England 21 Australia 20: IT HAS taken far too long but the lost souls of English rugby are back on the radar. Genuine anticipation will now greet next month's 32-man elite squad announcement. If England's management absorb the lessons of a remarkable night in Sydney, a brave new world could yet open up for them.
No one, least of all Martin Johnson, is claiming England are all-conquering legends again after this victory at the scene of their greatest triumph, the 2003 World Cup final. As with the Six Nations, the Cook Cup trophy was gone by the time Johnson’s team began to stir.
But therein, surely, lies the key. When England abandon their blinkered obsession with pragmatism and play the game without fear, they are capable of troubling anyone.
If this boldness can be extended to selection, so much the better. Ben Youngs is only 20 but he has been the best scrumhalf in the country for much of the season. Johnson should have blooded him sooner, not to mention Courtney Lawes, who marked his first Test start with a forceful effort in the secondrow. The management have wasted a year because of their conservatism and, hopefully, will be big enough to acknowledge it.
If Johnson can find room in the elite squad for Alex Goode and Andy Saull, the outstanding young Saracens who helped England Saxons to win the Churchill Cup in New Jersey, it will be proof that a corner has been turned.
Should the coaches start to waver they need only watch again the tape of England’s first Test win in the Southern Hemisphere for seven years. The tourists’ positive attitude made the difference, their willingness to play in wider channels complemented by greater intensity around the fringes.
Tom Croft, at last, was invited to play as he has done for Leicester and the Lions, and Youngs’s slick pass and calm authority, and his jack-rabbit try, made an equal impression.
Australia, perhaps lulled into slight complacency by their win in the first Test in Perth, were made to look ordinary, the dangerous Quade Cooper reduced to bit-part status.
The 1-1 series result will, naturally, galvanise the Wallabies. By the time England next bump into them, at Twickenham this autumn, their first-choice front-rowers will be back and Will Genia, sluggish here, will be fizzing again. There is little prospect of Matt Giteau missing another 20-metre kick from bang in front of the posts.
Giteau missed four shots in total, spoiling a performance in which he scored two fine tries and all his side’s 20 points.
Ireland, the Wallabies’ opponents this weekend, may cop the backlash.
But as England dispersed yesterday – 28 players flew across the Tasman for the game against the New Zealand Maori in Napier on Wednesday, the rest limped away to their sun-loungers – it was impossible to ignore their renewed optimism.
“There was just a completely different feel,” said wing Chris Ashton, dedicating his sharp first-half try to his father, who passed away last month. “We just said we were going to run it if we could. You do get sick of hearing the same old things when you’re losing but we knew it would click at some point.”
Quiet satisfaction was also written across Jonny Wilkinson’s face, his 45-metre penalty after 53 minutes having secured England their slender lead. The outhalf is still hazy about the geography of the ANZ Stadium – “You take away memories of the game, not so much the metal and concrete” – but his place in Anglo-Australian sporting history is guaranteed.
So is Johnson’s. There was no Webb Ellis Cup to lift but his satisfaction was clear. “There’s a lot of stuff spoken about flair and imagination and all those romantic things you guys like to talk about, but it’s about pressure,” he said.
AUSTRALIA:O'Connor; Ioane, Horne, Giteau, Mitchell; Cooper, Genia; Daley, Faingaa, Ma'afu, Mumm, Sharpe, Elsom, Pocock, Brown. Replacements:Ashley-Cooper for Ioane (63), Edmonds for Faingaa (71), Slipper for Ma'afu (53), Chisholm for Mumm (54). Not used: Hodgson, Burgess, Barnes.
ENGLAND:Foden; Cueto, Tindall, Hape, Ashton; Flood, Youngs; Payne, Thompson, Cole, Lawes, Palmer, Croft, Moody, Easter. Replacements:D Armitage for Tindall (68), Wilkinson for Flood (51), Care for Youngs (67), Chuter for Thompson (71), Wilson for Cole (4). Not used: Shaw, Haskell.
Referee:Romain Poite (France).
Guardian Service
