Rugby World Cup – Australia profile: Full squad, head coach, key player, prediction and odds

Australia have made the quarter-finals of every Rugby World Cup, but it is 20 years since they last lifted the Webb Ellis Cup.

Beaten finalists last time around, Michael Cheika has selected a broadly similar squad, leaning on experienced campaigners and buoyed by their recent demolition of 14-man New Zealand which showed what the Wallabies are capable of at their best.

Aided by luring a number of long-time Test operators back to Australia, Cheika has emphasised versatility in the backs (as many as eight or nine of this squad could play at inside centre) as well as creativity. Uncertainty over who starts at fly-half is a concern, but Samu Kerevi has evolved from a one-track basher into a centre of the highest quality, and has rightly been rewarded with the vice captaincy.

Kerevi will play deputy to Michael Hooper, not yet 28 but on course to win his 100th cap during the course of the tournament. Hooper will likely be reunited with David Pocock (if fit) after four years of injuries and sabbaticals that has seen the pair seldom deployed in tandem since the last World Cup. Australia are undoubtedly a better side with the pair dovetailing in the back row, but figuring out how exactly to fit them both without compromising the line out or leaving the side short of carriers remains a quandary.

Elsewhere, the ‘Tongan Thor’ Taniela Tupou will be sprung from the bench and provide destructive cameos on the tighthead, and look out for 19-year-old livewire Jordan Petaia – that Petaia, who has not yet made his Australia debut, has made this side after two injury hit seasons is a mark of how highly the Australian set-up regards the young wing, whose long-term home may be outside centre. With a wise head on extremely young shoulders and an ability to glide past and through tackles, Petaia could be a breakout star of the tournament if he gets an opportunity.

Forwards: Allan Alaalatoa, Rory Arnold, Adam Coleman, Jack Dempsey, Folau Fainga’a, Michael Hooper (captain), Sekope Kepu, Tolu Latu, Isi Naisarani, David Pocock, Izack Rodda, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Rob Simmons, Scott Sio, James Slipper, Taniela Tupou, Jordan Uelese.

Backs: Adam Ashley-Cooper, Kurtley Beale, Bernard Foley, Will Genia, Dane Haylett-Petty, Reece Hodge, Samu Kerevi, Marika Koroibete, Tevita Kuridrani, Christian Lealiifano, James O’Connor, Jordan Petaia, Matt Toomua, Nic White.

Michael Cheika. That 47-26 win over New Zealand somewhat calmed troubled waters for Cheika, a divisive figure throughout his five-year tenure. It is a flawed side, and Cheika has done well to bring back seven or eight from Europe who will make a difference in Japan, but the nilling the Wallabies received as a measure of revenge from the All Blacks exposed all too easily Australia’s flaws.

With selection decisions to be made at a number of positions, most prominently in the back row and at fly-half, Cheika will have to get his combinations right if Australia are to truly assemble themselves for a run at the trophy.

Michael Hooper. There is a little bit of chatter that Hooper may find himself starting on the bench with David Pocock fit again, but the Australia captain is such a key cog to this side that he must start with his athleticism in the open field vital to the Wallabies’ defensive structures, his breakdown business equally crucial in spoiling opposition ball and his leadership hugely important.

Hooper will have to figure out how he and Pocock can combine most effectively and integrate the third member of their back row triumvirate. There are plenty of older heads in the Australia squad to guide and assist Hooper, but he will need to take charge of his team and set standards to ensure consistency.

A shock defeat to Fiji first up is followed by a tight loss to Wales, and Australia fail to make the quarter-finals of a Rugby World Cup for the first time.

Australia to win the World Cup: 14/1