For the Wallabies to stay in the big dance, they would need Georgia to get a result against Fiji and the Fijians would still have another shot at qualification with a clash against Portugal the following weekend.
So, realistically this is swansong for Eddie Jones who surely has to get the sack after Australia bomb-out before the knock-out phase of a World Cup for the first time ever.
Australia v Portugal
Sunday 1 October
Geoffroy-Guichard
Australia 1/66 | Draw 40/1 | Portugal 10/1
Where to for the Wallabies? Well, they need to take a relook at the ARU board when they get home as Jones and his mates on that board have been a real cause for concern and the root of Australian Rugby’s issues, but the players still have a World Cup clash to contend with before the mammoth internal reflection begins.
They have been insanely poor at this World Cup. And the buck surely has to stop with Jones who may have actually wrecked a couple of very promising careers by opting to go all out on youth and neglecting a number of vastly experienced players.
Bernard Foley and Quade Cooper would have been handy to have had around even if they weren’t starters. Either veteran would have been ideal to have brought on against Fiji and steer the ship after it was evident that young gun Carter Gordon was not up to the job.
While Jones is by far and away the instigator of the calamity that is Australia’s 2023 World cup campaign, the players do have to shoulder some of the burden. They were absolutely dire against Wales, who ran them ragged this past weekend on the way to a 40-6 victory. The signs were there before their third game, however, as they struggled in their opener and were actually lucky Georgia were not at their best as the scoreline could well have been a lot tighter than the 35-15 one.
While Australia have seemingly dropped into the international wilderness, Portugal are finding their way out of the forest with the men from the Mediterranean really impressing at this World Cup.
They started their campaign with a spirited 28-8 loss to group leaders Wales and then produced one of the shocks of the tournament by drawing 18-18 with a solid Georgian outfit this past weekend. they actually had a great chance to beat their old Eastern European foes but a late shot at goal went wide.
This is not a happy Australian camp and they will want to get out of France as soon as possible. I can see the Wallabies putting in an uninspiring display and only winning by a relatively small margin. As such, I’m on the Portuguese plus.
Verdict: Portugal (+23.5) 17/20
