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Gareth Thomas says it would be \u201can amazing feeling\u201d if Wales beat Australia and book a Rugby World Cup quarter-final place one game inside the distance.<\/p>\n
Wales tackle the Wallabies in Lyon on Sunday knowing that victory would confirm one of the two qualifying spots from Pool C.<\/p>\n
England or Argentina are then likely last-eight opponents in Marseille next month, with Wales maintaining a 100 per cent record of reaching the knock-out phase under head coach Warren Gatland during four successive World Cup campaigns.<\/p>\n
Wales then have a break next week before completing their group schedule against Georgia in Nantes.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWhen we came here we always wanted to win all the games in the group and nothing has changed,\u201d Wales prop Thomas said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got the same mindset. We want to go out there and perform and get the win.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would be an amazing feeling wouldn\u2019t it, getting the third win? We don\u2019t want anything but that. We are looking forward to this weekend and then we will have a couple of days to recover after that.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Wales occupy the box-seat, Australia must win to have any chance of progressing from a pool that also includes Fiji, Georgia and Portugal.<\/p>\n
A 22-15 defeat to Fiji in Saint-Etienne last weekend has elevated the prospect of Australia not progressing to the quarter-finals, which has been their minimum achievement in all nine previous World Cup campaigns.<\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s record in the tournament against Wales is a good one, though, having toppled them five times from seven attempts, but the latest meeting will undoubtedly see them weakened by injured forwards Taniela Tupou and Will Skelton missing out.<\/p>\n
Thomas added: \u201cThey are always going to be dangerous when you play against them.<\/p>\n
We take a lot of confidence from the Fiji game and Portugal game and what we’ve done all summer<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to come here with the mindset of winning all the pool games, and nothing has changed for us. So whether they have won or lost, it doesn\u2019t change anything for us.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe take a lot of confidence from the Fiji game and Portugal game and what we\u2019ve done all summer, really, and feel like we can only get better as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know it is going to be a big, physical contest and we are looking forward to getting out there.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really make any difference to me whether they (Tupou and Skelton) are in or not.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got our heavies behind us \u2013 Will (Rowlands) and Beardy (Adam Beard) and Daf (Dafydd Jenkins). They are all heavy boys and Christ (Tshiunza) as well. We\u2019ve got plenty of power ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas is among 16 Wales players involved in a first World Cup campaign and he is relishing the experience on and off the pitch.<\/p>\n
Wales assistant coach Alex King has compared the squad to a \u201cband of brothers\u201d, and Thomas said: \u201cThere is just something special about every game in the World Cup, so we are watching them and just enjoying them because there is a big buzz about everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have fines committees. The (latest) sheet came out with all the fines on it and Nick Tompkins racked up a decent bill.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHe wore the wrong T-shirt and he was a little bit late for monitoring after the Fiji game because his alarm didn\u2019t go off. It\u2019s all good fun.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am on environment, so making sure everything is clean and taking the empty bottles, putting them in the bin. That\u2019s my job, the guy who tells everyone to clean up their own stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n