It is some time since Australia sweated on the fitness of a prop – the main difference used to be the manner in which they collapsed a scrum – but the return of Scott Sio, a loosehead who prefers to stay on his feet, from the elbow injury that forced him to miss Sunday’s victory over Argentina for the final against New Zealand is timely.
The final is being billed as the battle of the breakdown, in particular Richie McCaw against David Pocock, but the bits and pieces will be significant. Australia’s scrum disintegrated without Sio, admittedly against an Argentina side who for all their new enthusiasm of throwing the ball around have not lost their relish for the muckier aspects of the game, and it is not the area of New Zealand’s greatest strength.
“I wanted to play against Argentina but it would not have been fair on the other players because I was not quite right,” Sio said. “I am good to go now. I watched the 2003 final between Australia and England as a fan, never dreaming I would play in one. We have kept things low key this week and the occasion will not hit us until we get to the ground on Saturday.”
Sio is one of eight Australia survivors from the last meeting between the sides in Auckland 11 weeks ago, a match, controlled by Saturday’s referee Nigel Owens, that New Zealand won 41-13 seven days after they had lost in Sydney in the Rugby Championship title decider, their only defeat by the Wallabies in the past 12 matches between the sides. Thirteen All Blacks remain.
Sio for James Slipper is Australia’s only change from the semi-final. The full-back Israel Folau, who has been troubled by an ankle injury for most of the tournament, keeps his place and Matt Giteau has recovered from the groin strain that forced him off against Argentina early in the second half.
The prospect a year ago of Australia getting out of a group that included England and Wales seemed unlikely before Michael Cheika took over as head coach, never mind getting through to the final. “You do not put a date on things,” he said when asked if he felt the team were ahead of schedule. “The great thing about rugby is humility and I do not feel any pressure. All we can do is prepare the best we can.
“There is excitement back home and we want to make them proud, not for reaching the final but for what we do on Saturday. I had not thought about what it means to be an Australian until I became involved with the team. We are not all camped out by a billabong: we are different people who come together to make lives better. That is a lot of what Australia is about.”
The wing Adam Ashley-Cooper will be making his 29th appearance against New Zealand, equalling David Campese’s record. “It has been an ambition of mine to play in a World Cup final since I first appeared in the tournament in 2007 and was struck by the inspirational atmosphere,” he said. “We got knocked out in the quarter-final by England that year. I am not quite sure now how we approached the game but afterwards I was so depressed that it took me a long time to come to terms with what had happened.
“The prospect of World Cup success has driven me on since then and we have our chance on Saturday. That said, we like to approach every Test match the same, no matter who we are playing and in what, and in that sense it has been no different this week even if we know that there is no bigger game.”
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