‘We didn’t want to show too much’: Wallabies were foxing against France, says Tupou
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Paris: The Wallabies’ game plan for the upcoming World Cup remains a mystery after prop Taniela Tupou revealed Eddie Jones had instructed players to roll out an entirely different strategy in their warm-up match against France.
It comes as Jones confirmed star centre Samu Kerevi was likely to be fit for Australia’s opening match against Georgia on September 9.
The Wallabies have a two-week break following their 41-17 defeat to France in Paris, which saw their losing streak extend to five matches this year.
Although Jones stressed afterwards that victory had been very much the aim against France, Tupou said players and coaches have been working on a different plan of attack behind closed doors.
“We didn’t want to show too much before the World Cup,” Tupou said. “We came into this game against France with a different game plan, just for this game. We only had a week to look at it. At training, we’ve been working on our game plan for the World Cup. It’ll be interesting coming out against Georgia with a different game plan.
Wallabies prop Taniela Tupou.Credit: Getty
“I guess we didn’t want to show too much before the World Cup started. Training was hard this week but then again, for us to be able to play the game plan that he wants us to play … we need to be fit.”
Tupou said despite the loss to France, there were some positives for the Australian coach.
“He was proud of our effort,” Tupou said. “At the end there we could have let the game go, but we fought back and that’s something we can keep working on and be better at. There were some silly mistakes that let us down.
“We’re a pretty tight group. Not winning games is hard, but I feel like we’re all helping each other and there are good vibes. What can we do? It’s done now. We’ve got tough games coming up [against] Georgia, Fiji and Wales.”
Zero wins this year is far from an ideal preparation for the game’s centrepiece event, but Tupou is adamant the Wallabies will embrace their status as underdogs.
Australia’s Tate McDermott runs the ball against France. Credit: AP
“We’re definitely the underdog,” Tupou said. “Coming into the World Cup, we’ve had five losses. We like it. We’re going to keep working hard. We won’t say much. We’ll let our actions do the talking.”
Meanwhile, the Wallabies appear to have come through the France fixture without any major injuries.
Jones is confident Kerevi, who injured his hand in the second Bledisloe Test in Dunedin, will have recovered in time for the Georgia match.
Teenager Max Jorgensen, who is yet to make his Wallabies debut, is edging close to full fitness after a long-term knee injury.
“Kerevi should be right for the first game,” Jones said. “He did a full session yesterday [Saturday], so we expect him to be right.
“Jorgensen is coming along really well. He just looks younger every time I see him. I’m a bit worried about his age, whether he’s 13 or 18, because I don’t think we can play 13-year-olds.”
Jones said he didn’t expect there to be any late changes to Australia’s 33-man World Cup squad, which needs to be submitted on Monday, French time.
“I wouldn’t think so at this stage,” Jones said. “We’ve been going through a tough training period as the boys know, so everyone’s right on the edge at the moment. We’ll have one more week of hard training in Saint-Etienne and then we’ll ease off a bit for the Georgia game.”
Watch all the action from Rugby World Cup 2023 on the Home of Rugby, Stan Sport. Every match ad-free, live and on demand in 4K UHD from September 9.
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