The battle-weary Wallabies have told they must approach this weekend’s pivotal 2013 finale against Six Nations champions Wales like a World Cup final.
It’s Australia’s 15th Test in a long and turbulent year, and fifth straight on their European tour, but coach Ewen McKenzie has drawn the parallel with what they can expect in two years time.
At the 2015 World Cup in England, the Wallabies will confront both the host nation and Wales in their last two matches in their “pool of death” before hopefully playing quarter-final, semi-final and final on successive weekends at Twickenham.
“You are getting towards what you need to do to play a World Cup over here, play five hard Tests in a row,” McKenzie told AAP.
“Five weeks in a row at a big venue, big games, knockout – the way it lines up for me if you were playing a final this would be it.”
For those very reasons, McKenzie is again pushing for an extended five-week spring tour of Europe next year where his team are likely to play England, Wales, France, Ireland and possibly one other Test team or a Barbarians side, as well as mid-week matches.
While other countries, like New Zealand, are calling for a shorter season for player welfare reasons, Australia is happy to go the other way to build their depth for the World Cup.
But there will be no leading players – most of whom have played 30-plus games this year – rested this week against a Welsh side desperate to end their eight-match losing streak to the Wallabies.
“You have to front up so it’s not a time to be talking about rest and recovery,” he said. “As I said to the guys, you want to breast the line; you don’t want to wind down.
“You need to go hard and that’s where this five-week campaign is at.”
“The World Cup is even longer (at seven weeks) so it’s even more of a mental challenge.”
Australia haven’t won four Tests in row on a spring tour since 1996 and a win over the Welsh would not only see this trip branded a success but also set the platform a 2014 rise and give McKenzie a break-even 6-6 record after usurping Robbie Deans.
Both camps have admitted the result at Millennium Stadium will be an important psychological advantage heading towards the showpiece 2015 tournament, especially with Wales’ last win coming way back in 2008.
Missing British and Irish Lions big guns Jamie Roberts, Jonathan Davies and Adam Jones, Wales hope to have winger Alex Cuthbert back from injury to join fellow starting Lions George North, Leigh Halfpenny, Mike Phillips, Sam Warburton, Alun Wyn Jones, Dan Lydiate, Richard Hibbard and Toby Faletau.
The Wallabies are set to reunite the midfield combination which played in the 2-1 series loss with Adam Ashley-Cooper to return from suspension at outside centre alongside goalkicker Christian Leali’ifano.
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