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Since Quade Cooper missed selection in the 23-man Wallaby squad to meet Fiji, he only has the Uruguay game on Sunday to impress coach Michael Cheika, or be condemned to a journeyman’s role for the rest of the World Cup.
Cheika has already predicted an entirely new Wallabies starting line-up will take on Uruguay which means Cooper will definitely get a guernsey.
And he must grab the opportunity with both hands.
A big game at fly-half with a high percentage goal-kicking performance, and Cooper will heap a lot of pressure on incumbent Bernard Foley. And that can only be a bonus for the Wallabies’ Cup campaign.
The same last chance applies to Ben McCalman, Sean McMahon, Wycliff Palu, Joe Tomane, Henry Speight and Drew Mitchell, all of whom must be in the starting line-up for Uruguay.
Rarely does a World Cup minnow clash take on such interest.
The Wallabies should win by at least 40 points, but it’s how they do it and who shines that will define selections for the rest of the tournament.
The Wallabies were unlucky to be drawn in the ‘Pool of Death’ with England, Wales and Fiji. But they couldn’t have asked for a better draw with England and Wales the third and last pool games.
Nor could they have asked for England and Wales to meet at Twickenham before the Wallabies-Uruguay game. The loser at the home of rugby on Sunday morning will be behind the eight-ball to qualify for the play-offs.
With two games under his belt, Cheika will be in the perfect position to name his top side for the bigger pool games, and beyond.
Three things must happen against Uruguay, ranked 19 in the world. The Wallabies must score four-plus tries for the bonus point, there must be greater cohesion between forwards and backs, and the backs must show more penetration.
The top side went missing on all those points against Fiji, with the exception of David Pocock. It doesn’t matter which side Cheika picks for England and Wales, the Wallabies won’t beat them if they are light on with the basics.
There is absolutely no doubt the Wallabies are very capable of winning a record third World Cup. But if the basics are missing, or even below Wallabies par, the gold campaign will end well before the final.
For Uruguay, Pocock, Michael Hooper, Scott Fardy, Will Genia and Israel Folau must not be selected in the 23-man squad.
Here is the likely line-up for Uruguay, with prop James Slipper an unlikely starter after leaving the field heavily concussed against Fiji:
1. Scott Sio
2. Tatafu Polota-Nau
3. Greg Holmes
4. Will Skelton
5. Dean Mumm
6. Ben McCalman
7. Sean McMahon
8. Wycliff Palu
9. Nick Phipps
10. Quade Cooper
11. Joe Tomane
12. Matt Toomua
13 Henry Speight
14 Drew Mitchell
15 Kurtley Beale
16. Stephen Moore
17. Sekope Kepu
18. Toby Smith
19. Kane Douglas
20. Rob Simmons
21. Matt Giteau
22. Bernard Foley
23. Adam Ashley-Cooper