Eddie is feeling gr-eight
Fired-up Dragons ready to fight Aussies all way
From ALEX BYWATER in Tokyo
WALES have gone to war with each other in a bid to beat Australia.
But star full-back Liam Williams missed the bloodshed because he was too busy working on his guns.
Warren Gatland’s side face the Wallabies tomorrow in a crunch clash that could well determine the winner of Pool D.
And in a bid to get one over their bogey side, Wales have been smashing each other to bits in training.
Wednesday’s session saw the claret fly as the Dragons stepped things up and Williams said: “It was a bit of argybargy. There always is in rugby training.
“It was definitely not me leading it. When the forwards are rucking and mauling, the backs are in the gym.
“I missed it – I was out of the way in the gym doing curls.
“Someone split their eye, but you don’t want to peak too soon. We’ll be ready to go going into the game.” Wales are quietly confident and head coach Gatland has named an unchanged team with Owen Watkin coming on to the bench to replace Leigh Halfpenny.
Alun Wyn Jones will make history on his 130th appearance, becoming the most capped Welshman ever and fourth on the world all-time list.
The captain said: “There have been a few guys frustrated with selection which is a good thing.
“That breeds competitiveness within the squad. There was a bit of red stuff flowing which was well meant because it was for betterment of the team.
“On a personal level the record is nice for me and my family, but there is a much bigger picture which is the game.
“I don’t think anybody is going to be worried about the numbers.”
Australia have had the wood over Wales since 2008. Gatland’s men did win the last meeting 9-6 in November last year, but the Wallabies had been victorious for 13 in a row before that.
A tight encounter is expected and whoever wins is likely to not only gain momentum but also avoid England in the quarter-finals.
Williams, 28, added: “I did think we’d never beat Australia, but thankfully it happened. It was great. I’d played in a couple of games and we’d lost in the last play, but the past is the past and now we’re looking to the future.” all the ENGLAND are so confident of reaching the knockout stages of the World Cup that Eddie Jones has chosen to watch their potential last-eight rivals rather than next opponents Argentina.
The Pumas, who England face next Saturday, are in action against Tonga today in Hanazono. But Jones (inset) and his management team are heading for Tokyo instead to take in Wales versus Australia tomorrow.
Jones’ side have beaten Argentina nine times in a row but it is still a surprising decision with the Tonga fixture taking place only an hour away from England’s
Kobe base.
“I won’t watch that game, I’ll watch Australia v Wales on Sunday,” said Jones.
“Argentina are obviously a very good team. They increasingly look capable of beating big teams so we need to be on our game.”
Jones, who will watch TV coverage of the game instead, is confident he knows what to expect from Mario Ledesma’s Pumas.
“They went through that stage where they tried to play an all-phase, all-court type rugby, and they’ve gone very much back to 2007. They’re up to 30 kicks a game,” he said.
Centre Piers Francis, meanwhile, faces a disciplinary hearing in Tokyo next week after being cited for a dangerous challenge on USA full-back Will Hooley.
And England fear he could miss the rest of the group stages after USA flanker John Quill was given a three-match ban after being sent off for his challenge on Owen Farrell.
Australia’s Reece Hodge and Samoa’s Rey Lee-Lo and Motu Matu’u also received three-match bans for high tackles earlier in the tournament.