THERE were "The Invincibles'' in 1982. "The Unbeatables'' in 1986. Now Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens has curiously labelled his victorious Four Nations side "The Implacables'' after their victory over England in the final at Elland Road.
After the Kangaroos trounced France 42-4 in Paris in their final pool match of the tournament, French national sporting bible L'Equipe headlined a story: "Toujours 'Aussies' implacables''.
Sheens googled the words and found the translation. "It's old French for die-hard, unyielding,'' the coach said. "It means that this is a strong group.
"I wouldn't have brought it up if we lost, of course. I said nothing until we won it. I think it's something this group can identify with.''
Kangaroos captain Darren Lockyer said: "Sheensy brought it up after the game, that the French were calling us that. When he told us about it, we were sort of looking at each other.
Despite the form of Golden Boot winner Greg Inglis on this tour, it would be a massive stretch - by the coach's own admission - to compare this Australian side to those of the 1980s, when the likes of Lewis, Meninga, Kenny and Sterling swept all before them.
Sheens wasn't entirely happy with the performance against England, and when lock Sam Burgess bustled over in the 50th minute to give his side a 16-14 lead, an upset was firmly on the horizon.
Yet they were unyielding and die-hard when it mattered. Down the stretch, with 20 minutes to go, the class of Lockyer and Thurston shone through.
In the aftermath of the win, though, several Australian players privately believed that Burgess was the best player on the field. This, despite fullback Billy Slater scoring three tries and freakishly setting up the decisive one for hooker Cameron Smith that broke England's heart.
Kangaroos backrower Nathan Hindmarsh said after the win against England earlier in the tournament that he wasn't overly impressed with Burgess, who takes up a four-year deal with South Sydney from next season.
But now? "He quickly showed me that, didn't he?'' said Hindmarsh, who says he has played his last representative match.
"I ran at him in the second last hit-up of the game, and he picked me up and drove me. It'll be interesting to see how he goes.
"I don't know if he's a prop. He seems to be more of a lock.
"He's got some skill and a bit of footwork. But he's a quality player and he'll be good for Souths.''
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...-hards-of-league/story-e6frexnr-1225798356422
