The Wallabies ‘know their game’. That makes them threat in a home World Cup

4 days ago 2

There was good news for the Wallabies this week that has erased the need to finish in the top six of the rankings before the Rugby World Cup draw is made.

World Rugby won’t make the full draw until December 3 in Sydney, but it has released enough information to show that the Wallabies have an achievable path to the quarter-finals – at the very least – regardless of their ranking.

What we know: The Wallabies will be in Pool A and will play the opening match of the tournament in Perth on October 1, 2027.

If they top their pool – and there will be six pools of four teams – they’ll face a third-placed team from another pool in the round of 16.

But that’s not the good news. Even if the Wallabies finish second in their pool, they won’t have to face the winner of another pool in the round of 16.

Instead, they’ll meet a fellow runner-up. In other words, the Wallabies could finish the year ranked No.7, get drawn with the Springboks in their pool, finish second – and then face a team like Italy, Georgia, or Wales in the first knockout round.

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii in action against the All Blacks.

Two runners-up will draw pool winners in the round of 16, but the Wallabies won’t be one of them – dodging the bullet that could have ended their campaign early.

Finishing outside the top six, then, is far from a disaster. (And yes, World Rugby has pre-empted the inevitable cries of unfairness with an explainer on its website insisting the draw “will all even out in the end”.)

That’s arguably the second piece of good news. The first came from the Wallabies’ performance against the All Blacks at Eden Park – despite the result.

Yes, there were elements that were subpar, but there were also major positives that again highlighted the exceptional foundational work Joe Schmidt is doing with this team.

It was missed in the noise around the officiating, but Wallabies captain Harry Wilson said something immediately after the Test that should help fans sleep easier: “We know our game.”

That game, when it’s flowing, is exactly the sort the Wallabies can take to a Rugby World Cup and have a genuine crack at it.

Win or lose in Perth, I’ve seen enough to know this team is getting so much right around the set-piece and attacking breakdown. They are a team that earns the right to go wide.

Gone are the days when they’d be constantly turned over in the wide channels by the Kiwis. Under Schmidt, the Wallabies are punching through holes closer to the ruck before they pull the trigger to go wider. In Wilson’s words, they know their game.

This style is part of a brick-by-brick plan that is becoming easier to see the longer it unfolds.

For example, cast your mind back to last year – specifically the Test against the Springboks in Perth. At the time, there was growing grumbling about how narrow the Wallabies were in attack, with little happening outside the No.9.

That criticism was fair, but it’s now clear they were a team learning to walk before they tried to run – literally and figuratively.

So much quality work has been done at the attacking breakdown that, heading into the second Bledisloe Test, it’s already clear the Wallabies will gain metres through the middle against the All Blacks. That’s where the work has gone in.

Wilson is now a serious carrier in those tough areas, and Len Ikitau continues to show Gaël Fickou-like qualities in how he maintains momentum with direct carries off quick ball.

The Wallabies are well on their way to becoming a team you want to avoid – and with Schmidt’s work far from done, there’s every chance Les Kiss will inherit a side with a strong, defined identity.

The weaker parts of the Wallabies’ performance last week are fixable. Even though the penalty and error count at Eden Park was frustrating, it’s not something that can’t be improved.

But the foundations are there. By 2027, I see a strong set-piece, real sledgehammers in the back row, and a potentially brilliant back three of Tom Wright, Max Jorgensen, and Mark Nawaqanitawase.

Momentum is a wonderful thing to have in sport – especially two years out from a home Rugby World Cup.

And the Wallabies now have some.

Watch all the action from the 2025 Rugby Championship on Stan Sport.