Moore: 'Enjoyment helped us win'
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:49
Wallaby hooker Stephen Moore revealed that Australia's first Test win on SA soil in eight years was made possible by a perfect balance between enjoyment and hard work.
The Aussie front row forward spoke about the Wallabies historic 27-15 win over the Boks in Durban last Saturday, and reflected on how his own Super 14 and Test efforts had been fruitless experiences - until now.
"It's not something I'm that happy about, but it's good to break it," Moore said of six seasons without a win on South African soil with the Reds and Australia.
"It only really dawned on me at the end of the Test. That's why I had goosebumps for the last few minutes of the game, when we realised that we had won it. It was a special feeling."
Moore said that the Aussie squad purposely avoided the fact that they have been unsuccessful in the Republic since a 19-18 win in Durban back in 2000, a tactic that served the squad well in hindsight.
"That's something we avoided talking about this time, and I think it worked," Moore told rugbyheaven.com.au.
"We didn't mention once about how difficult it is to play here. Every other time I've come over here we've said how hard it is, and that not many teams win here.
"But this time we just focused on our own preparation. Now we are already discussing winning two in a row here. We'll move straight on to that task this week."
Another major difference in approach from the Wallabies was the way they kept themselves busy in between training sessions and Test matches.
The players got the green light from coach Robbie Deans to enjoy themselves on their time off, within limits of course, and it paid dividends, according to the hooker.
"We've had a good balance between rugby and the guys getting away from it on their days off.
"Robbie [Deans] mentioned in the change rooms how happy he was that the boys used their downtime to enjoy the place.
A lot of teams who come here look upon it as a chore rather than an experience. We haven't. That's been a big turnaround for us."
