Andrew Slack: Islanders deserve to win more than hearts next time

It's been an exciting way to confirm what we already knew.

Fiji and Samoa provided more thrills in the past week than New Zealand, Australia, England and South Africa put together.

The Samoan effort against England was the highlight of the tournament thus far, while Fiji is simply a four-letter word for entertainment (Caucaunibuca is a 12-letter way to say major entertainment).

Unfortunately, what we all realised as we watched the heroics of the Pacific Island teams was that they weren't going to win much more than hearts.

The loss of several potentially eligible players to the likes of the Wallabies and the All Blacks, the unavailability of others whose European clubs didn't have the foresight to release them on to rugby's biggest stage, the comparative lack of playing and training time together, and the patronising way in which they are often treated in the rugby world's greater scheme of things, all add up to the inevitable. So close, yet so far.

The solution is obvious, but not easy - finance.

If we want the Pacific Island nations to one day have a realistic chance of winning the World Cup, then it is essential that they have involvement in regular high-level competition such as the Super 12, and that Samoan, Tongan and Fijians who ply their trade in other nations actually play for the country of their birth.

But these things won't happen without money being made available.

My commercial nous is on a par with Namibia's rugby strength, so I don't know how it's done, and I do realise the IRB has not been set up as a charitable organisation.

But if a sincere and whole-hearted attempt to provide a meaningful future for this wonderful rugby nursery isn't made, then the game will be much the poorer.

So while the entertainers have gone, the time has come for the hard-nosed pros to do their thing. This time next week, Wales and Scotland will be on their way home and, if the bookies have it right, Ireland and South Africa will also be at the airport.

I'm not totally convinced about the last two, but there's no doubt that the Wallabies' unconvincing victory over the Irish ensured a direct path to the semifinals.

I remember making wild and reckless predictions about how the French couldn't beat the All Blacks in the 1999 World Cup semifinal. But if this Scottish outfit can beat Australia, then Sir Edmund Hillary is scared of heights.

The dilemma for Wallaby coach Eddie Jones is where he should head with selection. The evidence from Australia's two relevant pool matches - against Argentina and Ireland - is that the personnel in those games will not have enough firepower to bother New Zealand or England, nor even perhaps South Africa or France.

The forward pack may gain parity, but the widespread belief this side of the Tasman is that the backline make-up poses a limited threat to the big guns.

It is solid, but solid won't be good enough to win the World Cup.

Four of the most potent attacking backline weapons the Wallabies possess have yet to make it into the full-strength starting XV in this tournament.



In the reasonably secure knowledge that Australia's second team could beat the Scots, many are wondering whether Jones will unleash some or all of those players in Saturday's quarter-final.

Stirling Mortlock, Lote Tuqiri, Matt Giteau and Chris Latham are all match-winners in their own right and at least two of them should be given an opportunity to start the game in Brisbane.

The ideal scenario would allow Jones to play his expected semifinal line-up against Scotland in the hope of doing some fine-tuning before confronting the All Blacks or Springboks the following week. However, as much as his public utterances might suggest otherwise, I'm pretty sure he doesn't know what his best combination actually is. That's an uncomfortable way to be at knockout time.

Each of the four has weaknesses. Mortlock has had little game time this season due to injury, Giteau is inexperienced at the top level, Tuqiri has been playing rugby for less than a year, and Latham can have the odd brain explosion.

The truth is, though, that each of them is a brilliant attacking weapon. It's time for Australia to attack.

Steve Waugh has always prided himself on being prepared to risk losing to win: it's time for the Wallabies to follow the lead of their cricketing cousins.

* Andrew Slack is a former Wallaby captain.