Wallabies - 5 Key Players

Australia will be justifiably confident after their Rugby Championship victories, but a week before their first World Cup game, they still have no clarity on their first-choice 9 and 10 selection. And while they rate their tight forwards highly, their opponents have doubts as to whether the Wallaby tight five have what it takes to carry them through seven games to World Cup glory.

The stand-out players key to Australia’s success in the tournament are more crucial than for most other countries.

David Pocock
Whether coach Michael Cheika plays Pocock at his preferred openside or keeps Michael Hooper at openside and selects Pocock at blindside or at 8, the contribution of David Pocock to the Wallaby campaign will be pivotal. There are very few players in world rugby more influential and more greatly respected than him. His ability to poach or slow down opposition ball, to win collisions, and to disrupt attacking options is brilliantly effective. The high number and punishing nature of his tackles and his ball-carrying potency also add to his being one of the players to watch in RWC 2015.

Michael Hooper
There are a handful of consummate artists as openside flanks in world rugby and right now Hooper is as accomplished as any of them. He is simply brilliant what he does, ticking every box in the openside flank job description, with and without ball in hand. He will make major impact and be a man-of-the-match candidate in every game he plays.

Stephen Moore
Are Australia’s tight forwards good enough to facilitate World Cup victory? The Rugby Championship triumph was not based around their tight five and as the leader of the perhaps unfairly maligned engine room, Moore has a big role to play. As captain too, he will need to make judicious decisions, to rally the troops when they’re under pressure, and to maintain his composure – not least of all in his interaction with referees, where belligerence will do his team no favours.

Israel Folau
Folau is one of the special group of players at this World Cup whose attacking prowess instils fears in the hearts and minds of every opponent. He has the rare ability to be able to create something out of nothing, to set up and score tries that turn the momentum of a game. He is a rugby genius who can change the result of a game on moments of wonderful skill. He is key to Australia’s success, and as a corollary, containing him will be key to their opponents’ chances of victory.

Matt Giteau
With the normally assured head coach Cheika and as-a-rule decisive backline coach Stephen Larkham appearing to have no firm decision as yet on their first-choice 9 and 10, the role to be played by Giteau at inside centre becomes doubly important. He has accumulated 95 Test caps despite his time in Test limbo in France, and much will depend on his skills, experience, decision-making, and leadership of the 9-10-12 trio.