Jones believes Wallabies can do it
August 11, 2002

The Wallabies face a massive task in order to win a record third straight Tri-Nations title, but coach Eddie Jones believes it is possible.

Following New Zealand's 30-23 win over South Africa in Durban on Saturday night, the Wallabies must beat the Springboks by at least 25 points, and score at least four tries to grab a bonus point, if they are to overhaul the All Blacks on the Tri-Nations table.

Speaking to reporters before the Australian team left for South Africa on Sunday, Jones said he is confident his players have the ability to get the job done next Saturday at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.

"The first thing for us, we've got to concentrate on playing well," Jones said. "If we play well then we'll win the game and if we play well enough we'll win it by the number of points. We were ahead 24-3 against them after 25 minutes in the first game so it's not beyond us."

Unfortunately for the Wallabies skipper George Gregan believes South Africa is now in its best form of the competition, but vice-captain Matt Burke, the hero of the Bledisloe Cup win a week ago, says the players need to concentrate first on winning the game.

"We've got to forget the scoreboard," Burke said. "If you think too much about the scoreboard it won't happen, you've just got to go out and play good football to start with and let the score look after itself."

Meanwhile Jones has also called for a worldwide review of security at rugby matches following the ground invasion in Durban that led to Irish referee David McHugh suffering a dislocated shoulder when he was tackled by an imbecilic spectator.

The incident involving Pieter van Zyl, who claimed: "referees around the world think they are bigger than the game and they're not, fans like me is what rugby is about," followed another last weekend when two streakers invaded during the Bledisloe Cup.

"How a guy gets to run on the field and gets to a scrum without been pulled off is beyond comprehension and we'd like to see those sort of things addressed," Jones said.

"It is a growing concern that we're getting this unruly behaviour at rugby games and what we've got to do is legislate against it. We certainly need to have a look at policy on ground security."

Gregan, who was tackled in a similar incident during a Super 12 match while he was playing for the ACT Brumbies in Rotorua in May, said security badly needed to be improved ahead of next year's World Cup in Australia.

"You shouldn't be concerned about your safety when you're actually on the field," he said. "It's an issue that needs to be addressed and they need to nip it in the bud very quickly, there's a very important event here next year and you don't want player safety to be one of the major issues."

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