Wallabies vice-captain Adam Ashley-Cooper said he’d use the pain of past losses in 2007 and 2011 as motivation for what will likely he his last World Cup.

The 31-year-old will join French club Bordeaux after the tournament and admitted that he has and will continue to share his past experiences with the squad’s younger members ahead of Australia’s opening match against Fiji.

“(In 2007) We went through the pool stages quite easily and then we got to a quarter final and got blown off the park by England, so it can be over in a matter of minutes,” the utility back said.

“It was such a shame and it took me a long time to get over that, but I certainly learnt a lot of lessons.”

By the time the 2011 tournament arrived, Ashley-Cooper was one of Australia’s most consistent performers on the international stage, missing just five Tests between 2008 and 2011.

“In 2011, I think consistency let us down. We lost that game against Ireland, we certainly didn’t play to the conditions, we didn’t adapt and we lost the game.”

“That put us on the tougher side of the quarter finals, we got a good win over South Africa in the quarter final, but the following week against New Zealand again the consistency let us down.”

Despite less than perfect performances against New Zealand and the USA in their last two matches, the Wallabies head into the World Cup on the back of their best preparation since 2003.

However Ashey-Cooper was quick to point out that the squad can’t afford to get ahead of themselves in the weeks to come.

“Looking back, that’s something I can share with the younger guys, it can be over in a matter of minutes so you have to remain focussed.”

“You’ve got to remain consistent in how you go about your daily routine, how you go about your preparation and how you go about your job on the field,” he added.

17 days out from the Wallabies opening World Cup clash, Ashley-Cooper said the squad still had no idea who would start against Fiji.

“Well I’m not a selector and Cheik certainly plays his cards close to his chest. He’s allowed a number of guys to play in a number of positions and we’ve played a lot of football so he has been able to see what the guys are capable of, so it’ll be interesting to see who he goes with for that first game against Fiji,” he said.

“I think with the turnaround, you can expect to see every player in the squad to see some game time within those first two games, Fiji and Uruguay, which will be a really good experience for everyone that is involved.”

Under the ARU’s new player contracting policy, Ashley-Cooper will remain eligible to represent Australia while he plays in France, however the winger said he was yet to make a decision on his Test future.

“The number of Tests in the green and gold jersey could be slightly numbered now so this is potentially the last few games I get to play in the Wallaby jersey that means so much to me, so it being my last World Cup, I’m hoping to go out a winner.”

The Wallabies will remain at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana until Sunday, when they fly to Bath for their third and final World Cup cam