Wallabies looking to buck trend against Boks

Wallaby fullback Israel Folau said the team has been struggling shake off a run of losses that stretches back to last year's World Cup Final loss to the All Blacks.

In 2016 the Wallabies have already lost five matches in a row – three against England and two against New Zealand in this year’s Rugby Championship.

"The players are actually having a lot of fun inside camp," Folau told the Sydney Morning Herald. "Guys are really relaxed, I think the main thing for us is trying to freshen up upstairs, that's a big thing because it's constant. 

"Even when you're not training, you're always watching footy, thinking about the game itself. There's times there you can switch off a little bit more than usual, that will give us that extra bit of energy. That's something we can maybe change around a little."

Wallaby head coach Michael Cheika has received a lot of criticism for his team's performances of late. However, Folau feels that he and his teammates need to take more responsibility.

"Cheik [Cheika] is the type of person who'll take the full blame but we know as players, a lot of that is coming back on us as well. We've got to take a fair bit of responsibility there, take initiative and try and turn things around," he said. 

"Great coaches really know their players and are well balanced around what they need at a certain time and they're good at changing things on the run, depending on where the team's at.

"He's always trying to be positive and be upbeat around the group. That's something that if the players see, they want to try and feed off. With the current situation we're in, he can obviously fall back on that and for us as players, we can't hang our heads down and be kicking cans, that's the last thing we want to do.

"With Cheik, there's a lot he's thinking about at the moment but the playing group is also taking that on as well."

Source: Sydney Morning Herald