England 35 Austrlia 18:IT HAS been a long time since the cradle of English rugby shook with such unrestrained ecstasy. You have to rewind eight years to find a home performance which generated as much public satisfaction, back to an era when England habitually had Southern Hemisphere visitors for breakfast.
Not since South Africa were thrashed 53-3 in November 2002 has there been anything as clinical, ruthlessly exhilarating or, whisper it, impressively stylish on home soil. Much more of this and next year’s World Cup will assume a different hue.
Few saw it coming, least of all the Wallabies, for the simple reason England had not given an 80-minute performance of such panache and power since Martin Johnson was their captain.
Many months of collective hard work have gone into England’s apparent overnight transformation, but at its core has been the emergence of five young men who have the ability to serve their country for the next decade.
The names of Ben Youngs, Courtney Lawes, Dan Cole, Chris Ashton and Tom Croft may not yet have the global resonance of Johnson, Jonny Wilkinson, Jason Leonard, Jason Robinson and Lawrence Dallaglio, but time is on their side. Even if England do not go on to win their last two autumn Tests and the Six Nations title, an exciting decade has dawned.
For all Ashton’s try-scoring theatricals and the growing influence of outhalf Toby Flood and secondrow Tom Palmer, the introduction of Youngs at scrumhalf has been the crucial factor.
It emerged England’s first win over Southern Hemisphere opposition since 2006 had been inspired by an Australian. Youngs is Leicester-reared but his confidence has been massaged by Matt O’Connor, the Tigers’ backs coach. The instinct which prompted Youngs to throw a dummy on his line, six minutes into the second half, and launch a breakaway which ended with Ashton swallow-diving into Twickenham legend, was shaped by O’Connor’s promptings.
“I wouldn’t be playing for England if it wasn’t for him,” said Youngs, having recovered from a heavy blow to the sternum which forced him off after 55 minutes. “Backing yourself on those 50-50 calls, when it is not the easier option, is basically down to him. He’s been a massive influence on my career.”
On another day the two tries scored by Kurtley Beale, the Wallaby fullback, would have earned rave reviews – here they were brief cameos in a stirring red-rose drama. With barely a scrum worthy of the name, England’s high-tempo effectiveness in other areas unveiled them as a team capable of playing in more than one way, a reliable sign of Test quality.
The slick support work for Ashton’s first try after 25 minutes was evidence of a new England. The trick now is to keep it up against Samoa and South Africa.
“I’m really happy for everyone involved,” said Johnson. “People start talking about perfect games of rugby. Calm down. We were pretty good but we need to be a bit better next week.”
Whether that involves some judicious squad rotation will be debated today, with the team to face Samoa not to be announced until Wednesday. But Johnson can pick from a rare position of strength.
Ben Foden, a sure presence at fullback, was not alone in suspecting the Wallabies “will now be thinking about us come World Cup time”.
Guardian Service
ENGLAND: Foden; Ashton, Tindall, Hape, Cueto; Flood, Youngs; Sheridan, Hartley, Cole, Lawes, Palmer, Croft, Moody, Easter. Replacements: Care for Youngs (54 mins), Armitage for Tindall (62 mins), Wilson for Sheridan (67 mins), Thompson for Hartley (70 mins), Shaw for Palmer (71 mins), Hodgson for Flood, Fourie for Easter (both 78 mins).
AUSTRALIA: Beale; O'Connor, Ashley-Cooper, Giteau, Mitchell; Cooper, Genia; Robinson, Moore, Alexander, Chisholm, Sharpe, Elsom, Pocock, McCalman. Replacements: Burgess for Genia (48 mins), , Slipper for Robinson (55 mins), Mumm for Chisholm (57 mins), Brown for McCalman (58 mins), Barnes for Giteau (59 mins). Sin Bin: Giteau (37 mins).
Referee: Craig Joubert(South Africa).
