Australia still have a slim chance of reaching the quarter-finals if Portugal beat the favoured Fiji in the last round of group games at the Rugby World Cup.
Eddie Jones and the Wallabies have spent this week preparing for the remote possibility of making the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals after a disastrous campaign. Their chances hinge not on their own performance, but a mathematical miracle in Portugal’s upcoming game against Fiji.
Despite the long shot, the Australian squad has trained with purpose at their base in Saint-Etienne. But their destiny hangs in the balance, relying on the near-total capitulation of the Fijian side.While the Wallabies did beat both Georgia and Portugal, they lost to both Fiji and Wales in their group matches, threatening their perfect record of reaching the sudden-death rounds in each of the nine previous World Cups played.
Fiji were surprisingly disjointed in their 5-point victory against Georgia and didn’t enjoy the relentless defensive pressure from the Georgians, who tackled hard with a magnificent accuracy of 91.5 per cent. Argentina suffered a heavy loss to England in week one but have gained momentum and respect with every game since.Japan also struggled against England, but last week made a real statement by beating Samoa 28-22 in Toulouse, with a glorious display of skill, technique and a real tenacity in defence.
There is no doubt Scotland are a very good team, and will give their all against Ireland. But the Irish have momentum and are arguably the best in form team coming into week four of the tournament.
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