What a way to get the quarter-finals underway, with a replay of the final from four years ago. Of course this time it was the Wallabies that were the favourites to prevail, but how wrong were the bookies this time around.
Throughout the match there was tremendous pressure on the Australian front-five pushed back at every scrum, or at least every scrum that wasn't collapsed, and at every breakdown they seemed second best. The amount of turnovers they allowed the English was surely the deciding factor.
The boys in green and gold still showed glimpses of their best stuff, but they were fleeting at best, on the rare occasions their back line clicked into gear.
But, with the prodigously talented but inexperienced
Berrick Barnes at stand-off having a nightmare, the rest of the team seemed to slip into the same malaise.
Perhaps there is a good reason for this slip in form.
The Australians famously pop loads of caffeine pills before taking to the pitch, to ensure that they always get a good start, before the adrenaline has a chance to kick in. Perhaps the trainer mislaid their supply, leaving the team to take to the Stade Velodrome pitch without their usual vigour?
As for England, a surprising performance considering that just a couple of weeks ago they were certain to be bounced out in the group stages after their 36-0 humiliation at the hands of South Africa.
They did have one circumstance in their favour though, their pack. The Aussies have struggled up front for a number of years now, and despite an improvement in the last year or so, proved woefully inadequate in the face of an opposing front-five of real power.
England even managed to show some promise in the back division, in the first half anyway, despite their failure to score a try. Mike Catt must have got some vaseline on his fingers after he spurned an easy chance to put England in control, failing to control a Wilkinson pass with the line in sight.
A final word for Jonny Wilkinson. The England talisman today became the top scorer in Worls Cup history, with his second successful kick of the day, surpassing the total of former Scotland full-back Gavin Hastings. My hat off to you sir!
