England v Australia, Twickenham – live on Sky Sports, kick off 2.30pm
It does not feel like 13 years ago that Dorian West was sitting in Aix-en-Provence discussing his surprise at being named captain of England for the first – and, as it turned out, only – time. Clive Woodward’s side had not lost in 18 months and, even with a few reserves playing, there was no expectation of his squad’s 14-game unbeaten run approaching its end.
If England could have their time again, would they have taken that distant 2003 game in Marseille more seriously? In many ways France’s 17-16 win did not matter hugely, a warm-up game swiftly forgotten in the celebrations of their subsequent Rugby World Cup triumph. The highlight, apart from an enthusiastic Beatles tribute band in the main stand, was England’s then-kitman, Dave “Reg” Tennison, inadvertently getting in the way as France’s goal-kicker, Frédéric Michalak, lined up a touchline conversion. For all that, it will for ever be recorded as the warm Mediterranean night when England surrendered a potential world record that, otherwise, could have extended to 25 matches.
It has taken a while for another England team to draw within touching distance of Sir Clive’s champions, coincidentally one under the command of the man who coached against them on that momentous night in Sydney. Should Australia be beaten at Twickenham it would be England’s 14th straight victory, 13 in the same calendar year under the stewardship of Eddie Jones. No one is suggesting his England are the finished article but entering 2017 still unbeaten would further underline their status as a gathering force.
For that reason this latest Wallaby encounter is not just any old game. Australia, remarkably, will rise back up to second in the world rankings if they win, only months after being widely dismissed as England’s bunnies during the June series that ended 3-0 in the visitors’ favour. The last time England had a “perfect” year was in 1992, when they played just six games, one of them against Canada at Wembley. Even without a possible Wallaby tour grand slam on offer, there has been a discernible crackle all week.There are increasing echoes of the Woodward era, with people going the extra mile out of sheer personal desire rather than any managerial decree. They could, however, do with a few more ball-carrying forwards for this particular contest, the absence of Billy Vunipola a huge one in every sense. His replacement, Nathan Hughes, is a slightly different type of attacking runner and is starting a Test match for the first time, another reason why Jones has been keener to focus attention on the Wallaby scrum rather than dwell at length on his own slightly denuded pack.
Maro Itoje is back for Saracens on Saturday but it would have been much handier for England had he been available a week earlier and Joe Launchbury not been suspended. Both Kane Douglas and, apart from the first 69 minutes of the first Test, David Pocock were conspicuous absentees at crucial times in the summer series and No8 Lopeti Timani also brings a powerful fresh dimension. If Will Genia’s return to Stade Français is a blow, there is a renewed air of self-belief about the Wallaby backline, with the centre Tevita Kuridrani having scored a try in all four Tests of his side’s current tour.
In short they are more like the Wallaby sides of the Jones era: clever, motivated, sharp. Michael Cheika is no fool and neither is his backs coach, Stephen Larkham, a former lieutenant of Jones at the Brumbies. It falls to England to revert to type as well and be the no-nonsense, snarling territorial bulldogs unwilling to be pushed around their own manor.
The scene is set, consequently, for a serious collision, one to linger longer in the memory than any of their three November successes. The South African referee Jaco Peyper must have imagined he had already endured his toughest assignment of the autumn but may yet be disappointed. If England’s disciplinary prayers – “Give us not this day our Daly red” – are answered their prospects will soar substantially.
Maybe it will benefit Jones’s side, at some stage, to lose a game, to regroup as Woodward’s 2003 side did and to escape statistical distractions. The sight of Jonny Wilkinson helping fine-tune Owen Farrell’s goal-kicking on a chilly Twickenham lunchtime, however, did little to dilute the slight sense of deja vu that this modern England side are generating. High-profile coach, ace goal-kicker, motivated pack, the scent of Wallaby danger? The more things change, the more they stay the same.
(Guardian service)
