Australia assistant coach Pierre-Henry Broncan believes the Wallabies’ inability to handle pressure is the cause of their likely early exit from the Rugby World Cup.
Australia will be knocked out of the tournament on Sunday if Fiji beat Georgia with a bonus point after following a defeat to the Pacific Islanders with a poor performance against Wales.
A pool stage exit would represent a major disappointment for a side it was thought might be reinvigorated under Eddie Jones, who returned for a second stint in charge after his sacking by England.
But having cast aside several senior players from his squad for the tournament, and suffered some rough injury luck once in France, Jones appears set to oversee a first ever Australian pool exit from a men’s World Cup.
It does not augur well for the future with the next tournament due to be hosted in Australia in four years’ time, but Broncan believes the Wallabies could still rise into contenders.
The French maul consultant, who will leave Jones’s coaching set-up after the tournament, wonders though if Super Rugby Pacific is best preparing Australia’s players for success.
“I talked to the young boys of Australia, they have a big opportunity to win the next World Cup in Australia,” Broncan stressed as Australia prepare for their final Pool C fixture against Portugal. “But if you want to win the next World Cup, you have to work during four years very hard.
“A good example today is the French national team. They prepared (for) this World Cup from the last World Cup in Japan, with the same team.
“If you want a big difference between the Top 14 and European Cup and your Super Rugby competition in Australia and with New Zealand, it’s the pressure. In France we have pressure every game, every game you have pressure because there is a massive thing about relegation or qualification (for the European Cup places). It’s very important for the European teams.
“In Super Rugby there is no relegation, you play just to win Super Rugby (which) is a very good thing but just between New Zealand and Australian teams.
“You will see the next games in the World Cup, the quarter-finals, semi-finals or final, there will be massive pressure on the pitch. A lot of games, they will finish with a very close score between the two teams and the last five or 10 minutes, you can win or lose a game.
“Today our team is not that (ready to deal with pressure). During half-time against Wales I was sure we were going to win the game. Ten points (the deficit to Wales) is nothing. But we start the second-half and we concede a penalty and that was it. We need to change that in the future.”
Super Rugby Pacific launched as a new 12-team tournament last year after the four South African franchises joined European club competitions.
The antipodean league includes five franchises from Australia and five franchises from New Zealand, plus Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua.
The future of the competition had appeared in some doubt until an agreement through to 2030 was signed by the two unions late last year, though more changes to the format and competing teams are expected in the near future.
Broncan believes that restoring Super Rugby to former glories could be key as Australian rugby enters a crucial period that also includes a British & Irish Lions tour in 2025.
“Before Covid, with South African teams, Japanese teams, Jaguares, Argentina teams it was a big competition,” Broncan explained. “Today, I think between the competition in Super Rugby and the national game, they need to create an environment for the national team and train every week, every month together.
“When you had Super Rugby with South African teams it was a tough competition, very tough competition. Today South African teams play the European Cup and it was a benefit to the northern hemisphere.”
Broncan does believe that the under-fire Jones remains the right man to lead the Wallabies: “I am sure about it because he’s a great coach.
“I understand everything about it and I think in his head he wants now to find the best solution for the Australia national team and his country. He is the right person. It is not just a problem of Eddie Jones or the players today, I am sure about it. I repeat (playing under) pressure is very important in our sport today.”
