England came back from 12 points down to lift the 2002 Cook Cup in a thrilling game against Australia at Twickenham, making it three wins in three years in the fixture after the home side survived a frantic finale to end up 32-31 winners. This despite the Wallabies plundering three tries in a 10-minute purple patch near the break.
16-6 up and playing first half injury-time, England were cruising after an early score from superb Northampton wing Ben Cohen, but one try either side of the interval from Wallaby centre Elton Flatley and a further from rugby league convert Wendell Sailor looked to have given the visitors an insurmountable 28-16, as a shell-shocked England looked on in disbelief and wondered where their lead had disappeared to.
Australia -- coming into the match on the back of their embarrassing defeat against Ireland in the Dublin rain last week -- showed a great deal more commitment and unity in the pack, although it was the resolve of the seemingly beaten English that this game will be remembered for.
Cohen was again the hero in a frantic finale when he raced onto a timely dummy and pass from Gloucester's greenhorn wing James Simpson-Daniel to go under the posts with five minutes to go, his 18th try in just 20 Test appearances, fly-half Jonny Wilkinson then sealing the win with the straight-forward conversion on a day when his 22 points with the boot proved crucial.
The Newcastle fly-half produced a goalkicking display of the highest order with his six penalties and two conversions, marshalling an England side who saw colossal performances from the recalled Ben Kay and Neil Back, while even the likes of Simpson-Daniel and veteran prop Jason Leonard shone.
For the Wallabies, next Saturday's Test against Italy in Genoa cannot come soon enough as the travel-weary world champions aim to bring the curtain down on a tour which started with the "battle of Buenos Aires", and has so far seen misery on a grand scale in both Dublin and London.
Plus points for the Bledisloe Cup holders may not be glaringly obvious after this admittedly narrow loss, which could have gone either way, but did expose yet again their lack of imagination behind the scrum, although seeing renewed fire upfront, where Matt Cockbain and George Smith policed the back-row with more urgency and conviction.
While the pre-match build-up might have lacked the anticipation of last week's Twickenham visit of the All Blacks, the on-field intensity was equal if not higher, with both packs putting in some big hits, while the Wallaby backs' straight running provided a fascinating contrast with the space-searching of the English.
After his superb finish against New Zealand last time out, it was wing Cohen who again showed his class in opening the scoring for the home side in the left corner, latching on to yet more enterprising ball-in-hand play from Gloucester youngster Simpson-Daniel on the scissor after a line-out to score.
With the Wallabies switching fly-half Stephen Larkham sporadically to fullback and using centre Flatley at first receiver, their back play early on still lacked the intent and spark of the English, with their much-publicised decoy runners, however, managing to create space on occasion.
Two penalties from Matt Burke brought them to within a point after the NSW Waratah had missed an early effort, but with England re-cycling the ball well in the loose, three subsequent Wilkinson penalties edged them further ahead.
Daniel Vickerman was lucky not to find himself in the sin-bin for the latter of the three after curtailing a 50-metre Matt Dawson break under the posts, but New Zealand referee Paul Honiss opted not to take further action with the English 16-6 up, and only seconds until the break.
Their remarkable fightback however was just about to take shape, and started in the seventh minute of added time when repeated infringements from England near their own line saw the visitors opt for the five-metre scrum, first receiver Flatley capitalising on a slip from Wilkinson to take a diagonal course from the right-hand side of the pitch to score under the posts for a simple but effective try.
Burke's conversion meant England's lead was only 16-13 at the interval, but just as England had done the previous week, the Australians then managed another try almost immediately after the break, right wing Sailor this time the beneficiary in the right corner after what in truth had been a rather one-dimensional and laboured previous 40 minutes from the former rugby leaguer, although he capitalised well on a slip from last man Cohen after a great looping pass from Larkham.
Not content with those two quickfire scores, they then made it three as the Twickenham crowd were still finishing their half-time pies, this time Flatley showing a remarkable turn of pace from 80 metres on the intercept after the ball flew out of England tackle in the Wallaby 22 -- the retreating Jason Robinson not even able to catch the Queensland fly-half who was having an increasing influence on proceedings.
