As Australia heads towards the first elimination in its history from the group stage, Wallabies second row Will Skelton has announced that, at 31, he does not want to stop playing for the Wallabies. “I am not retiring,” declared the player from Stade Rochelais, double reigning European champion, at a press conference. He also returned to the difficulties encountered by the Australians. “It’s hard to say. We trained hard – all teams train hard for a World Cup – and we worked very hard too, he stressed. We didn’t get the results we wanted but, as we said, the score is the last link in progression.
And added: “The boys are changing their habits on and off the field. It’s a credit to Eddie (Jones, the coach) and the staff, who push us every day. We can’t really question the efforts we make. It’s just that we are not getting the results we expected. But they will come.”
The colossus of La Rochelle nevertheless underlined the qualities of the Top 14 which better trains young players at international level. “The only difference is that they are exposed to a probably higher level of rugby with the Top 14,” he says. But we have great players, Tommy Hooper, Carter Gordon, Ben Donaldson: they are the rare players to have shone in recent months in the Wallabies jersey.
Furthermore, he does not rule out a return to Australia to play in Super Rugby. “I’m not closing any doors. For the moment, I am under contract for two additional years with La Rochelle, but I do not rule out this possibility,” specifies the Australian second row.