Rugby World Cup Quarter Final
AUSTRALIA vs ENGLAND
6th October 2007
Match Review by Ed Budge

The greatest day in Rugby World Cup history. There must have been something on Le Mistral – blowing in from the warmth of the Mediterranean, through Marseille, through the heartland of Gallic rugby, winding through villages, past Paris, across La Manche and all the way to Cardiff for an evening arrival in the Millenium Stadium. France dismissed the tournament favourites with a typical touch of panache and a defensive performance imbued with the courage to make grown men weep, while England sent their fiercest rivals home courtesy of an elemental display of power rugby. England’s scrum destroyed Australia.

For Twickenham 2005, read Marseille 2007. For Al Baxter, read Guy Shepherdson. The monolith that is Andrew Sheridan showed once again that his Antipodean counterparts have flattered to deceive by devouring his opposite number with a Man of the Match performance that echoed, then eclipsed, then demolished his destruction of the same opposition two years ago.

Despite Matt Dunning’s last left limb making friends with the Provençal turf on the first eight – count them, eight – set scrums, referee Alain Rolland found his arm inexplicably pointing in a Green and Gold direction at the early set-pieces. But the exasperation was not to last. By the second half, penalties rained down on the helpless Wallaby front three to the point where England fans cheered their own side’s knock-ons. It was a massacre; led by Sheridan and amply supplemented by Mark Regan, Phil Vickery, Matt Stevens and George Chuter.

It was England’s best performance for years, forged in the darkest of the dark places and augmented by a willingness to move the ball away from contact at speed, a sharp attacking game loaded with intent and a stoical, an heroic, defensive effort. England looked by far the better side in the opening quarter: Lewis Moody and Jason Robinson each breaking though the line untouched, the latter from a beautifully delayed pass from Simon Shaw, only for the attacks to come to nothing, while Mike Catt and Mathew Tait were playing with forceful variety, mixing up the game with grubber kicks of varying success and numerous bursts into the line.

Australia had opened the scoring, Stirling Mortlock succeeding with his second penalty attempt of the day, having missed the first. But Jonny Wilkinson replied with two strikes of his own: the first after English pressure forced Steven Moore into an error; the second being the first of many to come from a contorted Australian scrum.

John Connolly’s men, however, were hardly keen to let their fate be decided in the tight exchanges alone. With half an hour gone, Mortlock went straight through Moody’s tackle on the 22 and eluded several more attempts to set up Australian possession near the line. After many, many phases in which England’s defence shut out the likes of Rocky Elsom and Wycliffe Palu – two classic flat-track bullies – on the fringes, the ball was eventually moved wide. The 21-year-old Berrick Barnes waved the ball around like a wand, inviting Mortlock to straighten the line. The Australian captain was hauled down by Tait, but cover was slow to arrive and Lote Tuqiri squirmed through Josh Lewsey’s desperate tackle to score in the right corner. Mortlock, whose misses were to cost Australia the game later on, produced a gem of a conversion to give his side a 10-6 lead at half time.

For the first time, one could see more than the fleeting glimpses of ‘Ashton Rugby’ in the hands of the men in white. England’s play at the breakdown was a revelation – English ball was plucked out of trouble and moved swiftly away from the likes of George Smith with myriad deft touches from forwards and backs alike, all marshalled with aplomb by the veteran Andy Gomarsall (revelation number 2). Australian possession was treated disdainfully, with England flying through rucks like men possessed, scattering Aussies in their wake: for once, driving past the ball rather than merely pushing near it. This was crystallised beautifully when Simon Shaw wrestled Matt Giteau to the ground on halfway, after Mortlock had again burst through Catt, the smaller of the two Wallaby centres pinged for holding on.

