With the 2027 Rugby World Cup now less than a year away, you won’t find too many people in Australian rugby keen to rake over the coals of the bin fire that was the 2023 campaign.
asserted
that → find → fire
Most are happy to leave those dark days firmly in the past.
asserted
Most → leave → past
But according to All Blacks legend Dan Carter – owner of two Rugby World Cup winner’s medals – that would be a mistake.
uncertain
that → accord → medals
Indeed, as the Wallabies prepare to for a World Cup on home soil, Carter said embracing the lessons of failure was one of two key elements that helped the All Blacks break through and win at home in the 2011 World Cup.
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Blacks → prepare → Cup
The first was figuring out how to turn home support into a positive force, and not a source of pressure.
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first → figure → pressure
The second was combining belief about the future with an understanding of where you’ve faltered in the past.
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you → combine → past
“Confidence and belief are similar things, and you’ve just got to embrace the challenge, but then to be able to look around the room and eyeball your teammates and actually genuinely believe you can beat anyone in the world – and they [the Wallabies] have got the players to be able to do that,” Carter said.
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Carter → get → that
There’s enough players in that squad that have gone through the hard times as well, and as long as you’re learning from those challenging moments, it can often make you stronger.
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you → ’ → moments
So, 2023, you shouldn’t just sort of brush that off; you should actually learn what went wrong from the players that were there.”
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that → brush → players
They went in as raging favourites, having lost only five of 43 games in the four years prior.
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They → go → years
But for the third straight tournament, they crashed out in the playoffs, this time to France in the quarter-finals.
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they → crash → finals
“Something we never did in the All Blacks was look back at previous World Cups; we’d just kind of focus on a new cycle,” Carter said.
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Carter → do → cycle
“It wasn’t until we had our worst ever Rugby World Cup in history in 2007 that we actually sat back and learned what went wrong with that tournament, and we managed to turn things around and be successful after that [in 2011 and 2015].
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we → have → 2011
“So yes, you want to be looking forward and playing with real confidence and belief, but you also want to learn from the past as well to make sure you’re not making similar mistakes.
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you → want → mistakes
With 12 Rugby World Cup tournaments between them – four each – and a combined five William Webb Ellis Cup wins, what that iconic trio doesn’t know about World Cup success could fit on a postcard.
uncertain
know → combine → postcard
But one of those things, it seems, is sizing up the current contenders and predicting with confidence who will win the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
“The top half a dozen teams, they’ve all got the ability to beat each other; when you get to World Cup time, those margins become even smaller,” McCaw said.
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McCaw → seem → time
Carter added: “What I love about the last few World Cups is it’s still anyone’s tournament.
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it → add → Cups
Very rarely is it the form side a year out that goes on to win it, but I guess it’s hard to go past South Africa right now.
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it → go → Africa
They’ve just continued to grow and evolve since the last World Cup.”
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They → continue → Cup
Gregan also pointed to South Africa, but no sooner had the Boks confirmed their favouritism by beating the All Blacks 3-1 in their recent Test series, the Wallabies threw a spanner in the works by upsetting the world’s top-ranked side in Perth last week.
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Wallabies → point → Perth
The Wallabies will also have a unique advantage next year, Carter believes.
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Carter → have → advantage
“You can’t underestimate the power of having a World Cup at home,” Carter said.
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Carter → underestimate → home
“It can do one of two things: it can add a little bit extra pressure, but if there’s anywhere in the world you’d want to play a World Cup, you’d want it in your own backyard.
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you → do → backyard
And you saw what that did to the team in 2003.
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that → see → 2003
“They grew another leg.
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They → grow → leg
So it’s an amazing opportunity for the current group of Wallaby players.
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it → ’ → players
McCaw said the pressure of a home World Cup can be a double-edged sword, and cited England’s pre-finals exit in 2015.
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pressure → say → 2015
“It can be helpful, definitely, but it can also be a burden,” he said.
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he → say → ?
“There’s a bit of pressure because everyone’s there, and it’s like living in a fishbowl.
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it → ’ → fishbowl
We used it to our advantage.
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We → use → advantage
You have got to make sure you approach it the right way.”
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you → get → it
Carter laughs when asked who the Wallabies’ No.10 should be, after last year saying he’d opt for Noah Lolesio.
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he → laugh → Lolesio
The Japan-based playmaker hasn’t been one of the four picked this year.
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playmaker → base → four
“I was hoping you weren’t going to ask me that question because your guess is as good as mine, to be honest,” Carter said.
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Carter → hop → mine
“That’s probably a piece of the puzzle that they’ll be trying to solve in the next 12 months, but it’s still anyone’s race to claim that spot.”
uncertain
it → ’ → spot
Gregan said the Wallabies had bounced back from a flat spring tour and turned a corner in the Nations Championship games in July, with strong starts and attacking intent.
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Wallabies → say → starts
“And with Kissy [coach Les Kiss], it’s even gone to another level,” Gregan said.
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Gregan → go → level
“Winning becomes a bit of a good habit, and vice versa, losing becomes a bit of a bad habit.
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losing → become → habit
So it’s great to keep that cycle and break the other one.
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it → ’ → one
You can see there’s a really nice energy within this group, they’re playing for each other.
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they → see → other
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
