Tonight's rugby news as Wales' 'huge' dressing room party emerges and World Cup odds halved overnight
These are your evening rugby headlines on Monday, September 25.
'Huge' dressing room celebrations revealed
Wales attack coach Alex King has lifted the lid on the "huge" celebrations that went on after Saturday night's win over Australia, with Adam Beard taking centre stage.
After an incredibly tough year in Welsh rugby, there was finally plenty to smile about in Lyon as Warren Gatland's side secured qualification for the quarter-finals after outclassing the Wallabies for the full 80 minutes. And while their opponents were left in tears out on the pitch as they came to terms with their likely World Cup exit, the Wales squad were rightfully enjoying themselves, with Beard at the centre of the celebrations on the occasion of his 50th cap.
“We're just delighted," said King on the morning after the night before. "The atmosphere after the game was absolutely buzzing. Adam Beard’s 50th cap, a huge celebration, we got him in the changing room. He did do a solo. The boys joined in. It was fantastic. An Atomic Kitten number, actually. I'm not going to give you a rendition now. It was brilliant, all part of the experience.
"The whole World Cup has been amazing so far. The French have put on an absolute show, the stadiums are amazing. Fans are amazing, the cities are brilliant and we are just delighted that we can keep our adventure going.”
It wasn't all singing and dancing, however, as the team also took time out to commiserate with the Wallabies, many of whom have played their club rugby with the Welsh squad.
"All the staff know people in their staff. You shake hands. You understand that they're in a tough spot at the moment," King added. Some of the boys came in. A few of the boys have played in the Premiership together. Nic White came in, saw Tommy Francis.
"You realise how the game is one thing, but friendships you make in the game are another. Guys are always welcome in the changing room to shake hands and have a chat because ultimately that’s bigger than anything".
Wales' odds slashed
Wales have seen their odds on winning the World Cup almost halve overnight after their record victory over Australia.
Warren Gatland's side started the tournament as 50/1 outsiders to lift the Webb Ellis Cup and even after wins over Fiji and Portugal, they went into Saturday night's game with odds of 40/1 to go all the way. But their 40-6 triumph over the Wallabies has seen their price on becoming champions drop to just 22/1 on Monday.
Leading Welsh bookmakers DragonBet have seen a surge of bets placed on Wales to go all the way to the final in Paris on October 28, with Gatland's men now sixth favourites to win the World Cup, behind joint-favourites Ireland and South Africa, France, New Zealand and England.
Wales now have 12 days to get ready for their final Pool C match against Georgia, with qualification already secured and a likely quarter-final meeting with Argentina to follow.
James Lovell, director at DragonBet said: “We pushed Wales out to 50/1 before the tournament and even at those odds there weren’t many bets bar the odd heart-before-head patriotic type. But last night’s performance has ignited the fire in the Welsh gamblers with an avalanche of bets post-match and all morning.
“That’s forced the price into 22/1. They’ve gone from a winning result for us, to an absolute financial disaster. Sometimes, though, even us bookies don’t mind losing and we’ll be cheering them all the way to glory.”
After their gripping weekend pool victory over reigning champions South Africa, Andy Farrell’s Ireland are co-favourites with the Springboks at 11/4. Then come hosts France, who have drifted to 10-3 after the injury to his jaw suffered by their superstar scrum-half Antoine Dupont against Namibia.
New Zealand, who face Italy on Friday having lost their opening pool match to France, are fourth favourites at 4/1. Just ahead of Wales are England, who have beaten Argentina, Japan and Chile so far in their pool and look destined to meet Fiji in the quarter-finals.
Both Argentina and Fiji are priced at 33/1. As for under-fire Eddie Jones and the Aussies, they are not yet mathematically out of the tournament, but their chances of progression out of Pool C is reflected in their price as potential winners, which is now 500/1.
'No wrongs to right' against Georgia
After securing a quarter-final spot with the win over Australia, Wales' attention now turns to their final pool stage match against Georgia, a side that stunned the nation last autumn with a historic 13-12 win at the Principality Stadium.
The Tier 2 side condemned Wayne Pivac's men to a humiliating defeat in front of a home crowd, with the loss one of several nails in the coffin for the New Zealander, who was sacked from his role as head coach the following month after a dismal autumn campaign.
Fast forward to now and things are finally looking up under Warren Gatland. But while the defeat in November is still in the memory of many squad members out in France, Wales forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys insists they have "no wrongs to right" against Georgia in a fortnight's time and will be treating their opponents with "massive respect".
Asked if his side had a point to prove against Georgia, Humphreys replied: "No. It’s about winning. We want to finish top of our group. It was only a few short months ago Georgia beat us at the stadium. We’ll be treating them with massive respect. Like we said in the changing rooms afterwards, our focus after a couple of days off will turn directly to Georgia.
"[We have] no wrongs to right," he added as he reflected on the last time the two sides met. "They deserved it, they were excellent on the day. This is a totally different thing here, it’s not about revenge or anything like that. It’s about making sure we’re at our best to win the game and top our group, and that’s it.
"It was difficult to watch at the end of that [game]. But we had people coming on in that game who hadn’t played in eight months. We’ve got people now who are fit, prepared, and definitely want to go and do a job."
Wales win a lucky escape for England
Brian Moore says Wales' success at the Rugby World Cup is a good thing for England as it means the two sides are unlikely to face each other in the quarter-finals.
England are currently in pole position to win Pool D after wins over Argentina, Japan and Chile saw them take 14 of a maximum 15 points from their opening three games, with only second placed Samoa left to face.
If they do top their group, they will face the runner-up of Pool C - Wales' pool - in the last eight. However, Warren Gatland's side's win over the Wallabies has also put them in command of the group and will secure first place with a win over Georgia, meaning they will likely miss out on a quarter-final meeting with England.
Instead, Wales are expected to meet Argentina in the next round, while Steve Borthwick's side are likely to face Fiji, with Australia set to crash out of the pool stages for the first time ever.
And Moore is relieved that England have avoided a meeting with Wales having been impressed with their performance, albeit against a Wallabies team that offered very little threat in Lyon.
"Irrespective of the quality of Australia," he tweeted, "That was a bloody good win by Wales, and it's good for England not to face them in the quarter finals".
Skelton: We have full trust in Jones
By Andrew Baldock, PA Rugby Union Correspondent, Lyon
Australia captain Will Skelton believes speculation has been "knocked on the head" linking Wallabies head coach Eddie Jones with Japan. A newspaper report published just hours before kick-off of Australia's Rugby World Cup clash against Wales claimed that Jones had been interviewed for the Japan job last month.
Skelton, though, said: "I think it is something that has been knocked on the head there. Eddie has denied it with us. We have full trust in him also. I don't think it was a distraction leading into the game.
"I don't have to (ask Jones directly). I heard the press conference last night. I trust in there what he says - he is a man of his word. At the moment we are in a World Cup in France, so we are definitely focused on this. What happens after that is out of our control."
Australia's record 40-6 loss to Wales has left them on the brink of pool-stage elimination for the first time in World Cup history. They have one Pool C game left against Portugal, but the outcome of that is likely to be irrelevant with Fiji firm favourites to join Wales in the last-eight.
Asked why he believes Jones is still the right coach to lead Australia, Skelton added: "I think his long-term vision and what he wants Australian rugby to be back to, I think that is a positive.
"The way he is around the group. You see in the media he has his persona, but when you see him one-to-one, in front of the team, how he speaks, how he directs, the boys follow him and I do as well. He is a fantastic coach with a massive rugby IQ. We are learning every day when we are working with him."
