Sunday 4 October 2015 14:15, UK
Adam Ashley-Cooper says that Australia have their sights set on greatness after dumping England out of the World Cup and emphatically underlining their title credentials.
The Wallabies return to Twickenham next Saturday for a Pool A decider against Wales. The winners are likely to secure a last-eight game against Scotland or Japan, while the losers face a probable appointment with South Africa.
"In every game we play we build on that self-belief. There is a lot of it in the team, but we haven't won anything yet," Wallabies wing Ashley-Cooper said.
"It is very much just doing your own role moment by moment, knowing what your role is and winning those individual battles.
"We are gaining a lot of confidence with the wins, but we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. We have got a big Test match against Wales coming up, and then a quarter-final after that.
"We all want to be world champions and it is a matter of improving each day. It was a special win [against England], but as soon as Monday comes we will be preparing for Wales.
"I watched them against England and they are a physical team. They have got an ability to play from everywhere on the park - similar to how we like to play.
"They play an expansive game off good ball from the forwards and I am expecting both teams to throw the ball around and really use the combinations both teams have in their back-lines."
Wales have lost their 10 Tests against Australia - seven of those defeats were by six points or less - which suggests the Wallabies have a clear edge going into next Saturday's encounter.
Ashley-Cooper added: "We have had a good run against Wales, but anything can happen. A lot of results in this tournament have proved that. From my World Cup experience, finishing top of your pool is very important.
"We knew the atmosphere was going to be massive [against England] - probably the biggest we have ever experienced. It was very loud in the warm-up and it was very hard to communicate.
"The key to playing England at Twickenham is starting really well and not allowing the crowd to get into it."
Fly-half Bernard Foley amassed 28 points, including two tries, while centre Matt Giteau administered the final blow by touching down during the closing minutes as England were crushed 33-13.
And such was the quality of Australia's performance that their odds will undoubtedly shorten with regards to them being crowned world champions.
"We knew their [England's] backs were against the wall and we needed to match their physicality and that desperation," Ashley-Cooper said.
"The key to the game was starting well and we certainly did that. We got a lot of momentum and we closed out a very good win.
"We have been saying all year about being consistent. At the moment we are a good team, but we want to be a great team."
