Gregan looks to French for inspiration

George Gregan today warned New Zealand that the French spirit of 99 is alive and kicking in the Australia camp on the eve of their World Cup semi-final.

Four years ago France, having struggled through the pool stages, were written off ahead of their last four showdown with a New Zealand side hotly tipped to win the title.

But the All Blacks, fatally, had one eye on a place in the Cardiff final and were stung by a mesmerising display of Gallic flair.

The situation is very much the same heading into tomorrow’s showdown after the Wallabies battled their way through the tough Pool A and then past Scotland in the quarter-finals.

But Gregan revealed Australia are yet to show their full hand in this tournament and is confident they can send New Zealand spiralling again.

“From an expert’s point of view, a lot of people don’t think we can do it. I don’t think a lot of people thought the French could do it,” he said today after the Wallabies’ final run out at Telstra Stadium.

“But I know from a players’ point of view, and that is not just ourselves but also the All Black players, they know we can do it.

“And that is all that counts because they are the guys who will be up against each other on the field tomorrow.

“I have played in teams which probably should have held some things back, where we have shown our full hand early in the season and teams have worked it out.

“It’s not a bad thing to hold things back.”

Gregan predicted a humdinger of an encounter that will go right to the wire, bearing little resemblance to July’s Tri-Nations “blow-out” at the same ground, where New Zealand romped home 50-21.

“It’s going to go 80 (minutes), this game will go 80,” he said.

“I think these games, bar the first Tri-Nations match, always pretty much come down to the last play over the last few years.

“If we’ve had an edge, it’s been a very, very small edge. I think that if you look at the way those games have panned out, they’ve probably been level series bar this year and I think 2001.

“So there’s not much gap between the two teams. This will be a tight affair I’m sure.”

Their last meeting, in Auckland four months ago, was one of those typical nail-biting encounters, eventually won 21-17 by the All Blacks, who regained the Bledisloe Cup for the first time in five years.

Although that experience aches inside the Wallaby camp, Gregan insisted that, for once, the Bledisloe Cup and Tri-Nations was not the team’s over-riding focus.

“We were always planning for this period of the year,” he said.

“That is not an excuse. They outplayed us, they were too good on the night. We didn’t go in not to win the match, we didn’t go in to give them back the Bledisloe Cup.

“But we definitely had our eye on this period. We worked a bit harder through the domestic season than we had done previously, knowing that work would help us in this period.

“I think we have made some really positive steps forward since our last match in Auckland, which is a good thing. The team has seen that and the team can feel that.”

Home advantage, which has been negligible so far given the inordinate pressures the Australian media has put on the Wallabies, looks set to finally pay dividends.

The crowds at Sydney airport when the squad flew in from their Coffs Harbour base yesterday made the squad “feel like the damn Beatles” – and even the weather appears to be on their side with temperatures at kick-off expecting to push 30 degrees.

Thorne is wary about the heat, given New Zealand’s final preparation camp was in the snow, but Gregan is delighted.

“Well they’re aware of it. We’ve certainly prepared in preparation for this heat,” he said. “It’s going to be hot which is a good thing.”

The Wallabies will be given an inspirational pre-match talk by Ricky Stuart, coach of NRL team the Sydney Roosters that won their championship last year and were beaten Grand Finalists this.

“Ricky Stuart is a man I have got an amazing amount of respect for. He has had a fair bit to do in shaping my career and I can’t wait to hear from him,” said Gregan, who was a few years below him at esteemed rugby school, St Edmunds College in Canberra.

“He has done the hard thing of being a great player and becoming a successful coach straight up. I am sure he will pass on some good words to the team.”