MERCURIAL AUSSIE OUT-HALF Quade Cooper insists that losing to Ireland might be the best thing that has happened to the Wallabies at this year’s World Cup.
Ahead of Saturday’s final pool game against Russia, Cooper tried to spin the shock 15-6 defeat in Eden Park as a positive, saying that it has stamped out every last trace of complacency in the Australian camp.
“The best thing we got out of it was that you have to prepare properly for each game – that’s how serious the World Cup is,” Cooper told reporters.
It does help the mood of the team in that you don’t get complacent and you realise there might have been areas in our game that we’d brushed over.
And although the prevailing mood in the Australian media before the Ireland game was one of confidence, the Kiwi-born star was adamant that the players had not underestimated Declan Kidney’s men.
“The Irish showed us that you can’t take any game lightly – not that we took them lightly – and you have to give respect to all the teams.”
Australia go into Saturday’s game in Nelson knowing that a bonus-point win will ramp up the pressure on Ireland ahead of their game against Italy on Sunday morning.
Should the Wallabies claim all five points as expected, Ireland know that at the very least they will need to pick up two losing bonus points in Dunedin if they are to progress as group winners and secure a seeded spot in the quarter-final draw.
For the record, a draw or a loss with two bonus points would also be sufficient to win the group.
Thanks Barry, have changed that last sentence now to make it a bit clearer.