The All Blacks identified their lineout as a weak point against the British & Irish Lions and plan a big fix against the Wallabies, lock Brodie Retallick said Friday.
The usually rock-solid set piece was disrupted by the Lions in last month's drawn series, and Retallick said the Kiwi pack was determined to find a cure in Saturday's Rugby Championship opener in Sydney.
"I think we had our worst series in terms of lineouts that we've had in a number of years, so that's obviously something that we've looked at this week," Retallick said.
"There was a little bit of communication breakdown [against the Lions].
"We just didn't know our roles, so it's been a huge focus of getting together and getting back to the standard we know we're capable of, and our timing.
"As a forward pack we've got high expectations of ourselves to get the lineout right. It's certainly an area that's highly contested these days, so we're always trying to put pressure on the opposition."
Retallick, who forms one of rugby's most feared locking partnerships with Sam Whitelock, expects a tough battle with the Australian jumpers Adam Coleman and Rory Arnold.
"We have got some pretty tall timber and some athletes there, but in saying that the Australians have come a long way," he said.
The 64-cap Retallick said he was respectful of Coleman, who has emerged as the Wallabies' lineout leader in the past 12 months.
"In the lineout, and his ball-carrying, he's very physical, he runs some great lines," he said.
"So I've got huge respect for Adam as a lock and as a forward, and I think over the last couple of seasons he's come a long way."
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While strong favourites to retain the trans-Tasman Bledisloe Cup for a 15th straight year, the All Blacks are wary of an ambush in Sydney.
The Wallabies have only won three of their past 29 Tests against New Zealand, and Australian sides performed poorly in this year's Super Rugby competition.
But All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said the Wallabies command respect.
"They've got a lot of talent and they've had a great preparation," Hansen said.
"While [Super Rugby] franchise fans weren't probably over-excited about the fact that they got knocked out early and would rather have seen them play right through to the final and have less preparation time, those two things make them a dangerous beast.
"The third thing that makes the really dangerous is their desire to try to help Australian rugby and at the moment it has a bit of a cloud over it and they haven't won the Bledisloe in a long time.
"They're pretty hungry for it so, as a team, we have to be hungrier than them."
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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TEAMS
US Team
Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth
Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger
Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler
Kevin Kisner, Patrick Reed
Matt Kuchar, Kevin Chappell
Charley Hoffman*, Phil Mickelson*
International Team
Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Day
Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen
Marc Leishman, Charl Schwartzel
Branden Grace, Si Woo Kim
Jhonattan Vegas, Adam Hadwin
Emiliano Grillo*, Anirban Lahiri*
* denotes captain's picks
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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SPECS
Toyota land Cruiser 2020 5.7L VXR
Engine: 5.7-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 362hp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh329,000 (base model 4.0L EXR Dh215,900)
'Gold'
Director:Anthony Hayes
Stars:Zaf Efron, Anthony Hayes
Rating:3/5
FIGHT CARD
Bantamweight Hamza Bougamza (MAR) v Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)
Catchweight 67kg Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR) v Fouad Mesdari (ALG)
Lighweight Abdullah Mohammed Ali (UAE) v Abdelhak Amhidra (MAR)
Catchweight 73kg Mostafa Ibrahim Radi (PAL) v Yazid Chouchane (ALG)
Middleweight Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) v Badreddine Diani (MAR)
Catchweight 78kg Rashed Dawood (UAE) v Adnan Bushashy (ALG)
Middleweight Sallaheddine Dekhissi (MAR) v Abdel Emam (EGY)
Catchweight 65kg Rachid Hazoume (MAR) v Yanis Ghemmouri (ALG)
Lighweight Mohammed Yahya (UAE) v Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 79kg Omar Hussein (PAL) v Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
Middleweight Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Laid Zerhouni (ALG)
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Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
UAE Premiership
Results
Dubai Exiles 24-28 Jebel Ali Dragons
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 43-27 Dubai Hurricanes
Final
Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons, Friday, March 29, 5pm at The Sevens, Dubai