Australian rugby legend David Campese has shared his views on the kind of situation the Wallabies have thrown themselves into so far in this World Cup. The Australian team’s previous loss against the Flying Fijians has indeed put them in a tight spot.
With only two teams from each pool going to qualify for further rounds, the Kangaroos need to win the next one against Wales otherwise, their dream of winning the World Cup will remain a dream.
Campese’s thoughts on the previous match of the Wallabies against the Fijians
The former winger mentioned critical flaws in the Australian team while playing their previous match against Fiji. He stated that while watching the game, he noticed that Australians were scared to death. They were startled from the start, unable to execute their game plans on the pitch, and most concerning of them all was their lack of smiles.
They were not enjoying the game at all. On the other hand, the Fijians were looking great on the field; they were persistent in getting possession of the ball every minute, and that passion was always there while they were playing the game.
Now, one can say that their team was strong and had elites by the likes of Levani Botia, Waisea Nayacalevu, and Josua Tuisova running across the pitch, but at the same time, all of them were enjoying the game, being at ease even when they are at their lowest.
Indeed, coaches like Simon Raiwalui, who’s always calm under pressure, make it easier for you to take risks on the field. The people of Fiji and their management wholeheartedly support their superstars on and off the field. It was evident when they lost against Wales.
In that game, they were able to learn the fact that they needed to change their game plan against the latter, as their usual plan was pretty out of order while playing against the red dragons.
This one is expected to have a major influence on the career trajectories of a lot of Wallabies.
David said that the upcoming match against Wales will influence a lot of careers on the Aussie side, especially their head coach, Eddie Jones, as the Australian side lacks world-class talent to tackle the Welsh dragons’ elite defense.
In addition to that, the Aussie back doesn’t seem to be that reliable when it comes to kicking the ball way against Welsh’s A-1 runners by the likes of Josh Adams and Louis Rees-Zammit. Both of them have got a lot of tricks up their sleeves, but if, by some miracle, Will Skelton joins the game, then that could change the tide of the match.
With that being said, the Wallabies need to score a good amount of tries and some goals to claim a safe spot for them at the World Cup. In the end, it all comes down to the veterans and how well they could lead their team against the Welsh giants.
In the match against Fiji, Nick Frost was able to lead the Aussies well, and there are also some players on the backline who need to understand the importance of leadership and implement those strategies to ensure a solid victory against their European counterparts.
The match is scheduled to take place on September 24, 2023, at the OL Stadium in Lyon. Kickoff time is set for 12:30 AM in the local time zone, which is 8:00 PM in British Summer Time, and the official match referee is going to be Wayne Barnes.
