IT'S banal when a player won't look beyond their next fixture and is obsessed with the cliché of 'taking each game as it comes'.

Yet this autumn there's a fascination with what lies ahead with countries already thinking about next year's World Cup.

It's said that Wales need to claim a southern hemisphere scalp so that they can send a message that they are a force to be reckoned with in September and October.

Sod that.

Wales need to beat Australia just because it's good to beat Australia. It's only happened 10 times so forget about the future implications.

You can bet that the losers at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday afternoon will stress that it counts for nothing in terms of the Pool A showdown.

Similarly, you can guarantee that few people will be harking back to Cardiff on the eve of the October 10 clash at Twickenham.

Who cares about the implications of a win against the Wallabies? After nine defeats in a row it would be nice to just toast a victory this weekend regardless of any bigger picture.

Even if Wales come up short in the World Cup they would have the memories of a win against the Aussies – and only 43 players have enjoyed that in a Wales jersey in the last three decades (Jamie Roberts, Gethin Jenkins, Alun Wyn Jones are the only ones in this weekend's matchday squad).

Coach Warren Gatland isn't writing off the next four weekends or the Six Nations but he has said that he won't reveal his hand ahead of the World Cup.

"We don't want to show things in those tournaments because the way the game is now, the analysis is instantaneous," he said.

"If you do something new or different, people are going to work you out.

"'You have to hold something back and that is what we will do over the next couple of campaigns in terms of working on some variation in game plan."

It's naive to think the All Blacks won't hold the odd variation back but I am pretty sure they don't have a playbook with 'valid from September 1, 2015' on it.

It's easy to be wise after an event. It's said that England set the tone for their 2003 triumph by beating the southern hemisphere big guns the previous autumn.

But while successful World Cup campaigns are built over time the tournament doesn't diminish fixtures in the build up.

All nine Tests before the World Cup warm-ups are not trials for the players, they are big games in their own right.

WHEN Brian Clough was asked how he dealt with players that disagreed with his methods he replied, "We talk about it for 20 minutes and then we decide I was right".

Differences of opinion are inevitable in sport; one person's key figure is another's fringe player.

Somebody needs to have the final say and that highlights the problems of dual contracts, which were hailed as a great step forward when the Welsh Rugby Union and four regions penned a fresh agreement in August.

It has taken just a few months to show that the £3.3million pot – £2million from the governing body, £1.3million from the regions – has the capability to cause more division.

Gareth Davies, who will leave his role as Newport Gwent Dragons chief executive to become WRU chairman, has said with his regional hat on that the quartet feel the funds should be used to retain talent already in Wales.

Roger Lewis, chief executive of the governing body, says Wales boss Warren Gatland should be backed in his attempts to bring home blindside flanker Dan Lydiate.

The problem is that players who have been tempted overseas are on bumper deals and it is questionable whether they provide value for money.

Would Dan Lydiate improve the Dragons back row? Undoubtedly yes. Would the Dragons be better off spending a big sum elsewhere? Yes.

It is paramount that some middle ground is found and that a proper tactical approach is adopted for those already in the last season of a deal, not trying to snap up players on the hoof.