Neil Jenkins: Wales focused on third-place game

Mike Phillips
© PA Photos
Neil Jenkins says that Wales are now fully focused on their bronze medal match with Australia.

Wales skills coach Neil Jenkins has said that Wales are now fully focused on their bronze play-off match against Australia after crashing out of the semi-finals at the hands of France.

"Obviously the final is the one we all want to be in," Jenkins said. "But it's a Test match, it's an important Test match for us and we have to front up and be ready to go on Friday night.

"We want to try to become the third-best side in the world, that's what we'll try to do. We're up against a very good side - the Australians are going to be hurting as much as ourselves from losing against the All Blacks."

Speaking of the team's much-praised performance during the tournament, Jenkins said that Wales will be playing with something to prove on Saturday.

"The two games that we lost, we lost by a point each time," he said. "So we're a very good side, we know we've made an awful lot of progress throughout the tournament and we certainly want to show sides what we're about and turn up Friday night and put in a good performance.

"We haven't been in this situation before, losing a World Cup semi-final and obviously in four years' time you'd like to be in the final. But when we start training tomorrow we'll get a feeling for where the boys are at."

Wales will battle Australia for the bronze medal on Friday in Auckland.

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