England defied the odds and their numerous critics to deservedly defeat Australia and march to the semi-finals with a victory that was far more convincing than the slender scoreline suggests. The Australia captain Stirling Mortlock had the chance to win the game with 90 seconds to go with a penalty from 50 yards which he pulled wide, but the Wallabies came a distant second on the day in all the game’s crucial areas.
England, derided and decried after their heavy defeat to South Africa three weeks ago, put in a performance high on courage and resilience, but they took the game to Australia and showed a real attacking intent from the off. The only disappointment in victory for them was that they failed to score a try despite winning any number of turnovers with the Wallabies at times having to resort to desperate defence.
The holders had made the last eight without showing much in the way of ambition. Although they trailed 10-6 at the interval, they played the better rugby in the opening half and forced Australia on the defensive for long periods. They also got on top in the scrum where the Wallabies, despite all the work they had put into the set-piece, crumpled under the power of England’s tight five.
There were two areas where England had been weak in the last month: the breakdown and broken play. If the Wallabies expected to dictate the pace of the game and test the stamina of an England side with an average of 31 by winning the battle of the loose, they were rocked by the aggression displayed by the holders in the tackle area and the willingness to attack of the men in white.
Australia took the lead through an early Mortlock penalty, but were fortunate that Matt Dunning got away with pulling down an early scrum with Andrew Sheridan penalised instead. England were clearly angry, but they channelled their frustration in a positive way by looking to turn areas perceived to be Australia’s strength, into a weakness.
Typical was a box kick by Peter Richards, who had temporarily come on at scrum-half while Andy Gomarsall had a head wound patched up. Chris Latham caught the ball outside his own 25, but England had chased the kick hard. Paul Sackey made sure Latham went to ground and most of the England forwards arrived en masse to force the turnover.
Two Jonny Wilkinson penalties gave England the lead, but their attacking intent deserved more. Lewis Moody burst through a gap, but his pass failed to find Nick Easter; a deft inside pass from the excellent Simon Shaw put Robinson into space only for George Gregan to make a timely tackle; and Shaw, Mathew Tait and Josh Lewsey linked well on the left and after Mike Catt slightly overcooked a kick to the line, the Wallaby hooker Stephen Moore launched an appalling kick to touch which went sideways and gave England the ball five yards from his own line.
Australia just kept their line intact and showed England how to attack when, after a series of drives led by Chris Latham, Berrick Barnes’s show-and-go gave Mortlock a run at the line. Tait tackled the Australia captain but Lote Tuqiri picked up the loose ball to score his first try of the tournament. Mortlock converted.
The Wallabies did not merit their 10-6 interval lead. England had been playing knock-out rugby for the previous two weeks and were far sharper. Their main problem had been decision-making, in particular after winning turnover ball, and there was a moment early in the second period when Easter snaffled the ball for the second time in a minute, Catt booted the ball aimlessly downfield and Latham was only just wide with a 55-yard drop goal attempt.
Although Wilkinson started the second-half by knocking on and then missing a tackle on Mortlock, Australia continued to struggle. Their scrum was by now under considerable pressure, but it was in the loose where they continued to struggle with George Smith making a series of unforced errors.
Wilkinson had missed two penalties at the end of the first-half, but he brought England back to within a point after Australia collapsed a maul and then gave his side the lead for the second time after the flanker Ricky Elsom had broken from a scrum near his own line too quickly.
Australia were completely lacking in direction. They did not expect to lose the collision area and their attacks continued to end prematurely when they coughed up possession continually. One move, which started when the replacement wing Drew Mitchell cut through the midfield, ended when Sackey blitzed Mortlock, but England had already been awarded a penalty after Daniel Vickerman had upended Gomarsall.
Australia were awarded the first four penalties in the match, but they were only given one of the following 12 and their first in the second-half came in stoppage time. The Wallabies’ indiscipline allowed England to maintain their territorial toehold and fly-half Barnes, without a dominant pack behind him, looked the inexperienced outside-half he is. His kicking game fell to pieces and he put Matt Giteau under pressure with poorly delivered passes.
Mortlock’s penalty, awarded after Joe Worsley had strayed off-side at a ruck, would have won the game, but the Australians deserved to be eliminated having been thoroughly outplayed. For once, England did not win because of Wilkinson, even though he kicked four penalties; he missed four others and was wide with two drops shots. They at last got to grips with the breakdown and that, added with their set-piece resources, left Australia contemplating an unexpectedly early return trip home.
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