Wallabies rookie Richie Arnold says the team's new players have bought into Eddie Jones' plan to shock the World Cup, adamant they trust his vision despite a horror start in the build up to the tournament.
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The Wallabies will name their team for the World Cup opener late on Thursday night, with Arnold in the frame to earn a call up after bolting into the squad.
He is one of several new faces in Jones' rebuilt Wallabies, who will face Georgia in the first pool game in Saint Etienne on Sunday morning Australian time.
And the equal tallest player in Australian rugby history says the players have unwavering faith in Jones, despite losing all five Tests since Jones returned to take the reins this year.
"Eddie is Eddie. He knows what his plan is and he's quite meticulous in what he does," Arnold said.
"He's been good for the group and all the players are just buying in. We trust him and he's got a plan moving forward, we've all bought in."
The Wallabies are bullish about their chances despite major squad changes and the absence of a winning feeling over the past two years.
Jones has put the broom through his Test group, leaving some established stars at home in favour of new talent in a bid to breathe new life into the Wallabies.
![Richie Arnold is hoping to make his World Cup debut this weekend. Picture Getty Images Richie Arnold is hoping to make his World Cup debut this weekend. Picture Getty Images](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/j2iwCiKfwhVWJky39Vsdpt/55c54191-001d-439b-9e09-3b87f3f1dfc4.jpg/r0_0_5266_2961_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
But even Arnold was shocked when he was tapped on the shoulder and invited back into the Australian rugby inner sanctum when Jones took over this year.
The 33-year-old was a late bloomer. He made his Super Rugby debut at 26 and played only a handful of games in his first year at the Western Force before moving to the ACT Brumbies to link with twin brother Rory.
His size - all 208 centimetres and 127 kilograms of him - made an instant impact in Canberra, but he moved to Japan and France. He thought he was out of sight, out of mind until Jones came with an offer too good to be refused.
Now he's on the cusp of a moment he thought was impossible, and he's tapping into the Rory's experience to help make the transition easier.
"Coming off the bench for the Springboks Test [for my debut], I was quite emotional," Richie Arnold said.
"I've thought about it over the last few months and I've spoken to my twin brother. It's been a hell of a ride. It's a crazy journey.
"Me and Rory are really close - I was on the phone to him before. I pick his brain for everything that can help me with my game and he's been to a World Cup in Japan [in 2019]. I've been picking his brain about that, he's been helpful for me."
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Arnold will battle with new Wallabies skipper Will Skelton, Brumbies lock Nick Frost and Matt Philip for a spot in the second row. It's unclear if Jones will share the workload in the pool stages, or pick his best team for every game given the players have had minimal on-field experiences together.
Versatile Brumbies back-rower Tom Hooper is poised to make his World Cup debut, but it's unclear if scrumhalf Nic White will force his way back into the team after being overlooked for a pre-tournament clash against France.
Jones is also getting to know a new coaching staff, including former Brumbies and Wallabies prop Dan Palmer.
"I don't see the World Cup as a free hit," Palmer said. "We're here to impose ourselves against every team we come up against and I think we're in a good position to do that.
"We plan on going deep into this competition. We've been working really hard up until this point because we've had to. We've had a new group, a young group ... we've had to work hard on areas of our game and our capacity, ability to adapt.
"That's reflected in how we've trained, but now we're into a different phase and we're going into the World Cup, so the way we prepare is going to shift accordingly."
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