Rugby World Cup: Aussie fans delighted as Wallabies enter final

“It was a good shift by those boys”, said Australia coach Michael Cheika.

The Wallabies have won just one of their last 12 Tests against the All Blacks, with two drawn.

It’s a team game, but the All Blacks have one man to thank for edging out South Africa 20-18 to earn a place in the World Cup final.

The Pumas’ experience in playing against the southern hemisphere powers in the Rugby Championship served them well all throughout the tournament, but apparently, it was not enough to topple the Australians’ bid to reach the final round of the Rugby World Cup.

“We’ve only beaten them once out of the last 10 – something like that”. Wallabies winger Adam Ashley-Cooper went on to score the first of a hat-trick of tries from the next phase of play to put his team into an early 14-3 lead.

Wallabies great John Eales insisted Australia held a decisive edge over the All Blacks at the breakdown with their outstanding back row of David Pocock, Michael Hooper and Scott Fardy.

“They’re obviously the world’s No. 1 and they’re there for a reason”, he said.

Roared on by a passionate support that included football World Cup victor Diego Maradona, Argentina had chances in the second half as they took control up front and utilised their explosive runners.

With the Australian dollar at a six-year low, the requirement to purchase match tickets as part of travel packages and the uncertainty of booking far in advance, following the Wallabies to England has been a costly and at times stressful exercise.

The Wallabies have made the most of a scheduling quirk to overcome their Twickenham hoodoo and claim a “home-ground” advantage from the All Blacks ahead of Saturday’s historic Rugby World Cup final.

“But it’s a World Cup final and the adrenaline’s going to be pumping and anyone who’s a little bit sore will forget all about soreness next week”.

Having missed the 35-34 win over Scotland due to injury, Pocock returned to the starting XV for the semi-final with Argentina on Sunday.

“The final will be a better contest for Australia’s presence”, Chris Rattue wrote in the New Zealand Herald. “Just walking around the streets, older couples who’ve come over, spent their money for a holiday and have come and enjoyed the games, come up and let you know about it”. We’ll try to get the right balance.

Guscott observed a New Zealand side which reduced penalties conceded in the second half, played a pragmatic territory game in the wet, and punished South African mistakes.

“When we’ve got this team with this combination on, I think we are and we’ve proven that in a number of games”. “They give us the right advice so that we can go out there and do our job as well as we can as players”. Australia’s scrum started to hold its own and the backs began to play more expansively, in line with Australia’s natural instincts.