England 32 defeated Australia 31
London - 16 November 2002

Make no mistake, the Wallabies had no business winning this test. To have done so would have been a grave injustice to a thoroughly professional and organised English side, and would also have sugar coated another sub-par performance by the Australian team.

Undoubtedly, though, this was still a significant improvement on previous outings against both Argentina and Ireland - as it needed to be. Yet it fell substantially short of the oft-promised evolution of the team's attacking strategy.

'What strategy?' I hear you ask. Exactly. No amount of backline positional shenanigans can mask the fact that the Wallaby backs continue to play like one dimensional robots - though this is perhaps being unfair to the latest models off the Mitsui production lines.

Nor are the forwards blameless. They have now been comprehensively out-pointed in three consecutive tests. The forward pack is the fulcrum upon which a successful World Cup campaign can be built. The personnel are simply not right. Injuries prevented this tour from being the selection laboratory that Eddie Jones had hoped. Time is running out to find the optimum combination. One gets the distinct impression that a team will not be settled until the weeks leading up to RWC 2003. And that can't be good.

There are so many areas of the Wallabies' play that need remedial action - the restarts (woeful), the scrum (unreliable), the lineouts (see 'restarts'), the breakdown (it's a miracle when they do emerge from the ruck or maul with possession in tact), discipline (when was the last time the Wallabies were on the right side of the penalty count?), line breaks (virtually nonexistent), and handling (dropling).

By some kind of tragic osmosis, the Wallabies have morphed into the northern hemisphere sides of old - stodgy, predictable, and prone to kicking away possession. And in stark contrast, England have themselves become the entertainers of world rugby, creating multiphase play requiring great skill and discipline, and getting the ball out wide and at pace.

This is a bad, bad situation to be in twelve months out from the World Cup. But it's better that it happens now than mid next year. Reports suggest that Jones is sick of eating humble pie, and seeing a team on the field incapable of executing his game plan. Not that he is entirely blameless - the backline shuffle seemed pointless as the Wallabies were still left without a ball playing inside centre, and Herbert's replacement with Matt Giteau (who was always going to be on a hiding to nothing under such circumstances) was, quite simply, dumbfounding.

To my great surprise, much has been made of Wendell Sailor's allegedly poor performance in the wake of the Twickenham defeat. OK - he wasn't brilliant, and he did make a couple of mistakes, but whenever he was tackled, possession was retained, which is more than can be said for many of his backline colleagues. He showed enough to indicate that his capable of much more, and that's good news. He will face some serious challenges next year for his wing spot from the likes of Ben Tune, Joe Roff, Chris Latham and Lote Tuqiri.

As for some other individual performances:

- Herbert has shown us nothing new on this tour. To be fair, he is playing out of position, but with little chance of playing at outside centre for the Wallabies (with both Matt Burke and Stirling Mortlock preferred at that position), and with Eddie Jones desperately wanting a more versatile player at inside centre (earmarked for Mat Rogers), Herbie's future with the Wallabies looks bleak. Nevertheless, his commitment in defence can never be questioned. He may not be spectacular, but he is rarely terrible.

- If not for his goal kicking, it is questionable whether Matt Burke would find a place in the Wallabies. But his boot and his experience are invaluable to the team chemistry (such as it is), and there will always be a place for him in the starting side. What is beyond doubt is that he is a fullback, plain and simple. The sooner he is moved back to that position, and Mortlock is restored to outside centre, the better.

- The halves - Gregan and Larkham - for so long the dynamic duo of the Australian backline, are not at their best. These two are so crucial to the Wallaby game plan that when they operate below expectations, it almost always follows that the entire team does as well. Larkham does not spook opposition defences the way he once did, and Gregan's game lacks variety - he still refuses to run with the ball. There is now public criticism of the speed of his passes. He is a captain under fire, but not for his captaincy, which was quite outstanding, particularly when opting to go for the try rather than the easy penalty goal in the dying seconds of the first half. His boldness was duly rewarded.

- The backrow is a mess. Toutai Kefu is an outstanding player, but his effectiveness as a runner has been blunted by the fact that opposition defences are lying in wait for him. A fit David Lyons is the obvious answer at blindside, coming in for the injured Owen Finegan and the fickle Matt Cockbain (too often the culprit when the Wallabies are penalised at the ruck). George Smith is another great player who seems out of sorts. He definitely produces superior performances when his old foe, Phil Waugh, is champing at the bit to usurp him. Though Jone Tawake is a prospect for the future, it is unlikely he will come into RWC calculations. However, a combination of Kefu, Lyons, and Smith/Waugh has the potential to out-point any opposition backrow.

- In the second row, Harrison seems to have had his day, surpassed by younger, stronger and faster locks. David Giffin had an inauspicious return against Ireland, but will almost certainly be a different player after another season of Super 12 is under his belt. The form lock in the country is Queensland's Nathan Sharpe, and he is likely to be partnered by Giffin or the exciting Daniel Vickerman.

- The front row is far from settled. Bill Young has been only average during this tour, but injury and a flying visit home for the arrival of his newborn have been disruptive. He is still the premier loosehead in the Wallaby squad. Patricio Noriega has gone backwards this tour, and Ben Darwin (or even the forgotten Rod Moore) might be preferable. Jeremy Paul has struggled with injury, but the Adam Freier experiment has not quite lived up to expectations. Brendan Cannon should regain the role of primary back-up to Paul.

Let's hope that the Wallabies produce a spirited and disciplined performance against minnows Italy this weekend, so that they can enter the off-season with some vestiges of good form.

- Dan Fowell