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To crown a king Australia, France prepare to step on field once more
Posted: Friday November 05, 1999 01:11 PM
With the waiting finally over, Australia and France will step into the fire for the last time on Saturday, and, to paraphrase a line from that old Mad Max movie -- Beyond the Thunderdome, "Two teams enter one team leaves" as world champion. What are the chances of that team not being Australian? My gut reaction is not that high. Though no one could fail to have been stirred by the amazing French display against the All Blacks in the semifinal, the prospect of them raising their game into the stratosphere so soon after the last epic will, I fear, be beyond them. Especially as the element of surprise that they had against New Zealand has now been lost. "We're probably lucky that the All Blacks had that experience before we came up against the French," Aussie skipper, John Eales, told me. "We know from our point of view we have to play better than we've played throughout the whole tournament. If we play [to] the best of our game, we should win." Forewarned is forearmed, as they say, and the Australians are certainly not taking the French for granted. Throughout the week they've been relaxed and focussed, united to a man in their description of what it will take to come out on top. And if they snuff out the Gallic spirit early, as they intend to do, my feeling is that there'll be no way back for the French.
"When they get the ball we're going to put on some pretty big hits," said winger, Ben Tune. "We're looking to tackle the spirit out of them, and really drain their enthusiasm." Should the Aussies succeed in robbing the French of their best weapon, it's my view that they'll have one hand on the trophy. And even if France do manage to hold on to their spirit, I still feel that if each team plays to its full potential, the Wallabies will have the edge. The Australians are better at defending. They have a kicker in Matt Burke to rival any in the world, which could be an especially key factor given the French penchant for giving away penalties. And in center, Tim Horan, they have the likely player of the tournament, whose lightning pace and shrewd tactical awareness make him a potential match-winner. You can't legislate for the unpredictability of the French of course, but come Saturday night it's my expectation that Australia will be crowned the kings of world rugby for the second time in their history. Terry Baddoo is a co-host of "World Sport," the international sports show that airs live on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN International.
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