Australia v Wales: Five talking points ahead of their Rugby World Cup clash
Last Updated: 10/10/15 8:14pm
Australia and Wales may have already qualified for the play-offs but there is still plenty to play for.
They will battle it out for Pool A supremacy on Saturday night with a quarter-final date with South Africa waiting for the loser, while the winner will go on to meet either Scotland or Japan.
Midfield
That is some centre partnership for Wales as George North steps off his wing to partner Jamie Roberts in the middle. North's size and experience should cause the Wallabies some trouble while Roberts will spearhead their defence.
The Wales midfield has been ravaged by injury and it is no real surprise to see him next to Roberts. North has started in the centre twice before - he scored a try in their 27-6 win over France in the 2014 Six Nations and he wore the No 13 jersey against Australia last autumn. That was heartbreaking for Wales who lost 33-28 as a Bernard Foley drop-goal and penalty denied them a famous win.
"George North will handle it really well," said injured Wales scrum-half Rhys Webb.
"Hopefully we will see him get his hands on the ball a lot more than we do when he is out on the wing and that can only be good for Wales."
Australia are not too shabby in that department themselves with the sublime Matt Giteau wearing the No 12 shirt and Tevita Kuridrani outside him. Giteau's rugby mastery with either ball in hand or with the boot is perfectly complimented by Kuridrani's power. It is going to be one heck of a battle.
Weight of expectation
Can Wales end their 10-match losing streak to Australia? What a time to do it. In the last five outings it has been close but no cigar as far as Wales have been concerned. The fact there was just a score between the sides in all those losses has given them hope but there is still concerns over whether Wales can close a game out.
Wales did beat South Africa last autumn and their win against England at Twickenham will have boosted their confidence. Tactical nous is not the only thing that will win this game; mental attitude and big-match temperament will come to the fore and it will be down to who blinks first.
"We are desperate to finish off well and win this group, and hopefully give ourselves potentially a second seed team in the quarter-finals," said Wales coach Warren Gatland.
"The last five times against Australia there has been a score in it. We've been ahead in games and not been able to finish it off.
"You learn from that, and experience comes from that and it showed in the autumn against South Africa. We closed that game down, and were brilliant in the last 15 minutes against England, coming from behind and showing maturity to close that game down."
Man with the whistle
South African referee Craig Joubert is the man tasked with keeping the teams on the straight and narrow. Joubert may have been accused of favouring New Zealand in the 2011 World Cup final, but Gatland is a big fan. Joubert regards himself as a real connoisseur of the breakdown and likes to see a real contest there.
While Joubert wants the game to flow, he is a stickler at scrum time and wants the set-piece to be done properly. Getting onto the same page as Joubert as far as the breakdown and the set-piece goes will be crucial.
Breakdown
David Pocock and Michael Hooper did a real job on England last time out. Australia may have lost Hooper due to his one-match ban for that clear-out on Mike Brown but Sean McMahon is a pretty useful No 7 himself.
With Dan Lydiate still out injured. Justin Tipuric comes in at openside with skipper Sam Warburton moving to Lydiate's No 6 position. This will be a keenly-fought battle with both sides looking for turnover to attack, and with both sets of back thriving on quick ball, they will also be looking to slow the opposition ball down.
Warburton is relishing the chance to get stuck into Australia and says he will do his best to keep up with Tipuric: "I'll still try to play like an openside even though I'll be wearing six, I'll still try to hover around where Justin is as he's an effective low tackler, too."
Scrum
If Wales want to be serious contenders than they have to sort out their scrum. Gatland has made a bold statement by dropping Gethin Jenkins from the matchday 23. Jenkins adds so much to Wales around the park but it is his scrummaging technique that has come under the most scrutiny and Wales are relying on Paul James to stabilise them up front.
Australia know all about the lack of platform but if the last 15 minutes against England were anything to go by then they are back with a vengeance. The Wallaby front five were superb and rubbed salt into England's wounds by dominating them at the set-piece. Wales cannot afford to let Australia do the same to them on Saturday.
Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia; 1 Scott Sio, 2 Stephen Moore (c), 3 Sekope Kepu, 4 Kane Douglas, 5 Dean Mumm, 6 Scott Fardy, 7 Sean McMahon, 8 David Pocock,
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 James Slipper, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Kurtley Beale.
Wales: 15 Gareth Anscombe, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 George North, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies; 1 Paul James, 2 Scott Baldwin, 3 Samson Lee, 4 Luke Charteris, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 6 Sam Warburton (c), 7 Justin Tipuric, 8 Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Aaron Jarvis, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Ross Moriarty, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 James Hook.