Wales looking to grab third position in Rugby World Cup after being beat by France in semi final-Rugby News
Wales, who lost the first semi-final of Rugby world Cup 2011 to France on October 15 in Auckland, is aiming to secure a third position in the global showpiece when they face the Wallabies on October 21. The assistant coach of Wales, Neil Jenkins, told the
media on October 17 that playing the final of the current World Cup was their utmost desire but now they are looking to end their campaign as the third best side of the event.
The Welsh side was in a good position to make their maiden appearance in the final of the Rugby World Cup but the early exit of their skipper Sam Warburton cost them a narrow margin defeat. They were restricted to 14-men just in the 18th minute
of the match as Warburton was red carded by referee for a dangerous tackle. However, they were still able to give a tough time to their rivals and competed well until the end.
Wales played exceptionally well in the whole tournament and ended second on the ladder after playing four group matches. They received only one defeat in the Pool matches at the hands of defending champs Springboks and sealed their place in the knock out
stages. In the quarter-final Wales thumped Ireland by a handsome margin of 22-10.
Talking to journalists about their upcoming match against Wallabies Neil Jenkins said that, “It's a big game for us. We want to try to become the third-best side in the world, that's what we'll try to do. We're up against a very good side - the Australians
are going to be hurting as much as ourselves from losing against the All Blacks.”
The assistant coach further said that a tough battle is expected when the two semi-finalists face each other for the third position clash. He added that, “We haven't been in this situation before, losing a World Cup semifinal and obviously in four years'
time you'd like to be in the final. But when we start training tomorrow we'll get a feeling for where the boys are at.”
Meanwhile, Wales’ skipper will miss the match due to a three-week ban by IRB.
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