Australia captain Stirling Mortlock said his players are fired up for the World Cup by the desire to bring the trophy home for retiring veterans George Gregan and Stephen Larkham.
Both will play their final games for Australia in France.
Former captain Gregan, 34, has played more than 130 Tests for the Wallabies while Larkham, 33, was responsible for the drop goal that got them into the 1999 World Cup final at the expense of South Africa.
'The whole squad are totally looking forward to the challenge and hopefully sending off George Gregan and Stephen Larkham in fitting style,' Mortlock said at an official farewell for the squad in Sydney.
'We'll be doing everything in our power to make sure we bring back "Bill",' he said, referring to the Webb Ellis Trophy.
Prime Minister John Howard was among some 500 people who gathered at Sydney Town Hall to wish the Wallabies well.
'We have a great tradition in rugby union, it's a tradition of tenacity, of never saying die but always performing above the expectations and, whatever the outcome, playing until the very end,' Howard said.
But coach John Connolly cautioned that despite good preparations, the team would still need to have luck on their side to win the competition.
'You need a bit going for you, you need a bit of luck,' he said. 'We've worked very hard and put ourselves in a very strong position to have a bit of luck.'
The Wallabies will leave Thursday for a five-day training camp in Portugal before they play their first match against Japan on September 8 in Lyon.
