McKenzie has endured a difficult start to his reign at the top of the Australian game since taking over from Robbie Deans in the summer, with the Wallabies losing heavily to the All Blacks (twice) and South Africa, before narrowly beating Argentina in Perth last week.
Next up is a trip to Cape Town for the second leg of their battle with Wales’ first autumn opponents, the Springboks, a week on Saturday, before they end their Rugby Championship campaign against Wales’ second November foes, the Pumas, in Rosario on October 5.
And with a third Bledisloe Cup encounter with New Zealand preceding Tests against England, Italy and Ireland in November, McKenzie is confident the Wallabies will be in good shape by the time they arrive in Cardiff.
“There is a good vibe in the group at the moment with some emerging confidence and experience,” said McKenzie.
“We’ll go over to South Africa and Argentina with a strong mindset, the right attitude and with a really good chance to finish positively in the competition. I don’t think anyone is going to back us to win these next two games, but there is a terrific opportunity to continue to improve and surprise a few people.
“You can get bogged down in how people want to describe things: I want to see progress. I’ve definitely seen progress in parts of our game. There are parts we need to do better at, there’s no question about that.”
McKenzie should have skipper James Horwill available once again after a hamstring problem, while there is also a recall for veteran front rower Benn Robinson. The Waratahs prop featured in all three Tests against the British & Irish Lions in June and July but was left out of the first four games of McKenzie’s reign.
Full back Jesse Mogg will play no part in the remainder of the tournament and won’t be involved in Wales either, though, after he was forced to undergo shoulder surgery that will see him sidelined for six months.
Wing Nick Cummins is another outside back who won’t travel to South Africa or Argentina, but he should be fit in time for a second involvement in Cardiff as his hand injury is only expected to rule him out of action for around a month.
Openside flanker Liam Gill is the shock omission from the latest Wallaby party, with McKenzie sighting his relatively small stature as the reason for his absence ahead of what he expects will be two hugely physical encounters on the road.
“South Africa and Argentina are always brutal games, so you need to give an edge to physicality in your selections,” said McKenzie.
“You need to fight fire with fire to some extent and it’s pretty clear that we’ve brought in added size as well as more experience for these next two games.
”The way the game has been panning out, the second-row cover has been important. We’ve basically had a stock standard five-three bench (split between forwards and backs) and with that you’ve got to make a decision on the back row. We’ve definitely favoured a second No7 against the All Blacks but against the raw, plain back rowers – the lightest back rower for the Springboks is 110kg and they play a really physical, direct brand of rugby – you don’t really get the value out of it.”
Utility back James O’Connor has been stood down from the squad for the next two games after being escorted from Perth Airport while allegedly intoxicated on Sunday morning. O’Connor, who started all three Lions Tests at fly-half but has since switched back to wing, has been replaced in the party by Waratahs wideman Peter Bentham. No date has yet been set for O’Connor’s possible return.
“We won’t be forced into making any decisions around his return until I’m satisfied that he can once again contribute positively to what we are trying to achieve as a group,” added McKenzie.
“The reality is that representing your country is the ultimate honour but also a week-to-week proposition.To be selected, players must consistently do the right things on and off the field. We’ll continue to assess James on that basis before any team decisions are made about a return.”
Qantas Wallabies squad to travel to South Africa and Argentina
Forwards: Ben Alexander, Sekope Kepu, Benn Robinson, James Slipper, Saia Fainga’a, Stephen Moore, Albert Anae, Kane Douglas, James Horwill (capt), Rob Simmons, Sitaleki Timani, Dave Dennis, Scott Fardy, Michael Hooper, Ben McCalman, Ben Mowen
Backs: Will Genia, Nic White, Quade Cooper, Bernard Foley, Matt Toomua, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Tevita Kuridrani, Christian Leali’ifano, Chris Feauai-Sautia, Peter Bentham, Joe Tomane, Israel Folau
Tickets to see Wales in action against Australia, as well as South Africa, Argentina and Tonga, at the Millennium Stadium in the 2013 Dove Men Series are available now online at www.wru.co.uk/tickets with prices from £25, £10 concession.
Wales’ Dove Men Series 2013 Fixtures
Wales v South Africa
Saturday, 9 November, Kick-Off 5.30pm – £70 / £60 / £40 / £25
Wales v Argentina
Saturday, 16 November, Kick-Off 2.30pm – £40 / £30 / £10 concession (U16) /£70 Family ticket 2 adults + 2 concession
Wales v Tonga
Friday, 22 November, Kick-Off 7.30pm – £25 / £10 concession/ £60 Family ticket 2 adult + 2 concession/ Minis/Juniors/Schools offer, with every 8 concessions purchased 2 adult tickets free
Wales v Australia
Saturday, 30 November, Kick-Off 5.00pm – £70 / £60 / £40 / £25
