about every weekend and how much you can get better and be a better player and I suppose just lift your own personal performance.”
Foley will have a preview of his first June foe next Sunday, with Fiji No. 10 Ben Volavola likely to lead the playmaking for Melbourne after two strong outings for the Rebels.
The pair are former teammates, with Volavola starting out at the Waratahs before joining the Crusaders and now the Rebels, and faced off against each other in the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
“Benny’s a talented footy player – I played against him in the World Cup when Australia versed Fiji,” he said.
“He’s got a lot of international experience as well as going to the Crusaders last year, he had a season there, so Ben’s someone I’m very familiar with and he’s a quality player.”
The Waratahs have their own demons to worry about before Wallabies season, sitting third in the Australian conference ahead of next Sunday’s local derby against the Rebels.
A fourth-consecutive Brumbies loss kept the Waratahs in touch but Foley said they were still searching for the elusive switch to turn chances into an 80-minute effort.
“It’s something as a squad we’ve been searching for and it’s probably something we haven’t found a solution to as yet but we are continuing to persist and persevere with finding a resolution and finding something that’s going to work for this team,” he said.
“We’ve shown we’ve got so much footy in us and we can score points against any defensive side, but it’s just being able to play for that full 80 minutes.
“It’s something we’re going to have to get better at, if we want to control our own destiny and in this next couple of games it’s something we’re going to have to learn to do.”
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Waratahs and Wallabies centre Rob Horne said they had no one to blame but themselves for the do-or-die position they’re in.
“Unfortunately you have to watch other games and that’s the position we’ve put ourselves in,” Horne said.
“If you look after your own backyard, the rest of it sorts out itself but unfortunately we’re in a position where we have to be conscious of other results.”
The Waratahs host the Rebels on Sunday afternoon, kicking off at 4:05pm AEST LIVE on FOX SPORTS and via RUGBY.com.au RADIO. Tickets on sale at waratahs.com.au.