And then, cometh the hour, cometh the two moments that defined the match. Firstly, Wilkinson kicked the penalty that put England into a 12-10 lead that they would not surrender, won – you guessed it – at another scrum, from which Elsom detached early. Moments later, an huge Australian overlap in midfield was thwarted as Paul Sackey said cobblers to drift defence and stepped off his wing to hammer Mortlock. It was a massive moment; driven by instinct and the catalyst for the self-belief that carried England to the semi-finals. Hang the power of Mortlock, the subtlety of Giteau! Say nothing of the bullish Tuqiri, the impudent Barnes, the exceptional Latham! You, Australia, shall not pass!

And they did not. After a wave of substitutions and a penalty miss from Wilkinson and one from Mortlock that had a country on its knees, praying that a victory would not be undeservedly snatched away, Rolland blew his whistle.

Few would have believed it possible. The few that did, mercifully, counted Brian Ashton amongst their number. Ashton picked a side designed to pulverise the weakness of his opposition, to grab at the throat of the Australians and not to let go, nullifying the rest of the body for 80 minutes. That the scrummaging force he chose did so much more is credit to the men themselves. To Shaw, who tackled himself half to death; to Vickery and Stevens, who dove on every loose ball going; to Moody, who attacked the rucks like a demon; to Catt and Tait, who would not yield in the presence of a physical assault that the scriptwriters assured us would overwhelm them. And of course to Sheridan, whose all-round employment of nigh on 21 stones was pretty damned close to perfect.

To those who dared to dream, dream again. New Zealand are out of the World Cup. Four teams remain, all of whom have crushed, struggled or dazzled their way to the semi-finals of the greatest Rugby World Cup to date. Those of whom who took England to win at 50-1 before Saturday, should be feeling mighty pleased with themselves.

Australia (10) 10
Try: Tuqiri
Pen: Mortlock
Con: Mortlock

England (6) 12
Pens: Wilkinson (4)

Player Ratings:

Jason Robinson – 7.
One superbly picked line, and untroubled in defence. A mixed, but generally satisfactory kicking game.

Paul Sackey – 8.
Once again, an error-free display capped by one, if not two, hugely crucial tackles

Mathew Tait – 7.
Not, as some have suggested, responsible for many, if any, of Mortlock’s bursts. Showed laudable instinct and flexibility to his attacking game.

Mike Catt – 6.5.
Tried just about everything and kept the Australians guessing for the entire match. A few errors didn’t cost his side in the end.

Josh Lewsey – 6.5.
Has become ever more reliable as the tournament has gone on. Injected power when needed.

Jonny Wilkinson – 7.
Ever the heartbeat of the side, was once again let down by his goal-kicking and some of his distribution. His presence alone unsettled the Aussies.

Andy Gomarsall – 8.
How he’s done it, nobody knows, but Gomarsall picked and executed all of his kicks and passes with astute judgement.

Andrew Sheridan – 9.
Enormous ball carrying force and the architect of England’s utter dominance of the scrum. Man of the Match.

Mark Regan – 7.
Did just what he was picked to do. Scrummage and irritate. A few handling mistakes cost him a point.

Phil Vickery/Matt Stevens – 8.
I am marking them as a pair, for it was only the scrum cap that could tell them apart after the substitution. Both destroyed Dunning, scrapped like flankers for loose ball and ran with power.

Simon Shaw – 8.5.
Beaten to MOTM by Sheridan, but took his defensive showing of the 2004 Heineken Cup final onto the biggest stage of all. Still handles the ball like a centre.

Ben Kay – 6.5.
Smartly delegated much of the line-out work to Shaw, thus negating the effect of Sharpe and Vickerman. Eliminated the faux pas of previous games.

Martin Corry – 6.5.
Missed a big tackle on Mortlock, but drove solidly throughout and took a few good line-outs.

Lewis Moody – 7.
Also let the Aussie captain through, for the build up to the first try. Rucked superbly and picked good lines in attack. Will need a partner in crime if he is to bring the same pace to England’s game in future.

Nick Easter – 8.
Growing into International rugby with every touch of the ball. Power and finesse in equal measure (alright, maybe not quite equal).