Australia head coach Eddie Jones called on his players to show their resilience and emerge victorious from Sunday’s crucial Group C game against Wales in Lyon.
Australian sides have won two of the nine rugby union World Cups but the team faces elimination should they lose for a second time in the pool stages following their defeat to Fiji last Sunday in Saint-Etienne.
“We were always going to get this kind of game at some stage,” said Jones ahead of the clash at the Groupama Stadium.
“It’s come a little bit earlier than we thought it would, so we’ve got an opportunity to show whether we can fight and get the result we need to get. I’m confident we can.”
Australia were expected to be heading into the match against Wales for a tussle over top spot in the pool.
Shock
Instead they have had to digest the shock of Fiji’s success and their own shortcomings.
“I’ve been impressed how the young team has bounced back,” added Jones.
“Last week was a difficult game for us and we’ve bounced back really well so we’ll go out there and give it a red-hot go.”
Wales boss Warren Gatland said he expected Australia to be direct.
“They’re always tough,” he added. “In recent games between Australia and Wales there has never been much in it. They’re not going to lie down and roll over for us. It’s going to be pretty close and I think it’s going to come down to the wire.”
Progress
“There’s been lots of stuff to work on in the performances but as far as results are concerned we couldn’t have asked for more,” said Wales forward Will Rowlands.
Read more on RFI English
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