Even the most idle of onlookers at Twickenham yesterday would have concluded that victory over Australia today means a huge amount to England. Regardless of the bitter wind whipping around the corners of the grey stadium at noon, it was not simply for warmth that the home squad were gathered in a close-bonded huddle. They want this one badly.
Never mind the Cook Cup, a trophy they have never won, England want victory for its own sake. They want it for Ben Cohen, who will attend the match as a spectator after his father's death this week, and they want it for every British sportsman who has grown tired of hearing Advance Australia Fair being sung in raucous celebration at hourly intervals over the past two months.
Above nationalism, though, today's game is about a purer form of identity: specifically, England's opinion of themselves. All this week the buzzword has been "Bloemfontein", where Martin Johnson's side beat the Springboks 27-22 in June and dared to believe they had cracked the Southern Hemisphere code. A world-class kicking display from Jonny Wilkinson and a collective refusal to settle for second best in any area of the field would suit them equally well this afternoon.
The Wallabies, in contrast, have affected polite indifference this week, aware that their status as world champions has made them an even juicier target than usual. "We probably do not put the same emphasis on winning and losing as England do," said their coach Rod Macqueen yesterday, clearly attempting one last psychological lob. "You always welcome the chance to beat England, but we are looking further ahead than that."
The pressure, in other words, is on England to put up or shut up. When Clive Woodward said yesterday that he expected England to win, he strayed close to the type of well-intentioned rhetoric which has rebounded on him in the past. What he meant, as he has said ad nauseam all week, is that his side are at home, at full strength and in no mood for excuses.
It will not, however, be easy. Australia concede tries only marginally more often than Sydney Harbour freezes over, have an equally dead-eyed kicker in Matt Burke, and have lost only one of their last five Tests in England.
So expect a crackling first quarter, rain or shine, and England to prosper if they manage an early try. Sod's Law, always a reliable guide, suggests that the referee, Andre Watson, one of the video refs who gave England grief in South Africa this year, will need to refer the winning score to the "eye in the sky".
ENGLAND: M Perry (Bath); A Healey (Leicester), M Tindall (Bath), M Catt (Bath), D Luger (Saracens); J Wilkinson (Newcastle), K Bracken (Saracens); J Leonard (Harlequins), P Greening (Wasps), P Vickery (Gloucester), M Johnson (Leicester, capt), D Grewcock (Saracens), R Hill (Saracens), N Back (Leicester), L Dallaglio (Wasps). Replacements: M Regan (Bath), D Flatman (Saracens), S Borthwick (Bath), M Corry (Leicester), M Dawson (Northampton), W Greenwood (Harlequins), A Healey (Leicester).
AUSTRALIA: C Latham (Queensland); M Burke (New South Wales), D Herbert (Queensland), S Mortlock (Australian Capital Territories), J Roff (ACT); R Kafer (ACT), S Cordingley (Queensland); B Young (ACT), M Foley (Queensland), F Dyson (Queensland), J Eales (Queensland, capt), D Giffin (ACT), J Williams (ACT), G Smith (ACT), T Kefu (Queensland). Replacements: J Paul (ACT), G Panoho (Queensland), M Connors (Queensland), P Waugh (New South Wales), M Cockbain (Queensland), C Whitaker (NSW), N Grey (NSW).
Referee: A Watson (South Africa).
