England threw down a World Cup gauntlet to the southern hemisphere superpowers as they claimed their first-ever victory on Australian soil, outscoring the Wallabies by three tries to one in a 25-14 win at Melbourne's Telstra Dome.
Having beaten the All Blacks only seven days earlier, coach Clive Woodward's men delivered a timely slap in the face to those who have accused them of "boring" rugby, with all of their tries coming from the backs against a resilient Wallaby side, who gave their all without a host of their recognised stars.
But it is the powerful display of this England team that is the story of world rugby at the moment, with their reputation further strengthened after a performance which saw tries for centres Will Greenwood and Mike Tindall, as well as a second-half effort from wing Ben Cohen.
Fly-half Jonny Wilkinson dictated play with his usual authorativeness, adding two penalties as well as converting all but one of the tries -- only the width of an upright preventing him from a perfect day with the boot as his touchline effort rattled the left post following Tindall's try.
Despite the obvious plus points for the visitors, the match was not a totally wasted exercise for the Wallabies, with wing Wendell Sailor continuing his ascent in standards with a spectacular late consolation try, while makeshift fly-half Nathan Grey gave a gritty demonstration of his skills, playing within his obvious limitations but never being the point of weakness that had been suggested by some pre-match pundits.
Joe Roff kicked three penalties, while openside Phil Waugh was again outstanding for the hosts, but their opponents will go away the happier, having firmly stamped their authority as the team to beat.
The "Red Rose" brigade had heroes all over the park, hooker Steve Thompson being everywhere, captain Martin Johnson again being a huge physical presence, while Jason Robinson, Ben Cohen and Josh Lewsey in the backs never relinquished their duties.
If any criticism is to come following this historic match, then discipline may well be the area, with Irish referee David McHugh letting a host of offences go unpunished, as well as blowing the English continually for off-side and infringements in contact.
Also, the dominance of tigerish Wallaby Waugh at the breakdown showed just how much the English are missing the injured Lewis Moody -- his Leicester team-mate Neil Back having many plus points in his general game, but lacking the extra yard to beat the energetic Waugh to the breakdown.
Right from the off, both teams directly attacked at each other, with tactical subtleties on the backburner as Sailor found himself on the end of a Gregan up-and-under in the corner, being bundled into touch by Cohen.
Dallaglio stole an early Wallaby line-out, and while some of the capacity crowd were still getting to their seats, the visitors scored their first try -- phase after phase of English pressure finally grinding down the home resistance.
It was Greenwood who was the man to touch the ball down, but this try was created by a relentless recycling of the ball at pace, sucking the defenders in before it was finally flung wide -- Greenwood bursting through the tackle of centre Steve Kefu before planting the ball down near the posts for Wilkinson to convert.
England were on the front foot, but suffered a bout of over-confidence when trying to run the ball out of their own 22, the Wallabies forcing a penalty after the attempted move went wrong.
Roff had no trouble from right in front of the posts, bringing the deficit down to four points, but with scrum-half Kyran Bracken and hooker Thompson snapping at the heels of the Wallabies, they were being denied clean ball in open play.
Waugh dominated the English singe-handedly at the breakdown, and with the Wallabies restricted to counter-attacks, a break from Roff down the left-wing nearly saw their first try -- the Brumbies star's pass going to ground as a three-on-two beckoned.
England, for all their pressure, were getting impatient, and Wilkinson kicked the ball away in attack when perhaps more phases in the hands were required, but after a few sloppy handling errors, they were finally rewarded for their persistence.
Centre Tindall was the beneficiary, but the try was created in the 22 after some quick hands from Wilkinson, Thompson and Greenwood, who all released the ball before being tackled to make the space for Tindall's burst for the left corner flag.
Wilkinson hit the post with the conversion, with further breaks from Robinson and Lewsey testing the home defence to the full -- some sound tackling from that man Waugh again saving the day.
Some fairly cynical play from Cohen in defence after a kick and chase nearly saw the Wallabies rein in the visitors after a fleeting run down the left -- Cohen hanging on in the ruck and being penalised while the Australians had a considerable numerical advantage. But Roff missed the resulting penalty from left of the posts, and his side went into the interval at 12-3 down.
The second half was an altogether messier affair, with off-sides by the England defence earning the wrath of referee McHugh, while some slap-dash handling by the Wallabies when the tryline beckoned showed their lack of composure.
A penalty from Roff just after the interval from near the posts got the Australians to within six points, and when the visitors were yet again whistled for offside in midfield, Roff narrowed the deficit to three.
