Gregan looks for inspiration

Australia skipper George Gregan hopes the Socceroos’ heroics against Uruguay can inspire his team to end their losing streak.

The Socceroos qualified for what will be their first World Cup in 32 years after beating Uruguay in a penalty shoot-out on Wednesday.

And Gregan, who will lead Australia to their eighth straight defeat if Ireland triumph at Lansdowne Road tomorrow, believes their success can galvanise his ailing Wallabies.

“We sent some faxes to the Socceroos before the match and wished them luck. The country’s gone crazy now they’ve won. It’s outstanding,” he said.

“They’ve gone so close for so long and they finally get a chance to play in the World Cup. The whole of the Wallaby team is right behind them and we are really happy for them. It is a source of inspiration to us.

“Any time an Australian sporting team does well other teams are able to feed off that success. Hopefully some of the Socceroos’ positive result will rub off on us tomorrow at Lansdowne Road.”

Wallaby coach Eddie Jones hopes his side not only emulate the Socceroos’ winning touch, but also match their no-nonsense approach on the pitch.

“We don’t have a very close relationship with the Socceroos but what we can learn from them is the fact they played in the World Cup finals in 1974 and they’ve made it to the finals in 2006. That’s a fair drought,” he said.

“We don’t want to be expecting that sort of drought. How did they approach the situation? They learnt form Uruguay four years ago when Uruguay manhandled them on the pitch.

“The Socceroos were very physical on Wednesday and got stuck in. In the end one penalty goal got them through to the World Cup finals. At Lansdowne Road the first thing you have got to do is get stuck in physically.

“There’s going to be elbows and knees and fists flying everywhere and we are going to get stuck in. We have a young pack and they are looking forward to getting stuck in.”

Australia may be closing in on the worst run in their history but there is mitigation in the fact all seven of their defeats have come against big guns South Africa, New Zealand, France and England.

Despite their vulnerability up front they have never been outclassed in any of those games and with strike-runners such as Lote Tuqiri and Matt Rogers present, their threequarters are lethal – even behind a backpedalling pack.

But the pressure is on with defeat by Ireland possibly spelling the end for Jones, who has been hamstrung by a crippling injury list. Gregan, however, knows how quickly fortunes can change.

“We are going out there tomorrow with a really positive attitude, that’s the Australian way,” said the Test centurion.

“I’ve not had a run as long as this in my career without a victory but I do know that you are never too far away from turning that corner.

“It’s funny, when you do get that elusive win all of a sudden those opportunities you have been creating that haven’t been converted are turned into points.

“And then you get some confidence and rhythm back into your game and all the hard work starts to pay off. When you put in the hard work you eventually get paid.”