Wallabies can win:Eales

[Burgs]

Wallabies can win:Eales

Sportal

Wallabies World Cup-winning captain John Eales has thrown his support behind the Australian team, saying they can win the World Cup despite an indifferent European tour.

Ten months out from the tournament New Zealand is the odds-on favourite to the win the 2007 World Cup. But Eales believes current form has little to do with winning a major tournament at the end of next year.

"Even though the All Blacks are far and away the best team in the world, the World Cup is not about being the best - it's about being the best at the tournament," Eales said on news24.com.

"Australia has shown they can play tournaments well and, if you reach the quarter-finals, which Australia will, you then have to win three weeks in a row and you win the World Cup."

Wallabies coach John Connolly is also confident Australia has what it takes to win the World Cup but believes it will take a special performance from any team if it is to upset New Zealand next October.

"I think you've got to be good at everything, don't you," Connolly said on when questioned about what it will take to stop the Kiwis.

"We played them three times during the year. The first time we played them, we coughed up four tries on the back of our mistakes. The next two games, we were an inch or two of getting away with them.

"So there's confidence in this team that we're good enough, we're close enough.

"But we have to do everything right. I've spoken time and again about playing a tight game to beat the All Blacks.

While the Australians managed to get near the All Blacks in all three of their meetings this year and at one point led in every match, the all-conquering Kiwis now hold the impressive statistic of 33 Test wins from 37 starts since their devastating World Cup loss to the Wallabies in 2003.

"You can make mistakes against some teams and get away with it. Against them, you'll be standing under the sticks," said Connolly.

"But we got close twice this season."

[frontrow]

Is close enough good enough though??? I think we need a lot of work yet

[Burgs]

I think what they are both trying to say is that while there is still much to do we aren't as far off the pace as some of the doomsayers would have us believe in the media.
I rewatched the Auckland Bledisloe a few days ago and I would have to agree with Eales to an extent, the All Blacks are undoubtably the best nation going around however you can only play twenty two men and on any given day on neutral territory our best twenty two can beat their best twenty two.
Whether it happens or not is another matter but I think we will be very competitive by France so long as our best say twenty five stay fit/uninjured and the experiments stop.

[frontrow]

I agree with you burgs, although we really need to cut down on mistakes if we are to perform well against them, and also the Sth Africans have benefitted from our error ridden plays(except for 49-0 match).
I truly believe we are good enough, it just means we have to perform at our peak...I also agree with your assessment and see our 22 as equal to, or better than the kiwis, on any given day, given no injuries, and stop with the experiments now...

[pruc]

agreed. no experiments. knuckles has tryed them. now time to polish of his combinations. from now untill france we should have the same 22 playing barring injuries to give us a real chance of doing well in france