Wallabies on downward spiral, warns Campese

AUSTRALIA legend David Campese has called out the lack of instinctive flair in rugby union and believes the sport has become a carbon copy of what rugby league used to be.

-  BEN JAYCOCK

Campese, who won 101 Wallabies caps and scored 64 Test tries before retiring in 1998 after a 14-year international career, puts the Wallabies' first ever World Cup pool stage exit down to panic, coupled with poor leadership shown from chairman Hamish McLennan, which he feels should have resulted in the official standing down.

Australia opted to go without 79-Test fly-half Quade Cooper in one of Eddie Jones' shock squad omissions, and 1991 World Cup winner Campese feels the Wallabies shot themselves in the foot with their lack of an experienced goal kicker, with 22-year-old Carter Gordon the only recognised 10.

The Wallabies suffered a first defeat to Fiji in 50 years before an embarrassing showing against Wales saw them crash to a heaviest ever World Cup defeat (40-6).

Campese told The Rugby Paper: "We went to a World Cup with a 22-year old goal kicker that's played three Tests. If you know World Cups, you need a number one goal kicker like (Handre) Pollard, who doesn't miss a goal, to win a World Cup.

"Board members that don't understand the game shouldn't make decisions and I think for the past 20 years we've had that.