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‘Really strong’: Youthful Wallabies hold promise for future

Fraser McReight and Tom Hooper of Australia look on as they walk out of the tunnel prior to the Rugby World Cup France 2023 match between Australia and Georgia at Stade de France on September 09, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Coach Eddie Jones surprised practically everyone when the Wallabies revealed their 33-man squad for the Rugby World Cup in France. There was no room for former captain Michael Hooper and veteran Quade Cooper as coach Jones picked a young team packed with plenty of promise.

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Will Skelton was named the newest captain of the Australian rugby team on August 10, with the towering lock picked to lead an inexperienced side that included just one flyhalf.

Out of the 33 players selected in the coveted squad, only eight had played a Rugby World Cup before. There were a number of players who’d donned Wallaby gold on less than 10 occasions, too.

Defence

153
Tackles Made
132
29
Tackles Missed
18
84%
Tackle Completion %
88%

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Coach Jones picked the squad with an eye on a golden tomorrow, but their World Cup campaign couldn’t have gone much further off script.

The Wallabies beat Georgia in their tournament opener before losing to Fiji and Wales, leaving their campaign in tatters. They need Portugal to pull off a rugby miracle in Toulouse on Sunday to avoid a first-ever pool stage exit at the sports showpiece event.

But assistant coach Dan Palmer is confident that the “core of this group” can help the Wallabies improve ahead of a Rugby World Cup on Australian soil in four years’ time.

“They are thinking ahead. It’s a young group and if we can keep the core of this group together they can be a really strong Wallabies team,” Palmer told reporters on Monday.

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“We’re all disappointed with how the first few weeks here have gone, but I’m sure they’ll be looking forward in terms of trying to put some better performances on the field.

“But they are still focused on the task at hand. We are not entirely out of this competition yet.”

With coach Eddie Jones at the helm, the Wallabies’ form throughout 2023 has been nothing short of disastrous. If the Wallabies fail to make the quarterfinals, they’ll finish the year with just two wins from nine starts.

But if Portugal beats Fiji by eight points or more in the tournament’s final pool game this weekend, then the Wallabies will live to fight another day.

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The Wallabies are on a bye week now and are enjoying three days off as of Monday, with some players even travelling up to Lyon. But by the time Sunday evening rolls around, there’ll be plenty of interest, intrigue and anticipation from Australian fans and the rugby world as a whole.

“The disappointment is we haven’t controlled our own destiny. In a pool stage, you want to control your own destiny and we haven’t done that. As I’ve said, I take full responsibility for that,” coach Eddie Jones said after the 34-14 win over Portugal.

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“What am I pleased with? When I look at the squad and I look at the number of players that have improved individually then I am really pleased. A lot of these players have really bright futures, as this team does.

“If we keep sticking at it, keep working hard, keep focusing on what’s important then we will be a good team and won’t have this sombreness that’s around Australian rugby at the moment.”

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Nigel 552 days ago

It was always Jones's plan to use RWC 2023 as a building block for RWC 2027. Domestic rugby in Australia has been under the pump for a while because they just don't have the numbers to field 5 competitive SR teams, Rugby Union ranks 3rd in terms of popularity and participation when it comes to oval ball games (Aussie Rules and Rugby League are the big games there). If Rugby Australia can get their ducks in a row in the next 6 to 12 months Australia could well be a serious contender on home soil.

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JW 3 hours ago
'I feel for the players': Jamie Joseph's reflection on falling short again

Some great leadership quality from Big Jim, he facilitated for large parts then put the responsibility on himself at the end drive the team forward in the last desperate minutes. He also filled in for Withy extremely well, adding real strength to the maul.


The Force have been playing very well this year indeed, and their stars did make a couple of key players, the main factor though is definitely what I reported in the previous article “

Gotta say I’m really enjoying the Highlanders desperation in the last 10 minutes of games, maybe it’s just because theyre having to throw the kitchen sink at it again. Another massive effort to hold the opposition out just like in the Blues game. I’m sure the coach’s will be wanting a little more composure though as the play seems to far more hap hazard (really just the type of footy I like watching) than the picture they bring at the beggining of games.

Again though they don’t have the refs to thank for anything, being down a man twenty more minutes than they should have been. Most importantly they were without one of they best attackers (not counting Tangitau’s early change) for the final push, with Nareki’s bin.

Again, I can see where this team is trying to go, I hope they can get their this year as they certainly have the game to be a top four team if they click. They are munch of misfits when you look at it objectively though, they probably have the worst cohesion score of any SRP team. A few more wins, maybe a come from behind upset may be the best theey can hope to acheive this year.

“. Like Jim I thought the defence stood up strongly for large parts, but they may just have some structural issues, where it’s just not paying off. They had Lawaqa on the wing all day, allowed the Force to make a dozen linebreaks, why? Both there attack and defence look a bit too fancy for me, why? Common Joseph, the youngest team with the least cohesion/most new guys, it look overly complicated.


I hope it clicks. Manson in particular looked to be trying far too hard when he came on, what’s been said in his ear? Stick to you lane son and don’t make any mistakes, don’t lose the game for your team. Should be a comfortable win next week against Drua if they keep there heads up and come back stronger. Lasaqa might be best to come off the bench, would keep Jim at 12 but I’d like Tele’a to come back to the side, though TUJ hasn’t been bad and style might suit Drua more. Hopefully Renton or someone with some size is at 8 or 6, Lasaqa appears to be more an 8 actually, similar to Sititi and I wouldn’t mind if he was groomed behind him and Sotutu. Lennox I thought could make a good halfback but isn’t ready, I’d hope Arscott, Fakatava, or Pledger could return to the side. Other than Drua theyve got Cheifs twice, though the home game is the last of the round/season so potentially a gimme if the Chiefs repeat previous years tactics. The Crusaders and Moana at home are also very doable. Those four wins could see them crash into the top 6 still.

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