England 25 defeated Australia 14
Melbourne - 21 June 2003

There's been a hell of a lot of soul searching going on in the wake of England's impressive victory over Australia, with the common theme seemingly being "we're a load of bollocks - the cup is lost!", and other such breathless and dire proclamations.

So to those who have written the Wallabies off on the strength of that performance, wet your whistle and repeat after me: "always look on the bright side of life..."

Hey, credit where it is due. This England side is, indeed, deeply impressive - prone to cynically killing the ball at the breakdown perhaps - but nonetheless, they are strong from 1 to 15.

England have a great forward pack that makes a good backline look great, and the Wallabies have a good forward pack that makes a great backline look crap.

Therein lies our problem. Our forwards are certainly not rubbish, and have plenty of talent and experience. But, against the best in the world, which - though it pains me to say it - England clearly are at the moment, the Wallaby pigs are found wanting.

I actually thought we matched up pretty well in the scrum, but the lineout - courtesy of miscommunication, poor throwing, and great defensive lineout work by the English pack - was a mess. Which is strange, considering it has, for so long, been a great strength of the Australian game. Urgent attention is required. And perhaps a change of personnel, too. Vickerman and Cannon both lifted the forward play when they came on as replacements.

But it was in general play that the contrast between the two packs was most evident. All eight of the English forwards played brilliantly in support and in the pick and drive. By contrast, neither Young nor Noriega (if the stats are to be believed) took the ball up once.

England is also technically superb at the breakdown. The speed at which they arrive in numbers is quite phenomenal, and though they hover on (and sometimes brazenly overstep) the edge of legality, they simply play to the way the game is being refereed. If they're not being punished for it, they will continue to do it. Simple.

In the backlines, Wilkinson, Robinson, and Cohen were exceptional, as were Roff and Sailor for the Wallabies. Both backlines acquitted themselves fairly well, though England did look more structured in attack. Once again, though, this was symptomatic of a forward pack that always seemed to be going forward.

The good news is that we looked rusty and they looked like a well-oiled machine. Our season is only starting, and theirs is at an end. We have plenty of players (granted mostly backs) returning from injury, whereas they were at full strength.

And yet they still only beat us by 11 points.

Just suppose...five months down the track. Australia v England in the final of the World Cup. A very different Australian team against virtually the same English team. At Stadium Australia, a favoured hunting ground for the Wallabies. In a World Cup final, where Australia has twice before tasted success, against England, chasing history, with the burden of an entire hemisphere's expectations riding on the aging shoulders of their forward pack. In the heat.

Don't write off the Wallabies just yet.

- Dan Fowell

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