The Wallabies cemented third place in the latest International Rugby Board (IRB) world rankings with their gritty 20-14 win over England at Twickenham.
Robbie Deans men are in the box seat to secure a spot in the keenly-fought top four for the 2015 Rugby World Cup draw in London on December 3.
The Wallabies take on world No.11 Italy in Florence on Saturday (Sunday AEDT) when they expect another tough Test match, particularly in the forwards.
The Italians are coming off a 42-10 loss to the All Blacks in Rome but only trailed the world champions 13-7 at halftime.
“I thought they played extremely well against the All Blacks and they scrummaged really well,” Wallabies loose head prop Benn Robinson told AAP.
“We know they’ll definitely be targeting us in the scrum and we’ll be up for it. We’re looking to build on what we did against England last week.”
The top four in the world will be the seeded teams in the draw in each group for the tournament to be hosted by England.
Every pool will also be allocated one team from the second tier (teams five to eight) and one from the third (teams nine to 12).
Australia (85.94 pts) remain third but slightly increased their buffer over fourth-placed France (84.99) in the rankings released by the IRB on Monday.
France also improved with a 37-22 win over world No.6 Argentina (79.89) on Saturday night and increased their lead over fifth-placed England (81.96).
France’s great form, which included a 33-6 win over Australia, has spelled trouble for England, who are in danger of missing out on the top group.
The host nation’s hopes of a preferable seeding at the 2015 World Cup were almost completely destroyed by the loss to Australia.
Stuart Lancaster’s side must beat No.2 ranked South Africa or top seed New Zealand in the coming weeks to make a late charge.
A loss for the French against ninth-ranked Samoa (78.79) at Stade de France on Saturday in their final outing of the year would also open the door for England.
Samoa scored a 26-19 upset win over Wales in Cardiff last Friday to jump one place in the rankings while their hosts’ slumped to eighth.
The Samoans are just 0.16 points from a place in the second band of seeds.
Proud rugby nation Wales lost their past five Tests and could drop out of the second tier after falling from sixth to eighth.
A drop to the third tier for Wales would see them playing two higher-ranked teams in their pool with only two sides progressing.
Another upset for the Samoans could see them jump up the rankings and condemn Wales or seventh-ranked Ireland (79.04) to a band three spot.
Scotland’s 21-10 defeat by the Springboks dropped them to 10th place.
soapit`
Guest
yep, worked for france.
Bokke spyker naas
Guest
I would like if we face Australia in the quarters, and return the favour.
Neuen
Roar Rookie
I would face NZ in a group game rather than the knock out stages
jeznez
Roar Guru
I'll be cheering for Samoa this weekend as well - would love them to get into the next rung up!
Rusty
Roar Guru
Come on Samoa! a) they are better than most give them credit and b) Im really tired of the Boks always meeting them in the pool stages!
Comrade Bear
Roar Rookie
I thought the ARU wanted to charge towards No2 spot because the Kiwis are just too good? If only we were No2 all would be rosy.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
In any case, it was worth fighting for a top four seeding last w-e against the poms. Dunno if it was in the back of their mind but I for one feel relieved to avoid the other big three. Provided Manu Samoa loose in France next w-e, they will be out of the top 8 and again the team to avoid in the pool stages. In my mind, they aren't inferior to any of the teams ranked 5 to 8 at the moment. Here you go, we already know one member of the pool of death!!!!
formeropenside
Guest
well, we seem to adopted the Waratahs plan across the board, haven't we?
soapit`
Guest
our charge to our target of no. 1 is clearly unstoppable (even if it is taking a little longer than expected)
Justin2
Guest
Good stuff, we have moved from 4th to 3rd in 5 years and are playing scintillating rugby. We are on the up!
Harry
Guest
Rejoice! We are 3rd best team in the world this week, having copped a towelling from team 4 the week before ...