Eddie Jones: Australia have a fight that could dominate the World Cup

Eddie Jones says his Australian team is 'ready to go'; for the World Cup in France Photo: AP/Christophe Henas

Eddie Jones believes his Australian pack will “dominate the World Cup” as the Wallabies return to the country where they were most disgraced in 2007.

Australia's scrum was destroyed by an Andrew Sheridan-inspired England side in Marseille in the World Cup quarter-finals 16 years ago, and the Wallabies head coach admitted he «never would have imagined» as he sat in the pre-match press conference greeted by a «huge pack» of with captain Will Skelton lining up behind Taniela Tupou on the fearsome right side of the scrum.

«Periods of play are so intense [in the modern game] but that suits a big forward like us,» Jones said at the Stade des France, the stadium where Australia take on Georgia in their opening Group C match on Saturday. “It would never have occurred to me to go into a press conference as Australia coach and say we have a huge team capable of dominating the World Cup — and we did.”

“And we intend to use this to our advantage. We have a really big, strong and fast team ready to take on the opposition. And it starts with Georgia.

“Taniela Tupou has the talent to be the No. 1 badass prop in the world. He is an extremely powerful scrummager. He added versatility to his playing style. He went through a period where his only option was to get into the game, now he plays very directly, which will be very important against the Georgians, who have historically prided themselves in this area.»

Eddie Jones has spoken positively about Taniel Tupou. Photo: Getty Images/Adam Pretty

“And he has the fastest legs I've ever seen.

When Jones was informed that earlier this year the head coach had described his Australian team as “a broken Datsun 1200,” he replied wryly: “We're ready to go, mate. F1. Whatever the car is in Formula 1. We're at a fast pace on the grid. Ready to take off, buddy.»

England's Luke Pearce will be the man with the whistle in St Denis on Saturday afternoon for Australia's match with Georgia, an official Jones knows well from his time as England manager. While the 63-year-old won't be inclined to give his assessment of Pearce, he hopes lessons from their warm-up match against France last month will be heeded, particularly the yellow card picked up by striker Suliasi Vunivalu.

World Rugby always in the shadows,” Jones said with a grin. “They have listening devices everywhere. Everything you say is recorded — and you don't want to get black marks on you, mate.

“An interesting ruling against France was that [Suliasi Vunivalu] was charged with sin for a lawful act. In the Premier League, if you break a line and interfere with that violation, they consider it an automatic penalty for sins, there's no doubt about it.

“I'm sure World Rugby have spoken to [referee Luke Pearce] about this, and this will not happen on Saturday.”