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• Wales prop Gareth Thomas eyeing World Cup quarter-final berth against Australia

  Gareth Thomas says it would be “an amazing feeling” if Wales beat Australia and book a Rugby World Cup quarter-final place one game inside the distance.

  Wales tackle the Wallabies in Lyon on Sunday knowing that victory would confirm one of the two qualifying spots from Pool C.

  England or Argentina are then likely last-eight opponents in Marseille next month, with Wales maintaining a 100 per cent record of reaching the knock-out phase under head coach Warren Gatland during four successive World Cup campaigns.

  Wales then have a break next week before completing their group schedule against Georgia in Nantes.

  “When we came here we always wanted to win all the games in the group and nothing has changed,” Wales prop Thomas said.

  “We’ve got the same mindset. We want to go out there and perform and get the win.

  “That would be an amazing feeling wouldn’t it, getting the third win? We don’t want anything but that. We are looking forward to this weekend and then we will have a couple of days to recover after that.”

  While Wales occupy the box-seat, Australia must win to have any chance of progressing from a pool that also includes Fiji, Georgia and Portugal.

  A 22-15 defeat to Fiji in Saint-Etienne last weekend has elevated the prospect of Australia not progressing to the quarter-finals, which has been their minimum achievement in all nine previous World Cup campaigns.

  Australia’s record in the tournament against Wales is a good one, though, having toppled them five times from seven attempts, but the latest meeting will undoubtedly see them weakened by injured forwards Taniela Tupou and Will Skelton missing out.

  Thomas added: “They are always going to be dangerous when you play against them.

  “We wanted to come here with the mindset of winning all the pool games, and nothing has changed for us. So whether they have won or lost, it doesn’t change anything for us.

  “We take a lot of confidence from the Fiji game and Portugal game and what we’ve done all summer, really, and feel like we can only get better as well.

  “We know it is going to be a big, physical contest and we are looking forward to getting out there.

  “It doesn’t really make any difference to me whether they (Tupou and Skelton) are in or not.

  “We’ve got our heavies behind us – Will (Rowlands) and Beardy (Adam Beard) and Daf (Dafydd Jenkins). They are all heavy boys and Christ (Tshiunza) as well. We’ve got plenty of power ourselves.”

  Thomas is among 16 Wales players involved in a first World Cup campaign and he is relishing the experience on and off the pitch.

  Wales assistant coach Alex King has compared the squad to a “band of brothers”, and Thomas said: “There is just something special about every game in the World Cup, so we are watching them and just enjoying them because there is a big buzz about everything.

  “We have fines committees. The (latest) sheet came out with all the fines on it and Nick Tompkins racked up a decent bill.

  “He wore the wrong T-shirt and he was a little bit late for monitoring after the Fiji game because his alarm didn’t go off. It’s all good fun.

  “I am on environment, so making sure everything is clean and taking the empty bottles, putting them in the bin. That’s my job, the guy who tells everyone to clean up their own stuff.”

• Melbourne Cup off the agenda for Giavellotto

  Giavellotto will head to Qipco Champions Day or be put away until next season after connections shelved the idea of having a tilt at this year’s Melbourne Cup.

  A narrow winner of the Yorkshire Cup in the spring, Marco Botti’s stable star has since finished fifth in the Goodwood Cup and third in the Lonsdale Cup back at York last month.

  Given Giavellotto’s preference for a sound surface, a trip to Australia appeared an attractive proposition – but with the stringent veterinary checks required to contest the Flemington showpiece seemingly a factor, he will not contest the ‘race that stops a nation’ in early November.

  “He’s in good form and has come out of the race at York in fine shape, but we’re not going to Australia,” said Botti.

  “There were a few niggling problems and it’s not going to happen this year unfortunately. He’s fine, but there were concerns we might get him there and he wouldn’t be able to run or whatever, so we just decided bypass it for this year.

  “Hopefully next year if we still have him and everything is going well then we can think about it as the Melbourne Cup is a race the owners would love to go for, and the race and the track would suit him as he seems to go on left-handed tracks.”

  With the Melbourne Cup ruled out, the only viable option left for Giavellotto this season is the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup on October 21, but the prospect of demanding conditions at Ascot is an obvious concern.

  “We’ll keep an eye on the weather as he will only go to Ascot if the ground is not too soft. Good to soft is fine, but he wouldn’t want to run on anything softer than that,” Botti added.

  “If he doesn’t go to Ascot we’ll just put him away for the winter.

  “We haven’t discussed plans for next year with the owners yet. I wouldn’t rule out going back to Dubai World Cup night for the Gold Cup, but let’s see how he winters and how he is after a nice break.”

• US venues for next year's T20 World Cup selected

  The established Central Broward Regional Park Stadium has been announced as one of three venues which will host matches on the United States leg of the men’s Twenty20 World Cup next year.

  Located in Lauderhill, Florida, the venue has already hosted six One-Day Internationals and 16 Twenty20 Internationals and will be joined by Grand Prairie in Dallas and the yet-to-be constructed Eisenhower Park in New York.

  The T20 World Cup is being jointly hosted by West Indies and the United States from June 4-30.

  “We’re delighted to announce the three USA venues that will host part of the biggest ICC Men’s T20 World Cup ever staged, with 20 teams competing for the trophy,” said ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice.

   “The USA is a strategically important market, and these venues give us an excellent opportunity to make a statement in the world’s biggest sport market.

  “We explored a number of potential venue options in the country, and we were hugely encouraged by the enthusiasm the event generated amongst prospective hosts, reinforcing the growing awareness around cricket’s massive fanbase and its power to unite diverse communities.”

  He continued: “We are very excited about the opportunity to use modular stadium technology to present world class cricket in a location that has not previously hosted an ICC global event giving USA cricket fans the chance to watch the world’s best on their doorstep. 

  “This technology has been used at previous ICC events to increase venue capacity and it’s routinely used in other major sports around the world. 

  “In the USA, it will give us the opportunity to increase the size of the venues in both Dallas and Florida and create what is going to be a stunning venue in New York.”

  The ICC said Wednesday the Eisenhower Park, to be constructed in Nassau County, would be built to a capacity of 34 000 and take the form of a purpose-built sports and events park. 

  Nassau County is an affluent area located on Long Island, on the outskirts of New York City.

  “Whether it be PGA events, record breaking concerts in our parks, or the annual Belmont Stakes, we are no stranger to hosting large scale events on the world stage,” said Nassau County Executive, Bruce Blakeman.

  “I look forward to bringing our many diverse communities together to watch some of the best cricket in the world, right here in Nassau County.”

  Grand Prairie, meanwhile, came to cricketing prominence earlier this year when it hosted matches in the inaugural Major League Cricket tournament.