Now that ‘The Pool of Death’ has claimed its victims, the top two teams have been left to shoot it out this weekend in the quest for top spot. As an Aussie rugby fan this fixture has been as much on my radar as last Sunday morning’s match against England.
In fact this upcoming game has probably been haunting me more. Nightly for weeks I have been waking up with the thoughts of a Welshman named Sam and a dreaded earworm running through my brain.
However, it’s not Sam Warburton who has been disturbing my sleep. Instead it has been the other Welshman Sam – Fireman Sam, who has been extinguishing my Wallaby dreams.
My two-and-a-half-year-old son’s infatuation with Fireman Sam sees our house inundated with Welsh accents from the television whenever I haven’t seconded it to watch rugby. For those who don’t know Fireman Sam and his motley bunch of fire fighters, they always save the day from the disasters that befall the village of Pontypandy.
This Rugby World Cup has seen the Welsh team under Sam Warburton befall similar disasters as the village of Pontypandy. With the injuries that have occurred to Wales it’s almost as if Norman Price, the trouble-making child from Fireman Sam, has been allowed free rein in causing mischief to the team.
Why does the Welsh team continue to haunt my dreams? Quite frankly I see the their backrow trio of Sam Warburton, Dan Lydiate and Toby Faletau backed up by Justin Tipuric as a group that could douse their Australian equivalent ‘The Fardy Pooper’.
In the modern game the ability of sides to control the breakdown speed in attack and defence is paramount to success or failure. England on the weekend failed to make much impact against the Wallabies in this area. However, the Welsh will be a far bigger challenge in attempting to smother the Wallabies attacking fire at the breakdown.
The ability of both teams, led by their loose forwards, in creating quick ball for their outside men will go a long way in deciding the outcome of the game. In the case of the Wallabies, it’s about starting the fire of quick ball to unleash their backs and for the Wales it’s a matter of snuffing out that fire as much possible by slowing the ball down.
One consolation about Fireman Sam is he often has to call for assistance from Tom Thomas, a very ocker Aussie, in his helicopter aptly named ‘Wallaby One’. Hopefully it means that, like Tom Thomas and ‘Wallaby One’, the Aussies will fly in to fix any problem.
In order for Australia’s World Cup flame to continue to burn and not fizzle we have to ensure Fireman Sam and his crew can’t extinguish the Wallaby attack. It’s up to ‘The Fardy Pooper’ to ensure that fire continues to burn for the remainder of the World Cup.
If of course the Wallabies don’t succeed then there could a meltdown from an adult as epic as the one his son had when Fireman Sam was taken off the television this week!
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
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