Rugby:Australia's Adam Ashley-Cooper has singled out Wales centre Jamie Roberts as player of the World Cup. Roberts will be part of a Wales team aiming to win the bronze medal match at Australia's expense on Friday.

Ashley-Cooper, who took over at fullback for an injured Kurtley Beale during the Wallabies’ semi-final defeat against New Zealand believes he deserves huge acclaim. “Personally, I think Jamie Roberts has been player of the tournament. He has had a fantastic campaign. He’s a great player, and it is going to take a lot of us to stop him.

“We’re in the same boat (Australia and Wales). Both teams can take comfort out of that. We are both hurting. They are a great team, they are a young team like us and I am sure they’ve got exciting things ahead.”

Reflecting on the 20-6 semi-final loss, he said: “I took it personally; absolutely. I think all of us did. We were extremely upset, and I don’t think we were upset for ourselves — we were upset for the country. “We knew we had a lot of support leading into the game, and everyone was behind us. To let ourselves down is one thing, but to let the supporters down, the fans and the country down is another.”

Robbie Deans’ men do have the chance to right some wrongs against Wales, though. “Friday is another opportunity to put on the Wallabies jersey and nobody is going to take that for granted. There is a bronze medal on offer and everyone is pretty excited.

“I think both teams will have a crack. Both teams really don’t have too much to lose, so there’s not too much expectation or pressure put on us. That will make for a really exciting game and an open game. Our supporters need to know that the collective group here representing the country care a lot.”