WALES V AUSTRALIA (Tomorrow KO 8.30am BST)

JAMES Hook has vowed to put the disappointment of his performance against France behind him in tomorrow’s World Cup third place play-off against Australia.

Hook missed two easy penalty shots and generally had one of his poorest matches in the red jersey, ending with him being hauled unceremoniously off after only 45 minutes.

He has since confronted his demons and he didn’t duck any questions put to him by the media this week, neither did he attempt to make any excuses.

No, it wasn’t down to the studs after a downpour before the start of the game, he didn’t have any excuses, it was just one of those things and he intends putting it right.

It was a brave off the field performance, now he’s got to produce the goods in a game which will ensure a third place finish in the World Cup if Wales win.

“Yes, it was disappointing for everyone and especially for myself,” he admitted.

“Obviously the missed kicks proved vital at the end of the game, we lost by a point.

“That’s what it came down to at the end of the day and it wasn’t great tactically either, it just let France into the game. It just didn’t go right on the day, there are no excuses, it was one of those things.

“I don’t think moving positions was an issue, the team are playing well and there are plenty of players with a lot of experience and youngsters are stepping up. There’s a confidence in the squad and that helps as a 10.”

Having accepted his part in the disappointing semi-final defeat, Hook turned to the immediate future and tomorrow’s play-off.

“You have to draw a line under it and get it right this week,” he said. “You have setbacks in your career and I’m not going to let it disrupt me this week, I’m just going out there to relax and enjoy the occasion, I’m not going to worry about too much else.

“I’m delighted to get the opportunity to put it behind me and get on with what should be a huge challenge if we are to come third in this tournament and finish on a high.

“We are all disappointed after last week and we want to go out and perform for the fans who turned up in Cardiff last week, for ourselves and for our families.

“We want to put it right so we can go home with something to look back on. It’s been a good tournament for us – we would have taken this at the start, but we lost a semi-final and we want to come home with something.”

Hook says the Sam Warburton factor will be an issue against Australia. “I think it is a factor, we said at half-time against France that we wanted to do it for Sam. It didn’t happen, but he’s been immense for us, not just during the World Cup but since he started playing for Wales,” he said.

“He’s been at all the sessions and it would be great to get something for him and pay him back.

“We want to beat Australia, it’s important to keep our confidence up and express ourselves the way we have throughout the tournament. If we can claim a southern hemisphere scalp in the southern hemisphere that will give us massive confidence going into the Six Nations.”