Strong-man Scott Sio wants smooth finish to patchy Australia season
In fact, it would have been five on the trot had he not missed the semi-final against Argentina with a damaged elbow. Twickenham is the new Sydney.
“It will be great to be back although it doesn’t seem a year ago, more like ten minutes,” says Sio who came of age as a starting Test prop during Australia’s vibrant World Cup campaign.
“Being drawn in the England pool meant we were lucky enough to play two of our pool games at Twickenham and then the way the draw worked we had all our knockout games there as well. It became our home from home and I enjoyed more rugby at Twickenham than most non-England players would in, say, five years. We really packed it in and got used to the place.
“There’s a good hard core of Aussies in London who always seem to turn up so we are never without support but given that we are Australia, the Pom fans always tend to cheer for the opposition. The Pumas will very much be the ‘home’ team next month. It’s their fixture, they have a load of fans in Britain and the neutrals will be cheering for them as well.
“It almost goes without saying that it’s a great rugby stadium and a special environment. Fast track, big noisy crowd. If you can’t play good rugby there, well there has to be something wrong. It makes you lift your standards and I feel that’s what we did consistently back at the World Cup.”
Sio is not wrong, Australia certainly hit their straps at Twickenham. Although hardly underdogs – historically Australia usually cobble together a strong World Cup campaign – Australia had been all over the place until the appointment of Michael Cheika, left, as coach in 2014.
Cheika quickly steadied the ship but they hardly looked world beaters in the build up to the RWC2015 and having been drawn in the Pool of Death nobody was making any bold predictions on their behalf. But then, right on cue, they clicked with that thumping 33-13 win over England – the match that sealed England’s fate – being their signature performance.
“The England game was a really complete performance, one of the best I’ve ever been involved,” continues Sio. “We were all proud to be a part of that and to execute so well under intense pressure. We played some incredible footie that night and scored some great tries.
“Wales was different, the Welsh were very strong on the night and we got caught up in a real scrap. I forget the exact scenario but because we hadn’t got a bonus point against Fiji in our first pool win we could have been out if we had lost.
“There were a lot of nerves and then we managed to lose a couple of players to the bin and had to hold out against the Welsh during that important phase of play.
“We came through that ok and showed a lot of resilience to win against the Scots in the quarter-final. We played some great rugby again that day, five tries, but they were dogged and we just couldn’t put them away and only just squeezed through.
“I missed the semi-final against Argentina with injury when we were very solid, very strong, but got back for the final. We got beaten by the better team that day but fired all the shots we had.We made New Zealand work really hard for it.”
The son of former Samoa prop David Sio, the World Cup was a major breakthrough for the Brumbies prop. Before the tournament he had started only two of his first ten Tests but he and the Australia front row generally made various critics eat their words with a series of strong, sometimes even commanding scrummaging performances. “We know how important this part of the game is and how some teams might target us and we just had to get it right. You don’t get very far in tournaments and championships unless you nail down all the basics and we worked very hard at the scrum.”
Since the World Cup Australia’s form, at best, can be described as patchy. Nearly six months after their last international the Wallabies ran into a very different England – in terms of attitude, style and confidence – than the England they had dismissed during the World Cup.
Australia’s 3-0 series defeat was a very rude awakening although any neutrals watching – if such a person exists in Anglo/Australia encounters – would have to concede they played some pretty decent rugby in phases. They didn’t, however, put in an 80-minute performance at any stage and paid the cost.
“It was tough to take but we had to learn our lesson. Going into the World Cup we had been flying under the radar a little but by this summer good coaches had studied our game and worked us out a little. And listen, England played really well, don’t take any credit away. We got beaten by a very good side, we know that.”
Off the back of that series defeat against England Australia’s next assignment was back-to-back Rugby Championship Tests with New Zealand, not a prospect that would thrill any national coach at present. Predictably they came off second best against the All Blacks but they have hit back with consecutive wins over the Springboks and the Pumas.
“We needed those couple of wins and are back on an even keel although we have got a very tough end of the Championship, we are under no illusions about that. It will be nice to finish off again at Twickenham though and we are there again in December to play England. Most of our team could find their way around Twickenham blindfolded.
“We are on the road all the time these days with Test rugby and Super Rugby which can be difficult because I’m not a great sleeper on planes. The docs tell you when they want you to sleep depending on the time zone you are heading for – first five hours, last five hours – but I can’t sleep to order. I can only sleep when I’m tired.
“Luckily it’s written into the SANZAR contracts that any flights for players over four and half hours have to be business class. So at least I rest and relax. We would be in pieces otherwise. The four-hour economy flights to Perth from Sydney are just about as much as you can take when you squeeze our front row into their seats.”
BRENDAN GELLEGHER
