Allan Alaalatoa wants Australia to focus away from external noise

Wallabies prop Allan Alaalatoa has urged his side to not focus on the external noise as they line up to face New Zealand in the Bledisloe Cup opener on Saturday.

Despite starting the July Tests with victories under Joe Schmidt, the Wallabies endured a tough Rugby Championship tournament where they lost three out of the four matches in the competition.

The defeat also includes a record 67-27 defeat to Argentina in the previous round as they are now languishing at the bottom of the table.

The performance of the Wallabies also drew criticism with a number of former players urging the British and Irish Lions to cancel their tour of Australia next year and instead plan for a series against the Springboks.

“Everyone’s going to have their opinion,” said Alaalatoa reacting to the criticism.

“There’s always going to be that external noise, and for us as leaders and as a group, we’ve got to focus internally on what’s important to us.

“We understand that those distractions are going to be there.

"People are going to say what they think of us, but again, what’s important for us is believing in ourselves, and executing our plan throughout the week to then go out there and perform, and then change the external noise that’s happening.

“The most important message for us is to deliver what we say we’re going to deliver.”

Australia will be facing New Zealand in the final two rounds of the competition at Accor Stadium and Sky Stadium on 21st and 28th September respectively.