One of the duels in this third World Cup date is between Australia and Wales Lyons. The Wallabies will be looking for a necessary win to avoid losing ground against Fiji, who dropped the ball in the last meeting between the two. While the Europeans will look to consolidate their lead in Group C, you can enjoy the game on ESPN Scrum on Star+ from 3:40 p.m. on Sunday.
HOW DO YOU GET THERE: Great game in Lyon in a Group C that was left wide open after Fiji’s historic win over Australia. The Islanders’ victory (22-15) in Saint-Ettiene put Eddie Jones’ Wallabies in an unprecedented situation in the history of Australian rugby. If they fail to beat Wales they risk being eliminated from the World Cup for the first time in a group stage. A process that did not start well, the coach’s decisions heavily questioned by the Australian press and few positive results mark Australia’s presence at this World Cup. Wales was also not well received in France. Warren Gatlland took the lead only to go down a path that didn’t go well. The Welsh did not perform exceptionally well in the 6 Nations, losing heavily to the Springboks in the warm-up games in Cardiff. In the cup they beat Fiji fairly, 32-26 (they could have lost on the last ball) and against Portugal they didn’t shine and ended up getting the bonus, 28-8.
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR: They play an early final. Fiji’s performance so far has rightly been the best of the group. Wales come with an ideal result but without a great game. The defense and leadership that Dan Biggar provides as coach will be key to a good result. The effectiveness of the opening is one of the highlights the Dragons can rely on to qualify. Australia is living through a present of great uncertainty, without the usual leaders of recent times who were left out of the World Cup and without a coach to make decisions about youth and replacements, changes that so far have clearly failed to produce results. There is a crucial clash against Wales that could decide the fate of Group D.
BACKGROUND IN HISTORY: It is one of the most historic duels of the World Cup. It will be the eighth of ten editions, only in South Africa 1995 and Australia 2003 did they not meet. In total they played 44 times, with 30 wins for the Wallabies, 13 for the Red Dragons and one draw. After the World Cup in Japan, where Wales beat Australia 29-25 in the group stage, they played twice again and in both cases the result was offset by minimal differences: in 2021 the Welsh won 29-28 and last year the Australians won, In the end the game turned around, 39:34.
IN RWC:
09/29/2019 – Pool D – Gales 29 vs. Australia 25 – Ajinimoto Stadium, Tokyo
10/10/2015 – Pool A – Gales 6 vs. Australia 15 – Twickenham, London
10/21/2011 – Medalla de Bornce – Gales 18 vs. Australia 21 – Eden Park, Auckland
15.09.2007 – Group B – Gales 20 vs. Australia 32 – Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 23.10.1999 – Cuartos de Final – Gales 9 vs. Australia 24 – Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
10/12/1991 – Group C – Wales 3 vs. Australia 38 – Cardiff Arms Park 18/6/1987 – Bronze Medal – Wales 22 vs. Australia 21 – Rotorua, New Zealand
THE FORMATIONS:
AUSTRALIA: 1 Angus Bell, 2 David Porecki (c), 3- James Slipper, 4- Nick Frost, 5- Richard Arnold, 6- Robert Leota, 7- Tom Hooper, 8- Rob Valetini, 9- Tate McDermott, 10- Ben Donaldson, 11- Marika Koroibete, 12- Samu Kerevi, 13- Jordan Petaia, 14- Mark Nawaqanitawase 15- Andrew Kellaway
Additions: 16- Matt Faessler, 17 Blake Schoupp, 18 Pone Fa’amausili 19- Matt Philip, 20- Fraser McReight, 21- Nic White, 22- Carter Gordon, 23- Suli Vunivalu
GALES: 1- Gareth Thomas, 2- Ryan Elias, 3- Tomas Francis, 4- Will Rowlands, 5- Adam Beard, 6- Aaron Wainwright, 7- Jac Morgan (c), 8- Taulupe Faletau, 9- Gareth Davies, 10 – Dan Biggar, 11 – Josh Adams, 12 – Nick Tompkins, 13 – George North, 14 – Louis Rees-Zammit, 15 – Liam Williams
Subs: 16 – Elliot Dee, 17 – Corey Domachowski, 18 – Henry Thomas, 19 – Dafydd Jenkins, 20 – Taine Basham, 21 – Tomos Williams, 22 – Gareth Anscombe, 23 – Rio Dyer
