Australia cruised past group whipping boys Uruguay as they crossed the whitewash 11 times, but Quade Cooper's kicking from the tee will be a major worry.
The Wallby fly-half could only muster 5 succesful kicks from 11 attempts and that could prove a decisive factor when it comes to big game selection, with Cooper locked in a battle for the 10 jersey with Bernard Foley. Cooper also picked up a yellow card in the first half for a dangerous tackle, that could well be cited.
Cooper's form off the tee will be the only worry for Michael Cheika as it was training ground stuff for his charges as Uruguay provided little more than cannon fodder.
With David Pocock and Michael Hoooper both rested, it was another Australian openside that shone throughout in the form of Sean McMahon, who crossed the whitewash twice.
McMahon was the first player to dot down and it didn't take much longer for the floodgates to open as further tries from Joe Tomane, Henry Speight, Dean Mumm and Ben McCalman secured the bonus point before the half time whistle.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nice little flick pass from Quade Cooper for Joe Tomane to score. <a href="https://t.co/hi5Kffktbb">https://t.co/hi5Kffktbb</a></p>— EatSleepRugby (@eatsleeprugby) <a href="https://twitter.com/eatsleeprugby/status/648093391226544128">September 27, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
A Felipe Berchesi penalty put Uruguay on the board but that was as good as it got for them as Australia came out firing in the second half.
First, Drew Mitchell went over for two quickfire trys, with further efforts from McCalman, McMahon, Matt Toomua and Tevita Kuridrani boosting the Aussies overall try count, something that could prove crucial come the end of the Pool stages.
Cooper's kicking from the tee was clearly a point of worry from the coach's point of view, as they had Reds flyhalf stay out on the pitch for extra kicking practice.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Quade Cooper out practising his goal-kicking after the game. 5/11 today. <a href="http://t.co/mh5lZFHgzi">pic.twitter.com/mh5lZFHgzi</a></p>— Christopher Jones (@chjones9) <a href="https://twitter.com/chjones9/status/648120530172813313">September 27, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
However, despite his kicking, Cooper had a fine game and showed everybody just what he is capable of in the lead up to Matt Toomua's try. Running at pace, Cooper made a lilne break, stepped a defender and then delivered a lovely skip pass out wide to Kurtley Beale who instantly fed it to Toomua in the corner.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Quade Cooper's kicking has been below par but his footwork is on point... <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AUSvURU?src=hash">#AUSvURU</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RWC2015?src=hash">#RWC2015</a> <a href="https://t.co/rpVacUIDOt">https://t.co/rpVacUIDOt</a></p>— Luxbet (@luxbet) <a href="https://twitter.com/luxbet/status/648116444815716352">September 27, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The result moves Australia joint top with Wales, but the Wallabies have a superior points difference. It was another impressive performance and its looking ominous for Stuart Lancaster and England, who Australia play next.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/cykM4RLfphU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
