WALLABIES captain Stirling Mortlock has warned that French rookie Alexis Palisson's threat to pull down Lote Tuqiri's pants could see the visitor left red-faced and holding only a fragment of Le Strides during tonight's first Test at ANZ Stadium.
The Wallabies took a keen interest in the Herald's report on Thursday in which the uncapped French winger insisted he was undaunted by his renowned opponent. That is despite Tuqiri boasting 59 more Test appearances, 28 more Test tries, being 28 kilograms heavier and shadowing the newcomer by 16 centimetres.
Palisson was quoted on a French website as saying that Tuqiri was "not always attentive around the ruck", and susceptible to kicks in behind because of his positioning. "I hope to get the chance to surprise him."
The Wallabies loved that when they read it at breakfast on Thursday morning, and immediately started ribbing Tuqiri. When Tuqiri was asked about it on Channel Nine's The Footy Show on Thursday night, he immediately bristled, explaining that he would leave his talking to when he's on the field.
But Mortlock indicated it will be the perfect motivation for Tuqiri having a "big one" in tonight's Test.
"It's got that feeling about it … Put it this way, if I was marking Lote, I would never trash-talk him the week leading up to the game," Mortlock said yesterday. "It's happened before, and the 'Shark' responds. If that happens again [against France], I'd be more than happy to see it.
"Lote has played top level in league and union, and relishes that one-on-one contest. He is a competitor, a really competitive guy. The bigger the contest tends to bring the best out of Lote. I'll be excited to see how he goes tomorrow night."
Mortlock said he never contemplated sledging Tuqiri before recent Brumbies-Waratahs matches, because he was mindful of the consequences. "I'll only trash-talk him when I'm on his team," Mortlock said.
Which is why there was great mirth when the Herald's "I'm going to pull down Tuqiri's pants, says Alexis the Gaul" headline was shown to the team before training this week.
"The breakfast when it came out … yeah, he [Tuqiri] got a heads up," Mortlock said. "He also went on The Footy Show, and got a barrage from them as well. He's copped it from left, right and centre. Now he's keeping himself fresh, and protecting that area just in case."
Then again, when confronting the French, the Wallabies have grown accustomed to protecting certain parts of their anatomy. In the past, the French have been accused of certain underhand tactics to undermine the Wallabies, which even prompted the threat of an Australian walk-off during the 1999 World Cup final.
French rugby has certainly cleaned up its act in recent years, but an air of mystery still remains around the visiting squad. As there are so many new faces, the Wallabies don't exactly know what to expect.
What they are anticipating is plenty of French fire and flash. "There's a bit of an unknown quality about them, and that suits their mentality," Mortlock said. "They are coming down here to play positive football, will try to take us out of our comfort zone and stick it to us. That's why we have to match them physically, and go at them."
And that's why the inclusion of feisty Queensland second-rower James Horwill will be important should the French attempt to destabilise the home team at the bottom of rucks and mauls.
As critical for Australia is that tighthead prop Al Baxter holds up for the entire 80 minutes. Baxter, who moved into the front row for the injured Matt Dunning, is the only tighthead in the squad, as Benn Robinson and bench player Ben Alexander are looseheads.
Positive scrums will be imperative, and Baxter simply cannot afford to get injured - otherwise the Wallabies pack will be placed under enormous stress. However, Mortlock was adamant last night that, like the Shark, "the Fuse" is primed for the task.