But with Jeremy Paul caught on the wrong side of a ruck, Wilkinson nudged England ahead again with a penalty, as the superb continuity of the first half was not matched, understandable with so many exhausted bodies on the field after a frantic opening.
Sailor began to play an increasing role with some powerful runs out of defence, but just when it looked that a period of dominance in possession terms might give the Wallabies ammunition to challenge the lead, England wing Cohen stormed through the three-quarter line at break-neck speed for the third try of the game.
The Northampton powerhouse hit the line on a straightening angle, Greenwood's decoy run having taken Turinui out of his immediate running line, and then the small matter of turning on the turbo and stepping his way past last man Latham before going for the line from all of 30 metres-plus not proving to big an obstacle.
Wilkinson converted, and the 13-point lead never looked like being caught. Late impetus however came with the arrival of Mat Rogers and Lote Tuqiri on to the field, Rogers probing the midfield at fly-half while Tuqiri and Sailor provided ample problems for the England defence.
Rogers nearly scored after a marvellous diagonal break for the left corner -- Robinson tackling his former League opponent just short of the line.
With the clock running down and victory almost guaranteed for England, the last few moments were made all the more anxious when Sailor -- who had threatened to do so all game -- cut through the defence like the proverbial hot knife through butter, turning Matt Dawson inside out before powering past Cohen down the right-wing to slam the ball down.
Roff's conversion could have brought them to within a converted try, but he erred from out wide, and a Wilkinson penalty right on the final hooter brought the game to a close, capping a historic tour for England, while the Wallabies themselves can have gleaned at least some hope from the gutsy spirit of their depleted side.
So, what are the implications for the World Cup? Who knows? But one thing is for sure, the odds will have shortened on an England win, while those who have dared to question the adventure of the men in white were well and truly shot down.
Man of the Match: The influence of England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson was -- as ever -- immense on this game, but for a physically dominant showing we can look no further then England hooker Steve Thompson. He likes the rough stuff, but can handle a ball, and played a key role in Mike Tindall's try. For the Wallabies, openside Phil Waugh was the obvious standout, while stand-in fly-half Nathan Grey tested his game to its full limits. Wing Wendell Sailor drifted in and out of play, but when he's good, boy is he good!
Moment of the Match: Wendell Sailor's late try runs this mightily close, but for both its importance and its clinical execution, our award goes to England wing Ben Cohen's try. At six points up in a key stage of the game, Jonny Wilkinson gave a show of the ball to the Wallaby defence, sucked in Morgan Turinui and then unleashed a short pop to Cohen, who straightened his running line magnificently before outgunning fullback Chris Latham with a side-step and a fiercely accelerating run.
Villain of the Match: In a bits-and-pieces match with a fair bit of niggle, there was never any real villainy of the dastardly sort. Mat Rogers landed a punch on Josh Lewsey, but the holding antics of Lewsey cancelled out that, before Lewsey wreaked revenge with a bone-crunching but perfectly legitimate tackle. Persistent off-sides blighted the flow of the second half, but to single out one sole culprit would not be telling the full story of a game generally played in good spirit.
The Teams:
Australia: 1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Jeremy Paul, 3 Bill Young, 4 David Giffin, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 David Lyons, 7 Phil Waugh, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Nathan Grey, 11 Joe Roff, 12 Steve Kefu, 13 Morgan Turinui, 14 Wendell Sailor, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves: Brendan Cannon, Mat Rogers, Ben Darwin, Daniel Vickerman, Lote Tuqiri
Unused: Daniel Heenan, Chris Whitaker
England: 1 Phil Vickery, 2 Steve Thompson, 3 Trevor Woodman, 4 Ben Kay, 5 Martin Johnson (c), 6 Neil Back, 7 Richard Hill, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, 9 Kyran Bracken, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Jason Robinson, 12 Will Greenwood, 13 Mike Tindall, 14 Ben Cohen, 15 Josh Lewsey
Reserves: Matt Dawson, Joe Worsley, Steve Borthwick
Unused: Alex King, Jason Leonard, Dan Luger, Mark Regan
Attendance: 54868
Referee: Mchugh d.
Points Scorers:
Australia
Tries: Sailor W.J. 1
Pen K.: Roff J.W.C. 3
England
Tries: Greenwood W.J.H. 1, Tindall M.J. 1, Cohen B.C. 1
Conv: Wilkinson J.P. 2
Pen K.: Wilkinson J.P. 2
