‘Not real hard’: Former Wallabies assess Australia’s World Cup prospects

Former Australia fullback Greg Martin has weighed in on the Wallabies’ chances of progressing through to the knockout stages at the upcoming Rugby World Cup.

There’s a fair bit of uncertainty following the Wallabies going into the tournament. They’ve lost all four Tests under coach Eddie Jones, true, but remain a genuine dark horse.

The Wallabies are on the ‘easier’ side of the draw, and were seemingly given a golden ticket to progress to the knockout rounds when the pools were decided.

Australia had come up against Wales and Fiji at the last two World Cups – the two teams long considered their toughest opponents at the 2023 event – and qualified for the next stage both times.

But, with about two weeks to go until the opening Test between France and New Zealand, that challenge appears incredibly tough and even daunting.

The Wallabies are still the top-ranked nation in Pool C, but only just.

Australia are currently eighth on the World Rugby men’s rankings, while Wales, Fiji and Georgia make up the next three spots. All four nations are in Pool C at this World Cup.

There’s still a sense of belief that a new-look Wallabies squad can make something happen on the biggest stage – but any and all optimism isn’t universal amongst Aussies.

Former Wallabies Greg Martin and Phil Kearns have shared opposing views on Australia’s chances at the tournament. Martin spoke with Kearns on his breakfast radio show in Queensland.

“I had on our show this morning, Phil Kearns… we of course talked rugby. In his option we’ll make the semi-finals,” Martin said on The Platform.

“We’ve got the weakest pool… we play Georgia, then we play Fiji, then we play Wales, then we play Portugal.

“Not real hard when you look at it but I suggested to Kearnsy that we’d have trouble beating Georgia because they’ve picked 15 props I believe. We could have trouble with Georgia.

“Kearnsy suggested we’ll go through to the semi-finals because if we make the quarter-finals, most likely, we’ll play England who are eminently beatable.

“Both of us have good points, I believe. We either get beaten by Georgia, Fiji and Wales, and maybe we’ll sneak one home against Portugal – that’s my opinion – whereas Kearnsy thinks we’ll go through to the semi-finals.

“Somewhere in between there is the truth.”