Lack of bonus points could kill Wallabies' World Cup campaign

Wallaby coach Michael Cheika may well regret his flippant attitude towards World Cup bonus points.

When the Wallabies failed to post a four-try bonus point against Fiji in the opening Pool round, Cheika dismissed the point loss with “this not Super Rugby, this is the World Cup, and no Cup winner has ever been beaten in the Pool rounds”.

In short, bonus points don’t count with the coach and many of his players, including captain Stephen Moore, have echoed the same sentiment.

The last part of Cheika’s post-Fiji quote is totally correct (see below), but then this is the first World Cup where bonus points have been in operation.

Overnight the free-flowing Fijians were desperately unlucky to lose 23-13 to Wales who could only score two tries to one, losing a precious bonus point, a big result for both the Wallabies and England.

The win takes the boys to the top of Pool A on 13 points, the Wallabies are on 9 and England are on 6.

The Wallabies have now reached the business end of the tournament with England and Wales to play. Tries could be at a premium but penalties are likely to dominate.

If England beat the Wallabies in the cauldron of Twickenham without a bonus point this weekend, Wales will be on 13, England 10, and the Wallabies 9.

In the final Pool round, the Wallabies are expected to beat Wales as they have in their last 10 meetings, while England should rattle up a cricket score against Uruguay with a bonus point.

If those predictions are correct England would top the Pool on 15 with the Wallabies and Wales sharing 13.

On the count back, if the Wallabies had beaten Wales in the last Pool game, the Wallabies would qualify in second place.

In short, bonus points are vital whether Michael Cheika rates them or not.

I’ve said all along the Wallabies must win Pool A to have a genuine chance of winning a record third World Cup and that translates to winning every Pool game.

If they beat both England and Wales the men in gold will play either Scotland or Samoa in the quarters, Ireland or the Pumas in the semis, and the All Blacks in the final.

If the Wallabies finish second in Pool A, it’s a vastly different story with the Boks in the quarters, All Blacks in the semis, and possibly Ireland in the final.

That draw is worse than the ‘Pool of Death’.

There’s obviously no comparison, so the Wallabies must remain undefeated and in that case Michael Cheika’s flippant attitude towards World Cup bonus points would be justified.

But if the Wallabies are on the way home after the pool games due to lack of bonus points, the coach will have some pretty heavy explaining to do.

For the record, the All Blacks won the inaugural World Cup in 1987.

In the pool rounds the All Blacks beat Italy 70-6 (12 tries to 0), Fiji 74-13 (12-1), and Pumas 46-15 (6-1). In the quarters they beat Scotland 30-3 (2-0), Wales 44-6 in the semis (8-1), and France 29-9 in the final (3-1).

The All Blacks scored 298 points to 52, with 43 tries to 4.

In 1991, the Wallabies pool wins were against the Pumas 32-19 (5-2), Western Samoa 9-3 (0-0), and Wales 38-3 (6-0). In the quarters they beat Ireland 19-18 (3-1), All Blacks 16-6 in the semis (2-0), and England 12-6 in the final (1-0).

The Wallabies scored 126-55, with 17 tries to 3.

In 1995, The Boks’ pool wins were the Wallabies 27-18 (2-2), Romania 21-8 (2-1), and Canada 20-0 (2-0). In the quarters they beat Western Samoa 42-14 (6-2), France 18-15 in the semis (1-0), and the All Blacks in the final 15-12 (0-0).

The Boks scored 144-67, with 13 tries to 5.

In 1999, the Wallabies’ pool wins were Romania 57-9 (9-0), Ireland 23-3 (2-0), and USA 55-19 (8-1). In the quarters they beat Wales 24-9 (2-0), Boks 27-21 in the semis (0-0), and France in the final 35-12 (2-0).

The Wallabies scored 221-73, with 23 tries to 1.

In 2003, England’s pool wins were against Georgia 84-6 (12-0), Boks 25-6 (1-0), Samoa 35-22 (4-1) and Uruguay 111-13 (17-0). In the quarters they beat Wales 28-17 (1-1), France 24-7 in the semis (0-1), and the Wallabies in the extra time final 20-17 (1-1).

England scored 327-85, with 36 tries to 4.

In 2007, The Boks’ pool wins were over Samoa 59-7 (8-1), England 36-0 (3-0), Tonga 30-25 (4-1), and USA 64-15 (9-1). In the quarters they beat Fiji 37-20 (5-2), they beat Pumas 37-13 in the semis (4-1), and England in the final 15-6 (0-0).

The Boks scored 278-86, with 33 tries to 6.

And in 2011, the All Blacks’ Pool wins were against Tonga 41-10 (6-1), Japan 83-7 (13-1), France 37-17 (5-2), and Canada 79-15 (12-2). In the quarters they beat the Pumas 33-10 (2-1), the Wallabies 20-6 in the semis (1-0) and France 8-7 in the final (1-1).

The All Blacks scored 301-72, with 40 tries to 8.