Clean bill of health for Australia from coach Michael Cheika as Wallabies prepare for Rugby World Cup final
Australia coach Michael Cheika is confident he will have a fully-fit squad at his disposal when he plots the downfall of defending champions New Zealand in Saturday’s World Cup final at Twickenham.
Full-back Israel Folau and No8 David Pocock both missed Australia’s quarter-final victory over Scotland with ankle and calf injuries respectively but came through Sunday’s semi-final against Argentina unscathed.
“We’re not too bad,” said Cheika. “The players who went into the match with an injury are looking pretty good the way they came out of it, probably much better than we expected.”
Cheika confirmed that he has no major concerns over inside centre Matt Giteau, withdrawn after 47 minutes on Sunday due to a groin strain, meaning the biggest doubt is prop Scott Sio, who missed the Pumas clash with an elbow problem.
“He’s been running already and he’s got movement back in his elbow,” added Cheika. “We’ll see how that applies to some of his specialties such as scrummaging and mauling and we’ll take it from there.”