By Sam Ryan

The Wallabies begin their long awaited World Cup campaign against Fiji in Cardiff overnight with anticipation and exceptions sky high. Here’s what we’re looking forward to in tonight’s clash.

Finally watching the Wallabies at the World Cup

It’s been a long four years for Australian rugby fans since the Wallabies disappointing loss to New Zealand in the semi final of the 2011 World Cup. But finally, the wait is over.

Our hopes of bringing Bill back to Australian shores rose dramatically following the signature of the Folau bloke, and again when Michael Cheika came on board.

Now, most Australians have genuine belief in our national side to be perfectly honest, so they should.

Will Genia sniping

At his best, few halfbacks have more impact around the park then Wallabies No.9 Will Genia.

Sure, his last 18 months haven’t been great, but you get the feeling Genia has trained the absolute house down in recent weeks and is ready to make his mark on the World Cup.

When Genia jumps out and links with forward runners, both short and wide, Australia’s attack gains another dimension. The key though is to ensure Bernard Foley receives quick clean ball when needed, something Nick Phipps has done wonderfully in recent times.

Genia’s clash with Nikola Matawalu should be an absolute cracker tonight.

Pocock and Hooper at the breakdown

To quote my favourite Taco ad, “Why don’t we just have both?” The thought of Pocock and Hooper in the same side is enough to get any rugby fan excited, let alone an Australian.

Whilst the experiment worked perfectly against the All Blacks in Sydney, Michael Cheika had a change of heart leading into Bledisloe 2, where the Wallabies were more than just a little disappointing.

With Douglas and Simmons in the engine room, the forward pack is balanced, allowing Cheika to unleash both backrowers in the opening match.

Interestingly, Fiji caused England plenty of headaches at the breakdown in their opening match, which may force Hooper to play tighter than usual in the opening exchanges.

The scrum

It’s been along time since Australian fans can honestly say they are looking forward to the first scrum of a match.

Led by Stephen Moore, the Wallabies pack held it’s own through the Rugby Championships, and whilst greater challenges lay ahead, tonight should give a good indication of where the Wallabies scrum is at ahead of matches against England and Wales.

Fiji chancing their arm from anywhere

In front of 84,000 fans at Twickenham, Fiji proved they intend to play their style of rugby throughout the World Cup regardless of the occasion and whilst it didn’t always come off against the English, boy it was great to watch.

It seems the longer Fiji stay in a match, the more dangerous they become and if the Wallabies don’t score early points tonight, Fiji could easily cause a boilover.