Australia are already guaranteed their best ever Women's
Rugby World Cup finish after reaching a first ever semi final on
the back of an emphatic victory over South Africa, but the
Wallaroos have a clear message for next opponents and tournament
hosts England - we haven't finished yet.
The Wallaroos ran in nine tries against South Africa to
overhaul Canada and claim the semi final spot for the best second
placed side across the three pools, joining pool winners England,
defending champions New Zealand and France to battle it out for the
coveted title.
"We obviously had the goal of making the top four in
this World Cup," explained fly half Tobie McGann, one of a
number of players seeking a unique double after winning the
inaugural Sevens crown in Dubai last year.
"We've exceeded any other Wallaroo team before us.
We are not going to stop there, the sky's the limit really.
There's no real pressure on us from now so we are just going to
go out there and play our natural game and see what comes off.
"I think we haven't played our best football yet.
We've obviously grown, we had a hard hit out against New
Zealand and I think we took a lot out of that and then put some of
those into place against South Africa.
Australian dream
"We've learned and taken steps along the way with
every game that we've played and hoping that we step up again
and show that we rightfully deserve to be in the semi finals of the
World Cup.
"There's no way we are happy with finishing fourth.
We are obviously very glad to have made it into the semi finals and
we are going to try our hardest to make that dream [of uniting both
the 15-a-side and Sevens World Cups] come true."
McGann and her teammates are only too aware that Sevens is a
different game to Fifteens, but what the success in Dubai has done
for the Wallaroos - both those involved and those not - is to
instil a belief that anything is possible with the right work ethic
and commitment.
"It's shown us that winning the World Cup is a
realistic goal," explained second row Kate Porter.
"Sevens wasn't a sport that we had a lot of before the
Sevens programme started up a few years ago, so if we didn't
have a lot of experience there and we managed to win the World Cup.
"If Sevens can do it, the Fifteens can do it and
that's what they have brought to us.
Video - WRWC Semi Final Preview
"It's about believing in your team. It's a
common thing we've had amongst all the players. We all believe
we can be the best in the world so we still believe that and we
definitely will be working towards achieving that on
Wednesday."
The emotional footage of that March evening in Dubai last
year has become a great motivation for those who weren't there
to experience the sudden death extra time victory over New Zealand,
spurring them on to try and realise the same elation with victory
at WRWC 2010 in England.
Regular viewing
"We go through that play, we have played it a few
times," admitted Sharni Williams, whose last gasp try against
South Africa ensured Australia reached a first semi final. "We
have seen the inspiration, we have seen the joy that the girls have
had.
"We have seen the big task that is ahead of us, the
pressure is on us now because of that, but we can step up from
there and I think we can get up and try and have that inspirational
joy after the games are over.
"They are going to be tough, they are very professional,
they are very well equipped, their forwards are strong, their backs
are fast, they run their lines. It is going to be tough for us, but
when we get it together...
"We have got that big trust, that is the biggest thing
out on the field - trust. Trust in the inside players, trust in the
outside players and trust getting up. We will be good if we can get
up together and play it as a team.
"I think we will take a smarter choice of rugby against
England and it will pay off, hopefully.
"We have to play the whole 80 minutes, playing superb
pretty much ... any loose ball they are just going to jump on it
and it is going to really hurt us. We have got to contain it, play
clinical and trust in each other and everyone around us as well.
A different ball game
"The fans are there supporting us, they have flown from
all across the world, you have got people in England that are from
Australia, not knowing who to pick but I am sure it is there for
Aussie. We have just got to show England that we can get up there
just as much as they can.
"We have just got to come out of the blocks straight
from the start and really switch on and focus. Commitment, trust
and belief is the biggest thing and if you have got all that
package right into one and from the whistle, that is when it
starts."
England have ploughed considerably more money than any other
nation into their World Cup campaign, desperate to avoid a third
successive final loss - particularly on home soil, but they will
certainly not underestimate the Australians who ended their RWC
Sevens dreams last year.
Danielle Waterman, who scored two tries in England's last
pool match against USA, was a member of that Sevens squad left in
tears after losing 17-10 in the Cup quarter-finals, but hopes that
experience will turn out to be a positive for the Red Roses.
"Obviously it was a huge disappointment to lose to them
in Dubai. We learnt a lot about the way they like to play and the
individuals that were involved in that Sevens, but it's a
different World Cup, it's a different game and it'll just
be exciting to play them on Wednesday," she said.
Deserved semi finalists
"I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about
the final, but at the same time we've got a hugely difficult
semi final and we are not going to take anything for granted. We
know what the Australians can do, their physicality, their speed
and the way that they move the ball around, so we're just
looking at playing the semi final and doing well in that
hopefully."
Emily Scarratt, who came into the tournament with an
impressive record of 16 tries in 18 tests, is also looking to face
Australia for the first time in her career and knows that any
encounter between the two sides - regardless of the sport - is
always going to be fiercely competitive.
"The Aussies are always competitive no matter what it is
... as we are," said Scarratt. "We are really looking
forward to it, we haven't played them in a Fifteens game for a
long time now and hopefully we can go out there and show how we can
play and put up a good performance against them.
"Obviously they are coming off the back of a fantastic
World Cup Sevens victory, so we expect their backs to be great
handlers of the ball and play some great running rugby. We've
also seen a couple of videos of their forwards and they really
front up.
"Compared to other teams they are going to be right up
there. They are not in a semi final place for no reason whatsoever.
They've obviously put in the performances up until now and
that's something we've got to go and look at and try and
figure out where we can break them down through our game."
