By Sam Ryan

After surviving the ‘pool of death’ on the back of brilliant victories over England and Wales, Michael Cheika’s Wallabies find themselves on what appears to be easier side of the draw for the upcoming knockout stages.

Whilst Australia will avoid New Zealand and South Africa until the final, the Wallabies potentially could face England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland in consecutive weeks, completing a ‘Grand Slam’ if they can play their way into the final match of the tournament.

Cheika’s ‘one week at a time’ philosophy has worked thus far and whilst he won’t be taking Scotland lightly in Monday morning’s quarter final, he must be tempted to rest a number of his struggling stars – namely David Pocock, Israel Folau and Matt Giteau.

Sure, Australia may have lost two of their last three Tests against Scotland and the Wallabies will need another top class performance to extend their stay in the UK, but are you really weakening your side by giving Ben McCalman, Matt Toomua or Kurtley Beale a start?

I don’t think so and give me a moment to explain why.

The obvious benefit of resting the injured players is to give the trio an opportunity to freshen up ahead of a potential semi final and final.

David Pocock has easily been Australia’s best so far and arguably the player of the World Cup to date. Israel Folau was quiet against Wales but continues to cause headaches for opposing defences and Matt Giteau appears to be the glue between the lot.

If we are to win the World Cup, we need all three at their best.

So that takes me to my second and main point. So far Michael Cheika’s ‘finishers’ have been brilliant and made a significant impact in the back end of the game.

Ben McCalman was brutal off the bench against Wales, Sean McMahon has been a standout, Matt Toomua has straightened the Wallabies attack and Kurtley Beale has provided a spark that could easily break open a try-less match later in the tournament.

If we are to win the World Cup, some or all of these Wallabies will play a crucial role, so are we really weakening our side or our long term prospects by giving them more game time?

I don’t think so.

Let’s talk worst case scenario. A key Wallaby is injured in the coming weeks and misses the remainder of the tournament. Do you want to throw in someone that’s played only limited minutes off the bench in recent weeks to play in the biggest match of their life? Or would you rather a match hardened player, that has already performed on that stage.

We’re not talking about throwing in Joe Blow for his first start either, these players are all world class and wouldn’t have looked out of place in Cheika’s first XV from the start.

In my mind, if there’s any doubt surrounding the fitness of the injured Wallabies trio, give them the week off or name them on the bench at the very least.

The Wallabies will benefit in the long run in more ways than one.