“Believe in Gold” is not the International Gold Council’s motto, but the ARU’s Rugby World Cup tag line. And it’s time to do just that.
It’s an interesting catch phrase for the Wallabies to adopt after four lean years since the last World Cup. There’s a hint of an admission that there have been reasons to doubt, yet it’s a call to keep the faith with a tantalising promise of reward.
Faith without doubt is merely fanaticism, thus we faithful are not disloyal when we ask ourselves, just for reassurance: We will beat England, won’t we? Indeed we should. No, we will, at 11 pm tomorrow AEST, but it won’t be easy.
If you want something to worry about, some doubt to enhance the tension, remember that for all the improvement in the Wallaby pack, England still has the better scrum, a very good rolling maul, plus a better goal kicker with an unfortunate field goal habit. They also know exactly where the Wallabies will be attacking – through the centres. And then there’s our biggest shortcoming, the one that can’t be overcome by various tactics: our extreme lack of depth, especially in the backs.
We will win because our starting XV is a better overall unit and we have greater self-belief and a God-given right to beat the Poms. But should any member of that run-on seven get injured, the Wallabies are in real trouble.
We have just two backs on the bench and one of them is Julian Huxley whose form has been, to put it kindly, poor. The other is Drew Mitchell, this World Cup’s leading try scorer, but one with weaknesses a wily opposition would exploit. That’s why he’s been rated behind the stolid Ashley-Cooper and Lote Tuqiri, who’s only scored three tries all year.
Campo is characteristically blunt in telling the Terror it’s time Lote justified his massive pay cheque. “If you’re a striker in soccer you don’t last too long if you’re not scoring goals,” Campese said. “It’s the same with a rugby winger.”
There were a couple of encouraging flashes of “the Dark Shark” in the pool match against Fiji, but Australia needs him at his best for 80 minutes tomorrow night.
And then we’ll get to worry even more next weekend when Australia plays New Zealand. While we might hope for the French to do something special against the All Blacks at 5am Sunday, the Kiwi poise and talent must prevail.
Fiji played and won its big one last weekend to make the quarter final and expects to go no further. South Africa will confirm that expectation on Sunday night, leaving Argentina to remove Scotland, the last northern hemisphere team, on Monday morning.
You wouldn’t want to miss any of it. Believe in gold.
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