The Wallabies need to find a way to combat "the best defensive lineout in the world" and fix their woes at the breakdown in search of their first win at Eden Park since 1986.
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Hooker Folau Fainga'a's struggles with lineout throws proved costly in the Wallabies' 16-16 draw with the All Blacks at Wellington Stadium on Sunday.
Three of Fainga'a's throws went astray in the Bledisloe Cup series opener, giving the hosts a chance to gain the ascendancy in the first half.
The visitors would soon clean up that area of the contest - but coach Dave Rennie can pick out another Achilles heel for a side desperate to end an 18-year Bledisloe Cup drought.
"The quality of our cleanout just wasn't good enough. It's an area where we need to be better next week. We gave away 14 penalties and a big chunk of those were post-tackle," Rennie said.
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"[The lineout] is a challenging area. All Blacks generally have the best defensive lineout in the world. We'll come up with a plan."
Captain Michael Hooper refused to blame the cleanout struggles on different interpretations of laws from referees on opposite sides of the Tasman with Kiwi Paul Williams in the hot seat for the series opener.
"I don't think it was too different to what we're all used to at the moment," Hooper said.
"We've got to be better around our post-tackle stuff. They got over the ball, sometimes it was just us coming in from the side and giving away the penalty, which I think was fair.
"We've got to be a bit sharper there, and a bit quicker."
Caden Helmers
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