Burke converted, and then seconds later cracked over his third penalty to take what had looked an almost unconquerable 6-16 deficit into a 28-16 lead in a matter of about ten minutes' playing time.
Burke and Wilkinson then both kicked their fourth penalties as the crowd took a much-needed breather, the England fly-half goping on to nail a further two to get his side within nine points of the world champions.
With time gradually running out, English attempts to unpick their effective but flat defensive line included a superbly-timed chip-and-chase from Greenwood on his own 22, although with vast expanses of space in front of him, the presence of a Wallaby tackler was enough to pressurise him into a loose pass to the advancing Moody, who had a clear but admittedly long run-in to the line.
The crowd rose to their feet moments later however, and it was yet again for Cohen who was the hero, latching onto a Simpson-Daniel dummy in midfield near the Australian 22 to go under left of the posts for a spectacular try, his brilliantly-times inward run from his wing perch flummoxing the Aussie midfield.
Wilkinson's elimentary conversion put England back into a lead which looked as if it had disappeared after that Wallaby onslaught, setting the stage for a frantic last ten minutes.
A chance to snatch a dramatic late win presented itself to Burke with three minutes left on the clock, but even he could not find the target with a tricky 45-metre penalty, his booming kick looping agonisingly left of the uprights.
Try as they might to win the ball from the English in a nail-biting seven minutes of injury-time, a heaving punt clearance from Larkham saw referee Honiss finally blow the whistle at the end of yet another pulsating Twickenham Test, one which might well have swayed any lingering doubters after their win against the so-called New Zealand 2nd XV last week.
Man of the match: Creditible performances from players on both sides, but for endeavour, commitment and a never-say-die attitude, our vote goes to recalled England prop Jason Leonard. Nearing 100 England caps despite his current standing as a mere squad player, he scrummaged superbly and even popped up in the loose with some vital bursts. Elsewhere in the England side, scrum-half Matt Dawson, wings Ben Cohen and James Simpson-Daniel were both solidity personified, while fly-half Jonny Wilkinson led the line well. For the Wallabies, Elton Flatley not ony scored two tries, but kept the England line guessing with his positional changes. Matt Cockbain was a driving force upfront, while Matt Burke held his nerve for the majority of his goal attempts.
Moment of the match: Staring defeat in the face and with less than five minutes on the clock, Gloucester wing James Simpson-Daniel ran the ball laterally in midfield on the Wallaby 22, dummying and then popping to left wing Ben Cohen on a diagonal inward run. Cohen broke the Australian defensive line and burst over for a vital try that got England to within a point, Jonny Wilkinson's conversion securing the win in the most spectacular of manners.
Villain of the match: Played in a good spirit and refereed generally superbly by New Zealander Paul Honiss, he did however earn the wrath of the Twickenham crowd with his decision not to send lock Daniel Vickerman to the sin bin when he killed a ruck ball under the posts while an England try beckoned.
The teams:
Australia: 1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Jeremy Paul, 3 Bill Young, 4 Justin Harrison, 5 Daniel Vickerman, 6 Matt Cockbain, 7 George Smith, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Elton Flatley, 13 Dan Herbert, 14 Wendell Sailor, 15 Matthew Burke
Reserves: David Giffin, Matt Giteau, David Croft, Ben Darwin, Adam Freier
Unused: Scott Staniforth, Chris Whitaker
England: 1 Jason Leonard, 2 Steve Thompson, 3 Phil Vickery, 4 Ben Kay, 5 Martin Johnson (c), 6 Neil Back, 7 Lewis Moody, 8 Richard Hill, 9 Matt Dawson, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Ben Cohen, 12 Will Greenwood, 13 Mike Tindall, 14 James Simpson-Daniel, 15 Jason Robinson
Reserves: Lawrence Dallaglio, Austin Healey
Unused: Andy Gomarsall, Danny Grewcock, Mark Regan, Tim Stimpson, Robbie Morris
Referee: Honiss p.
Points Scorers:
Australia
Tries: Flatley E.J. 2, Sailor W.J. 1
Conv: Burke M.C. 2
Pen K.: Burke M.C. 4
England
Tries: Cohen B.C. 2
Conv: Wilkinson J.P. 2
Pen K.: Wilkinson J.P. 6
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