‘Walking dead’ Wallabies wait on fate after beating Portugal

afr.com:

Saint-Etienne, France | Australia is on the brink of making the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals. And on the brink of missing out.

The Wallabies don’t have another game scheduled. Yet they can’t go home because they might have another game.

Their fate is in a void partly of their own making but they have to keep training just in case while they wander about France for another week.

The Wallabies are the “walking dead” of the Rugby World Cup.

Beating Portugal 34-14 with a bonus point on Sunday wrapped up the Wallabies’ campaign in Pool C and lifted them into second place, which is a quarterfinal position.

But Fiji is a point behind them in third and has a game in hand, against Portugal next Sunday in Toulouse.

Fiji’s mission seems simple: Take at least one point against Portugal — win, draw, loss by seven or scoring four tries.

Do that, and the Fijians advance and the Wallabies are knocked out.

But they’re not out quite yet after smothering a ferocious comeback by Portugal to win their gripping first match up.

Fraser McReight goes over for the Wallabies to secure a bonus point. Getty Images

“We’re still alive. That was the aim of the day,” Australia coach Eddie Jones said. “For a young team down to 13 men we showed plenty of courage and fought hard.”

The Wallabies are in a strange limbo now as a consequence of their 2-2 pool record and the unprecedented extension of the pool stage by one week by the French organisers.

“I’ve never experienced this before,” Jones said. “We’re anticipating we’ll be in the quarterfinals so we have plans to have three days off and then three days training. We’ll see on Sunday night. Portugal played with plenty of spirit tonight so you never know.”

Portugal couldn’t put Australia out of its misery