Australia's first World Cup winning skipper Nick Farr-Jones believes Will Genia will ultimately rank alongside the legendary Ken Catchpole, and declared New Zealand are scared of the dynamic halfback.

Former No.9 Farr-Jones said hosts New Zealand were still favourites but he is confident Australia will meet them in the final after being impressed by the Wallabies' win over the All Blacks in Brisbane last Saturday.

"I thought the game that I witnessed at Suncorp Stadium was probably the best Wallaby performance I've seen for at least a decade," said Farr-Jones as the World Cup trophy was displayed in Sydney on Wednesday.

He labelled Genia as the best halfback in world rugby and a key component of the Wallabies side.

"I'd say leading into the World Cup, along with (All Black playmaker) Dan Carter he is the most valuable player that any team has," he said.

"No disrespect to (back-up halfbacks (Nick) Phipps and (Luke) Burgess but if I woke and found out that Genia had a tournament-ending injury then I'd almost give up on the Wallabies' hopes - he is that good."

He thought that in time Genia's place in the pecking order of Wallabies halfbacks would become clearer.

"I suspect in five years we'll rate him probably even on the same level as Ken Catchpole, who has always been considered our greatest scrum half, I think he's that good," he said.

"What I like about him is his complete game. He's got the bread and butter and he's got the confidence.

"The things that set apart scrum halves are your lateral vision, I think Genia's got it in spades.

"His judgment is fantastic.

"It's all about when you do it and it's the surprise element and that's probably his greatest strength, his judgment, his vision and then that strength in running.

"I can tell you without doubt that he's got the New Zealanders, both the squad and the public, pooing themselves."

Farr-Jones recalled a Bledisloe Cup loss for Australia prior to the 1991 World Cup proved critically important to the Wallabies winning the tournament that year. He's worried New Zealand might benefit similarly this time around.

"My biggest fear for the boys going over is that I'm sure that post-Brisbane, the All Blacks probably had the loss they had to have," Farr-Jones said.

"I still think they start as clear favourites to win it, I think they will have that steely determination, and in a way I think their nation deserves it."

Farr-Jones said the scrum was still Australia's Achilles heel but felt it was slowly improving.

He rated the current Wallabies backline as good as any he had seen but said they needed time and space.

Farr-Jones said he would like to see the third-fourth playoff at the World Cup scrapped in favour of a northern versus southern hemisphere game. He hopes in 20 years the number of realistic Cup contenders would double to eight or ten.

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