Two-time World Cup winner and former Wallabies centre Tim Horan has backed Australia to shock the rugby world and claim the illustrious Rugby World Cup trophy that has evaded them for more than 20 years, a year out from Rugby World Cup 2027 kick-off in Perth.
Horan was integral to the Wallabies squad that won the Webb Ellis Trophy at Twickenham in 1999 and watched on in Sydney in 2003 as Australia fell agonizingly short of going back-to-back when England's Jonny Wilkinson kicked his infamous extra-time drop-goal that broke Australian hearts and won England's only World Cup title.
Twenty-three years on the tournament returns to Australia and the Wallabies aim to go one better while reviving the sport to the level of support it enjoyed during their 'golden era' from the 90s through to the early 2000s. Already more than 1.3 million tickets for next year's tournament have been sold, while belief in the Australian rugby community is growing with several sold-out Tests through 2026, and Horan believes next year could be a unifying moment for the sport in Australia.
"I think similar to the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa, where Nelson Mandela used sport, but particularly rugby, to unite the country, we can do that here in Australia," Horan told reporters at the Rugby World Cup one year countdown launch event in Sydney.
"There are obviously other sporting codes here that are juggernauts at the moment, but rugby globally is massive, we just need to get it bigger here in Australia and back to where it was back in 2003.
"I think we can do that through the World Cup, and not just through the Wallabies playing, but through people watching [games like] Japan vs Romania. There's going to be plenty of Welsh and Irish supporters out here [too]. That's part of the Rugby World Cup, watching all these other games around the seven other cities in Australia."
Confidence in the Wallabies squad has grown through 2026 with Australia on a five-game unbeaten run -- four under new coach Les Kiss -- including an unlikely victory over the Springboks in Perth on Sunday, but the World Cup winner isn't getting too carried away ahead of the upcoming Bledisloe Cup series.
"I think there's some confidence there for the Wallabies and what they did against the Springboks, but we've got to keep our feet on the ground," Horan said.
"It's only early days for Les Kiss' side. As I said before, the brand and the style of rugby they're playing is people want to watch, and that's what you want. You want fans, not just hardened rugby fans, to watch the Wallabies.
"You want the floaters who watch all other sports to watch the Wallabies in the gold jersey. We'll soon tell in the next three weeks where the Wallabies are after you've played two Test matches against the All Blacks."
But with a year to go and 14 Tests for the Wallabies to play out ahead of the opener against Hong Kong China at Optus Stadium, Perth, Horan has backed Australia to get the job done.
"I think any team in the top 10 can win the Rugby World Cup now, certainly the Wallabies, the way that they've got some momentum with Les. I think what Les is doing is the style, the brand of rugby, the Wallabies are tracking pretty well for a World Cup in a year's time."