White on Wallabies

Jake White spoke about the Wallabies, Tri Nations and winning the World Cup.

“The one thing I have highlighted already is the composure that Australia showed in coming back into the first Wales test after they gave them a 17 point start. The fact that they had to wait until the hooter to win it is irrelevant, it’s the way they stayed composed that was really outstanding.”

“They have not named their team yet, but I would be surprised if we did not face a backline that included George Gregan at scrumhalf, Stephen Larkham at flyhalf, Matt Giteau and Stirling Mortlock in the midfield. That is a lot of experience, a lot of stability, and it is going to be interesting to see what they can do once they return to this first choice combination.

“One thing is for sure is that we will face a much bigger challenge than we have so far this season. The northern hemisphere teams were badly weakened. The Wallabies also played Fiji and we played Samoa. Whatever has happened in the last few weeks, and before that, is irrelevant now that we are going into a new competition.

“Last year was a tough one because of the many injuries we had. This year it has been easier to get the squad together because 85 to 90% of those who are available are also fit. I am eager to see what is going to happen on Saturday.

“A number of Reds players who were unavailable for the Super 14 are now turning out for the Wallabies. It will be interesting to see how they perform when the Australians select their best team. We expect them to start with George Gregan, Stephen Larkham, Lote Tuqiri, Mat Giteau, Stirling Mortlock, Mark Gerrard and Julien Huxley in the backline.

“Obviously if we win it I would say it is hugely significant, but in reality winning the Tri-Nations does not mean that you win the World Cup. We have seen that in previous years.

“I think it’s much more difficult to win the Tri-Nations than it is to win the World Cup where you play against a couple of lower tier teams you can experiment against. In the Tri-Nations all the games are tough, the margin of error is small, and if you get it wrong you lose and that places pressure on you.

“But it doesn’t mean that if you don’t do well in the Tri-Nations that it’s the end of your World Cup campaign, in the same way that if you win the Tri-Nations doesn’t mean you’re automatically going to win the World Cup.”