Jones insists there is more to come

Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has compared Australia’s stunning World Cup semi-final success against New Zealand with a batsman moving into form.

Australia reached their third World Cup final by defeating the All Blacks 22-10, and they will now meet England at Telstra Stadium on Saturday.

The result made a mockery of pre-tournament odds that had Australia at 5/1, while New Zealand were almost unbackable competition favourites.

And if the Wallabies can produce a repeat performance at England’s expense, then a third world title is within their grasp.

“We felt on Saturday night that while it was a significant improvement, it was an incremental improvement for us,” said Jones.

“We have felt it coming all along, and we were confident it was coming. We played some really good 20-minute periods – against Argentina, the first 20 against Ireland, and probably 30 in the second-half against Scotland.

“It was just a matter of putting that together.

“It’s like a batsman in the middle. You are scratching around, and then all of a sudden you hit one in the middle and a few more come off the middle. That is what happened on Saturday night for us.

“We have got form there. We hit the middle of the bat a few times. We certainly haven’t played as well as we can, and we have now got one more opportunity.”

Jones plans to announce his starting line-up tomorrow, and the Wallabies should be able to select from strength, with the exception of prop Ben Darwin.

The unfortunate Darwin suffered a prolapsed disc in his neck during the All Blacks clash, and has been ruled out of final contention.

Five other players – George Smith, Phil Waugh, Justin Harrison, Nathan Sharpe and Bill Young – didn’t train at the Wallabies’ base in Coffs Harbour yesterday, but Jones doesn’t anticipate any problems about their fitness.

As with his England counterpart Clive Woodward, Jones’ main task this week will be to ensure his team are mentality top-notch in readiness for rugby union’s ultimate test.

“One of the big jobs of the coach and senior players is to make sure the attitude is right,” he said.

“But one thing that gives me confidence is the resolve this group has shown over the year. We have been through some reasonably dark times, but at no stage have we shown any sign of cracking.”