Josh Adams says the chance to clinch a Rugby World Cup quarter-final place on Sunday has been a motivational force behind Wales’ preparations to face Australia.
Wales will guarantee a last-eight place if they topple the Wallabies in Lyon.
And they would do it with a game to spare, with their final Pool C fixture against Georgia a fortnight away.
Bonus-point victories over Fiji and Portugal have given Wales a maximum return of 10 points, and they will face an Australian side reeling from losing to Fiji six days ago.
That 22-15 defeat has left Eddie Jones’ team on the brink of elimination, facing a serious prospect of making a pool-stage exit for the first time in World Cup history.
“It is in our hands now, which is a nice feeling,” Wales wing Adams said. “It is all depending on us and how we perform.
“We are quite aware of the carrot at the end, if you like, and it has motivated us a lot this week, if I am honest.
“It is the best week we’ve had in my opinion. We are pretty highly motivated for this game, as will Australia be of course. It’s a massive game for them as well.
“The past couple of games against Australia have been very tight. Sunday will be no different. Improving on our first two performances will be really important for us.
“Once we had put the Portugal game to bed, all the focus turned to Australia. I have felt the energy build as the week has gone on, which has been a good thing.
“We’ve talked about different aspects of the game, what it means for us as a squad going forward. Sunday will be a great contest, with both teams going after each other.”
Wales have never failed to reach the World Cup quarter-finals with Warren Gatland in charge, having got there in 2011, 2015 and 2019.
And their current status is a far cry from results in last season’s Six Nations, when Wales finished fifth after losing four of their five games.
Four months of intense preparation, though, has moulded a fiercely-competitive squad that has every chance of going deep in the tournament.
Adams added: “We have shown aspects of that brotherhood, how much we are willing to work hard for each other.
“We have had three months of it prior to coming here, and that work we have done has put us in good stead.
“We understand what we expect from each other. I expect the best of everybody else, and they should not expect anything less from me.
“As a squad we make a promise to each other before we play that no matter what happens out there we will constantly keep fighting for everything, every ball in the air, every ball on the floor, as a squad we will continually scrap for everything.
“We want to be a difficult team to beat and break down, and we have shown passages of that. We can get better and push it further.
“That is our aim, to impose ourselves defensively in a more aggressive way, but we need to be disciplined.
“Some of our discipline has been poor, and we have addressed it across the squad. I have no doubt everybody will scrap for 80, 90 or 100 minutes on Sunday.”
Healy in line to equal Ireland cap record versus Argentina
Cian Healy is set to equal Brian O'Driscoll's Ireland cap record when they face New Zealand in Friday's autumn international in Dublin.
The 37-year-old prop has represented his country on 132 occasions and, after being named on the bench, will equal O'Driscoll's mark if introduced versus the Pumas.
Ireland suffered their first home defeat since 2021 last time out, going down by a 23-13 scoreline against New Zealand.
Despite that loss, head coach Andy Farrell has only made one change to Ireland's starting lineup, bringing Robbie Henshaw in at inside centre in place of Bundee Aki.
Argentina also named their team on Wednesday, with vice-captain Pablo Matera, Guido Petti and Matias Moroni replacing Santiago Grondona, Franco Molina and Matias Orlando.
Ireland team: Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe; Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher, Finlay Bealham; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.
Replacements: Rob Herring, Cian Healy, Thomas Clarkson, Ryan Baird, Peter O'Mahony, Craig Casey, Sam Prendergast, Jamie Osborne.
Argentina team: Juan Cruz Mallia; Rodrigo Isgro, Lucio Cinti, Matias Moroni, Bautista Delguy; Tomas Albornoz, Gonzalo Bertranou; Thomas Gallo, Julian Montoya, Joel Sclavi; Guido Petti, Pedro Rubiolo; Pablo Matera, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Joaquin Oviedo.
Replacements: Ignacio Ruiz, Ignacio Calles, Francisco Gomez Kodela, Franco Molina, Santiago Grondona, Gonzalo Garcia, Santiago Carreras, Justo Piccardo.
Pressure to win for England is a 'privilege', says Wigglesworth
Senior England coach Richard Wigglesworth believes that the pressure to win matches is part of the privilege of playing for the national team.
England face world champions South Africa at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday with displeasure growing after four straight defeats.
Included in that run were narrow losses in their first two Autumn Nations Series games against New Zealand and Australia.
Though England have won three of their last four games against South Africa at Allianz Stadium, Wigglesworth insisted everyone within the squad wants to improve.
"This job of being part of the England team is such a privilege, because so many people care, which makes your feeling on the matter really big," Wigglesworth told BBC Sport.
"Our job is to step back from that and see what was right, what was wrong, and what can we fix.
"We need to see the game for what it is, make the decisions for what they are, and get better every week.
"It is our job to make sure the players understand as much as they can that they can’t get affected by that as well.
"We know the attention the team gets is result-dependent, and rightly so."
The last time England and South Africa faced one another was in the Rugby World Cup semi-final in 2023, in which the Springboks came back from 15-6 down to win 16-15.
England will have to be wise to how the visitors have evolved since that game according to Wigglesworth.
"They have a squad and a plan they have done for a while, and when you are successful you tend to stick to things," he said.
"I have really enjoyed watching what they do, and how they do it. It is our job to meet that and rise to it."
Springboks aiming to have 'two best teams in the world', says Esterhuizen
South Africa centre Andre Esterhuizen said that the Springboks are aiming to have "the two best teams in the world" ahead of their Autumn Nations Series clash against England.
The world champions were pushed all the way by Scotland in their narrow victory at Murrayfield on Sunday, though head coach Rassie Erasmus opted to rotate some key starting positions.
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi and flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit started on the bench, with the changes a common theme during Erasmus' seven-year tenure.
Their opening Autumn Nations Series victory also put them back on top of the world rankings after Ireland's first defeat in 19 home games by New Zealand on Friday.
"One of the good things is that everyone is getting game time now," Esterhuizen told the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast.
"It is also about looking forward, you've got to be able to spare all the guys for the next World Cup and build experience into it.
"The aim is to have the two best teams in the world, all in one squad.
"We want to make it second nature for people slotting in, so if someone steps in, they can just slot in and play the same if not better than the other player."
South Africa next face England, who are yet to pick up a win this autumn, at Twickenham on Saturday.
Steve Borthwick's side suffered a narrow two-point defeat by New Zealand, before conceding an injury-time winning try to Australia on Saturday.
England have now lost each of their last four Test matches, their longest such run since losing five straight games in 2018, but Esterhuizen's former Harlequins team-mate Marcus Smith has been impressive for the Red Roses.
"It's a great space, I obviously love to play there," Esterhuizen added. "It will be great to be running at Marcus, not run off him.
"It's going to be a great match, England have played well in the last few games, it's unfortunate that it hasn't been the results that they want. I think it's going to be a big one."
The Springboks have won three of their last four matches against England (L1), including each of their last two. Three of the last five games between England and South Africa have been decided by single-point margins.
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