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Read this paragraph from Fairfax Media, and blink in disbelief.
“Cheika has declared it will be full steam ahead for his team for the rest of the tournament, revealing he won’t rest players in the last pool match against Wales on the weekend despite being guaranteed a quarter-final spot.”
What?
That’s either the dumbest quote Wallaby coach Michael Cheika will ever make, or the worst reporting of all time.
Beating Wales is all-consuming, a must if the Wallabies are to win a record third World Cup. Losing is not an option.
The Wallabies and Wales are locked on 13 points apiece in Pool A, with the winner to enjoy a far easier run in the finals series. But there are four other games that will heavily affect the quarters and beyond.
In Pool B, the Springboks lead on 11 points, from Scotland on 10, and Japan’s 8.
The Boks play the USA, Scotland goes in against Samoa, while Japan has the USA to play as well, just four days after the Boks.
In Pool C, the All Blacks lead on 14 points with Tonga to play, while the Pumas on 10 have to meet Namibia. So nothing will change.
In Pool D, Ireland and France are locked on 14 points and meet in the final round.
The finals series draw is pre-set:
QF1 – winner of B v runner up of A
QF2 – winner of C v runner up of D.
QF3 – winner of D v runner up of C.
QF4 – winner of A v runner up of B.
SF1 – winner of QF1 v winner of QF2.
SF2 – winner of QF3 v winner of QF4.
So when the full-strength Wallabies beat Wales, the match-ups will look like this:
QF1 – Springboks v Wales.
QF2 – All Blacks v Ireland or France.
QF3 – Ireland or France v Pumas.
QF4 – Wallabies v Scotland or Japan.
SF1 – Springboks v All Blacks.
SF2 – Wallabies v Ireland or France.
But if the Wallabies lose to Wales early next Sunday morning, it’s a vastly different story:
QF1 – Springboks v Wallabies.
SF1 – All Blacks v Wallabies.
The alternatives losing to Wales are far worse than being in the ‘Pool of Death’.