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AUSTRALIA

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Australia Profile

Thursday 09th August 2001

Colours: Green and Gold
Nicknames: Wallabies
Major honours: World Cup winners (1991, 1999); Tri-Nations champions (2000, 2001).

Coach: With more than 15 years coaching experience at the highest level, John Connolly is ready for the challenge of preparing the Wallabies for Rugby World Cup 2007. Born in Queensland, Connolly returned to Australia to take on the role after six seasons in France and the UK. On leaving the Queensland Reds in 2000, after two Super 10 titles and two table-topping endings in the Super 12 table in 1996 and 1999, Connolly guided Stade Français to the French Championship and Heineken Cup Final. He then moved on to Swansea in Wales for 2002/03 only to see the club go into administration. Connolly then moved to Bath as director of rugby from 2003 to 2005 where he went on to establish a committed and successful culture, guiding the English side to a Zurich Premiership Final and a Powergen Cup Final. Like his predecessor in the gold tracksuit, Connolly has a wry sense of humour but approaches his work in an no-nonsense manner - as his nickname 'Knuckles' suggests.

Captain: Wallaby scrum-half George Gregan, playing his 4,000 international season, look like he is trialling the sporting equivalent of Viagra. No-one - alive or dead - has seen more Test action, and the terrier is a dead-cert to lead the Wallabies to France in 2007. It's now twelve years since he announced his arrival on the Test stage by pulling off what is still referred to as 'The Tackle' to deprive Jeff Wilson of the ball and New Zealand of the Bledisloe Cup, but his passion and commitment remain undiminished. As well as his defence, the Zambian-born scrum-half's darting runs, flicked reverse passes and array of attacking skills have frustrated many a team. King George, we salute you.

Players to watch: As already mentioned, George Gregan is back to his best - as his long-term lieutenant, Stephan Larkham. Their vast experience and leadership will play a vital role as the Wallabies attempted to weld a young set of forwards to a wily bunch of backs. Mark Gerrard, Chris Latham and Lote Tuqiri would walk into any other Test side - as would George Smith. The gold forwards might be a gargoyle or two short of a proper nightmare, but the likes of Rocky Elsom and Mark Chisholm are maturing into considerable opponents. The dynamic Elsom had a stormer against Ireland whilst Chisholm has impressed on the blindside flank after making the move away from the engine-room. He believes the contentious No.6 position is where his best chances of forcing his way back into the Test side lie, and the jury will judge him during the 2006 Tri-Nations.

Profile: With two World Cups under their belt Australia can lay claim to the title of most decorated rugby-nation in the world, if not most successful. Indeed, in 2000 the Australian Rugby Union's trophy cabinet contained every international trophy contested.

What makes Australia's recent dominance so notable is the fact that Rugby Union is considered to be the nation's fourth sport behind Cricket, Australian Rules and Rugby League.

The seeds of the Wallabies success were sown after a slump in fortunes in the early 1970's triggered an in-depth survey of the Australian rugby union's past, present and future which resulted in a re-appraisal of coaching techniques and a restructuring of the entire administration.

Since that time the Australians have gone from strength to strength, investing heavily into the game and extending the appeal of the sport by pushing for the creation of the World Cup and the Tri-Nation tournament.

The growing success of the game and the exploits of its superstars like Mark Ella, David Campase and John Eales meant that the Wallabies bounced into the nation's imagination.

Slick marketing and good planning has swelled the ARU's coffers and their audacity to raid Rugby League and snatch icons such as Wendell Sailor and Mat Rogers shows that the sport is in rude health.

The fact that there are only 33,000 adult males playing the game in Australia (England has 160,000) is testament to what good organisation and consistent selection can achieve. The current team is on the wane, but there are enough youngsters coming through to ensure that the Wallabies will remain a world force in the game for a long time to come.

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