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Wales progression in World Cup stirs Robin McBryde

Robin McBryde pumped up for the Welsh World Cup campaign
Image: Robin McBryde pumped up for the Welsh World Cup campaign

Wales coach Robin McBryde says the prospect of a World Cup quarter-final is a thrilling one, having survived the so-called 'pool of death'.

While England contemplate their earliest exit in World Cup history - crashing out after just three games and 16 days - Wales have started preparations for a group decider against Australia at Twickenham on Saturday.

The winners look set to face a quarter-final against Scotland or Japan, while the losers potentially have a far tougher appointment - at least on paper - with twice world champions South Africa.

"It's all about momentum, and we've still got the momentum, a little bit in our sails, albeit it wasn't the perfect performance against Fiji last week," said Wales assistant coach and forwards specialist McBryde.

"But we are going into the weekend against Australia having been given a little bit of time to work on things.

"It wasn't so much a sigh of relief that we have qualified for the quarter-finals, it was more of a quickening of the heartbeat thinking of what could be ahead.

"On the basis of that, and the momentum going into this game, we have just got to keep it going and keep going at things in the same manner as we have done. It's no respite, just keeping on going as hard as we can."

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Wales head coach Warren Gatland is not due to name his starting line-up for Australia until Thursday, but it would appear that he is on course to select from a full-strength squad.

Prop Paul James has not played since suffering a calf muscle problem during Wales' opening game against Uruguay a fortnight ago, while full-back Liam Williams was concussed when Wales beat England 28-25 at Twickenham.

Prince Harry was at Twickenham to see England lose to Australia
Image: Prince Harry was at Twickenham to see England lose to Australia

But McBryde added: "Paul came through a running test [on Sunday], so he will be integrated into the [training] sessions [on Tuesday]. Liam is obviously undergoing the concussion protocols, and as far as I am aware he is ticking all the boxes at the moment."

Wales are currently unbeaten in the tournament, but their scrum was an area for concern against England and Fiji. In contrast, Australia's front row has thrived, highlighted by them dominating England up front during a 33-13 triumph two days ago.

"We've got to be smart," McBryde said. "We are fully aware of the threat that Australia pose, but also in the knowledge we actually were awarded a penalty try against them last autumn, so we've got to take a lot of confidence from that.

"Obviously, they are benefiting from the experience of Mario Ledesma as a scrummaging coach, so there's a certain Argentine flavour to their scrum. The challenge is there, so fortunately, we have a whole week to focus on those perceived weaknesses.

"You can go from having one good scrum to one bad scrum. It's very much gone back to the art of scrummaging under the current laws.

"You're trying to get that clean strike of the ball to get it out as quickly as possible, and if you don't get that quite right, the opposition are gunning for you and they are timing their shove on when the ball comes in, so it's a different mindset and approach.

"Australia have certainly benefited from those changes and are scrummaging well as a unit, but for our boys as well I think we've got clarity on how we go about our business this week, and hopefully we will see that on Saturday."

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Reaction to Wales' win over Fiji in Pool A at the World Cup

McBryde is hoping avid England fan Prince Harry might be persuaded to wear a Wales shirt as the World Cup heads towards the business end.

Prince Harry's brother, the Duke of Cambridge, is Vice Royal Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union and regularly attends Wales games.

"The Duke of Cambridge is an avid [Wales] supporter and it was good to see him in the changing room after the Fiji game," McBryde said.

"He is going to support Wales and hopefully if he can influence his brother Harry to put on a Welsh shirt, that will be great to see as well."

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