We’ve had France vs. New Zealand. We’ve had South Africa vs. Ireland. Test matches don’t come much bigger than either of those two. But Rugby World Cup games also don’t come with much more at stake than this one, between Wales and Australia in Lyon.
Australia’s 22-15 loss to Fiji last weekend threw Pool C wide open. Defeat here could all but end their hopes of qualifying for the knockout phase for Australia. That would be unwelcome news after Rugby Australia’s CEO Phil Waugh said reaching the semi-finals would be ‘a pass’.
Ben Donaldson switches from full-back to fly-half for the Wallabies, with Carter Gordon dropping to the bench and Andrew Kellaway starting at 15. Other changes see Tate McDermott return at scrum-half while Robert Leota starts at blindside flanker, with Tom Hooper switching to openside. Hooker David Porecki captains in the absence of the injured Will Skelton.
Australia winger Mark Nawaqanitawase are confident that they can beat the Weldh defence: "Obviously they did quite well in that game (against Fiji). For us, we've just got to take confidence in what we can do. I know for myself, I am really keen to have a crack at these guys. As much as they are good at defence, there will be some cracks in the game, after we move them around a bit. As a team, we can look for those opportunities and I am sure we will take them."
Wales, meanwhile, have 10 points out of a possible 10 – and win here would ensure a place in the last eight with one pool phase round to go. But it’s far from a given.
Head coach Warren Gatland has recalled 12 players from the opening match against Fiji after they were rested against Portugal. Only Taulupe Faletau, Louis Rees-Zammit and captain Jac Morgan hold on to their starting slots, while Adam Beard will earn his 50th Welsh cap, and 51st altogether.
Wales defence coach Mike Forshaw said they are not resting on their laurels after their record-setting efforts in defence against Fiji: "There's always something to do. I never get too carried away about defending [success]. This is a massive challenge. As Josh alluded to, they've got some super backs, they've got young legs. We are not sure what game they'll come [with] whether they'll go to the air or whether they'll be going to a multi-phase game, so our all-court defensive game has got to be right on.
"Make no mistake about it, we are expecting a really tough, tough evening tomorrow in that area. Our basics have to be spot on, how we chase kicks, how we get off the floor, how we're half a metre behind the gainline onside, things that we can control. We have to be the best in the areas tomorrow."
Teams:
Wales: 1 Gareth Thomas, 2 Ryan Elias, 3 Tomas Francis, 4 Will Rowlands, 5 Adam Beard, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Jac Morgan (c), 8 Taulupe Faletau, 9 Gareth Davies, 10 Dan Biggar, 11 Josh Adams, 12 Nick Tompkins, 13 George North, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 15 Liam Williams. Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Dafydd Jenkins, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Gareth Anscombe, 23 Rio Dyer.
Australia: 1 Angus Bell, 2 David Porecki (c), 3 James Slipper, 4 Nick Frost, 5 Richard Arnold, 6 Robert Leota, 7 Tom Hooper, 8 Rob Valetini, 9 Tate McDermott, 10 Ben Donaldson, 11 Marika Koroibete, 12 Samu Kerevi, 13 Jordan Petaia, 14 Mark Nawaqanitawase, 15 Andrew Kellaway. Replacements: 16 Matt Faessler, 17 Blake Schoupp, 18 Pone Fa’amausili, 19 Matt Philip, 20 Fraser McReight, 21 Nic White, 22 Carter Gordon, 23 Suli Vunivalu.