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0 The Wallabies may not have won any of their five Tests this year, but there’s a quiet air of confidence from pundits on the periphery that winning the Rugby World Cup is possible.
That winless streak has Australia long odds to win it. Nevertheless, All Blacks legend Sonny Bill Williams is optimistic.
“They (the Wallabies) can win the World Cup,” Williams told the Sydney Morning Herald, who won the 2011 and 2015 tournaments.
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“They’re so close. People forget how good this Australian team is. All you have to do is look at the history. Australia is the third-ranked team in the history of rugby. They’ve won two World Cups.
“The picture that is painted is doom and gloom. If you understand rugby, it’s not doom and gloom. This is one of the greatest rugby nations on earth. The rugby public and the Australian public should get behind this team because it’s not far off.”
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The Wallabies are the ‘almost team’ going into this year’s Rugby World Cup. Their 2022 campaign was littered with narrow losses.
They almost beat France and Ireland last year but were also beaten by Italy for the first time.
They almost beat Michael Cheika’s Pumas this year and then they almost toppled Ian Foster’s All Blacks.
For ex-Wallabies player Morgan Turinui, who will be part of Stan Sport’s on-the-ground commentary team, he sees some value in Williams’ comments.
However, that did come with a cheeky jab along the way.
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“Sonny, he knows where his bread is buttered. He wants to be part of the Nine/Stan family for a long time to come, so that’s pretty smart from Sonny,” joked Turinui.
“Sonny is on the right track, a lot of us have seen the content has been good. The Wallabies’ first 20 minutes against South Africa way back in Pretoria, most of the match in Dunedin against the All Blacks, and even parts of the game against France last week.
“Not forgetting France take on New Zealand in the opening match of the World Cup, tomorrow night, French time, to start it off, two teams favoured to win it. The Wallabies were good in patches against France. They just couldn’t convert their good play into points and scoreboard pressure.
“So we’ve seen the green shoots there. Georgia are a different proposition. They’ll be tough up front, but after an hour the Wallabies should be able to gain ascendency.
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“Remembering, it’s hot here right now. At six o’clock kick-off time on Saturday it’ll be north of 30 degrees, which, hopefully, will suit a Wallabies team that has been in Arnhem Land preparing.”
The Wallabies will face Georgia on Sunday with coverage live and ad-free from 1.15am (AEST) on Stan Sport or free-to-air on Nine.
