Wallabies 'learning as we go'

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CROUCH, TOUCH, PAUSE: Wallaby hooker Stephen Moore packs down at scrum training.

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Australian hooker Stephen Moore says the young Wallabies are closing the gap on the All Blacks with every passing test.

Moore freely admitted yesterday that the All Blacks' greater experience gave them an edge over the current Australian squad.

However, he said the Wallabies' historic 41-39 win over South Africa last weekend – their first win at altitude in 47 years – had been a "major hurdle" in the team's development.

"I think experience could play a part," Moore said when quizzed on the All Blacks' dominance of their trans-Tasman rivals.

"We have a pretty young group of guys and they are all learning. But that was another massive hurdle to overcome on Saturday.

"We are all learning as we go. You would say the All Blacks are more experienced at this stage, but it's something we are striving for and I'm confident we can get there.

"It all came together for us last Saturday, especially in that first half. We've made a lot of gains in certain areas, but we still have a long way to go to get to where the All Blacks are.

"They've been pretty consistent in the way they play.

"We've shown in patches we can play some pretty good rugby and you saw that on the weekend, but if we are going to beat them we have to do that for the whole 80 minutes."

Australia suffered a blow yesterday when wing Drew Mitchell was ruled out with a hamstring strain.

But wing James O'Connor said Mitchell's absence was offset by the confidence the backs would gain from the presence of first-five Quade Cooper, who will play the All Blacks for the first time.

"You saw on the weekend Quade and Gits [Matt Giteau] are proving to be a pretty good combination. He's [Cooper] setting up the outsides with those long passes."

Asked if he thought Cooper would handle the pressure of playing the All Blacks, O'Connor said: "I think Quade relishes that. The more pressure you put on him the more tricky passes he can get away.

"When you rush him he has that footwork and acceleration to get around them, so he probably encourages that sort of tactic."

The Australian team will be named today with Peter Hynes or Lachie Turner likely to take Mitchell's place on the wing.

- © Fairfax NZ News