Deans: Sure his players will be up for game

It is a repeat of the 1987 World Cup third-place play-off game - Wales won 22-21 on that occasion - and promises to be a thrilling spectacle.

"They are a very good side, they have shown an awful lot in this tournament," Deans said.

"They are a team that has played with ambition and clearly are an emerging group."

Deans believes Australia, crushed by the All Blacks in last Sunday's semi-final, will have no problem motivating themselves for the fixture, despite seeing their Webb Ellis Trophy hopes demolished.

"They will be up for it, they will be excited," added Deans, of his players.

"Obviously, it's a short time from our last outing, and there is still for a large number a hollow feeling inside. But as (captain) James Horwill explained the other day, to that end it's good to have an opportunity to get back out there again soon."

Deans has made several changes from the semi-final, with his headline selections seeing a return after injury for full-back Kurtley Beale and lock Nathan Sharpe clocking up 100 caps.

"Kurtley is keen to play now," Deans said. "If you had asked him on the weekend, he would have said he wasn't that excited because he wasn't feeling that confident.

"But he trained fully today, he was unrestricted and he came through it well. Now he is excited about playing, so that's good.

"It's a great milestone for Sharpie, and it is well-deserved. He's a class act, a good bloke to have in the group.

"He has got a huge amount of respect from his peers. He's a master of the lineout and he does a lot of work, not only in the game, but in preparation.

"He and Victor Matfield have probably been the two best lineout exponents of the last decade. It is a rivalry that is long-standing."

Sharpe, meanwhile, dismissed any notion of the Wales game just being an end-of-tournament runaround fixture.

"This is going to be a full-on Test match, which it should be, because we are representing our country," he said.

"It was tough last weekend. It was a crucial match for the team, and it doesn't always work out the way you would like it to.

"There are some pretty special blokes that I've played rugby with, and I consider myself very fortunate to have gone through almost a generation of players there.

"The game is far more fierce at the tackle contest now. There was a time when there was only one or two blokes who competed for the ball or who put pressure on the breakdown.

"Now, you've got 15 guys, every time you go into a tackle, putting pressure on that ball.

"The collision rate is going well through the roof in terms of that physical element of the game."