AS Wallabies fullback Adam Ashley-Cooper walked the cobbled pathways of Padova yesterday, he could not avoid thinking about the last time he was in Europe.

Just over a year ago, he sat tearfully in the middle of Marseille's Stade Velodrome wondering how the Wallabies' World Cup campaign had turned into such a mess. England had destroyed them up front in the quarter-final and they were out of the tournament.

For months, Ashley-Cooper, who played on the wing that day, blamed himself for the loss. But now he is using that performance as a prime motivator for revenge against England when they meet at Twickenham on November 15. The first task, though, comes against Italy on Saturday night.

Five months ago, Ashley-Cooper told the Herald how humiliated he had been by the World Cup defeat defeat and how long it had taken him to get over the guilt.

"I basically blamed myself for a lot of the mistakes on the field that day," Ashley-Cooper said. "I felt that I didn't just let myself down, but let a lot of my teammates down, just through individual errors. And I didn't have that ability just to move on. I was mentally prepared but, for some reason, the quarter-final got to me."

What irritated Ashley-Cooper most was that the Wallabies were eclipsed by what he considered inferior opposition - and he had helped make England look better than they were. "I was really down for quite a while," he said. "It rocked me. I went home to the [Central] coast and didn't even watch the World Cup semi-final or final. I didn't want anything to do with it. I just wanted to get away and switch off."

Ashley-Cooper is now switched on, but his memories of that day linger.

"I've already started to use that Marseille match as a bit of motivation. I'm working towards those Poms, but obviously Italy first," he said yesterday. "I'm angry, and if I get the opportunity, I will be going out to prove something this week."