The Brisbane showdown sees the current Tri Nations champions take on the reigning Grand Slam champions of Europe but it’s Wales who go into the match as slight favourites, even though they haven’t won on Aussie soil since 1969.
Deans has made nine changes to the side which lost to Scotland while Wales go into the match with 11 players from the side which clinched the Grand Slam against France.
“The players have had a good week to prepare and we are in pretty good shape. There are no excuses for Saturday night,” said Jenkins.
“The feeling I get in the camp is that everyone is looking forward to it. We did pretty well at the World Cup, and very well in winning the Grand Slam, but this is the next step for any side, winning in the southern hemisphere. It is an opportunity for us, but it isn’t won on paper. We have to take our chances and limit theirs.”
“We know what Saturday holds for us – we are under no illusions as to what is coming. But we have got to back ourselves because we believe we have a pretty good side,” said Jenkins.
“We are expecting Australia to come out all guns firing, especially after their very disappointing result against Scotland on Tuesday. I’m just hoping we can match them in that way.
“It’s going to take a huge effort from us to win because they are a fantastic side. They are certainly the second best team in the world and I think they would push the All Blacks.
“We managed to win the Grand Slam, but now we want that southern hemisphere scalp to take this squad to the next level. It is a huge challenge.
“It would be nice to get off to a winning start in the series because that always puts pressure on the opposition. They are a good side that will be hurting from Tuesday.
“They will be very disappointed about Tuesday night and will want to turn up and put in a good performance. We may be in a different position than we have been for a long time, but that is irrelevant – we’ve still got to turn up and play well.
“We believe we are a very fit side and the longer we stay in the game, the better chance we will have of winning it. We just can’t afford to let them get off to a good start.”
