Clive Woodward distanced himself yesterday from all talk of making history but there will be no escape if his side win their Cook Cup encounter with the Wallabies. No England coach has ever secured a full house of home and away wins over all the major rugby-playing nations and victory would also represent a first Test success by an England side on Australian soil.
What matters more to Woodward, though, is victory for its own sake, by whatever available means. When England return here for the World Cup this autumn, their fate will be determined by their ability to deliver quality rugby under pressure on successive weekends. This morning's mock exam is as close to the real thing as he could wish.
"If we're going to be successful in October and November these are the challenges we've got to step up to," admitted Woodward, brushing aside queries about style or his men being anything less than fully focused at the end of a long season.
"It's our last big hit before the World Cup, the other games will just be me trying various players in different positions."
It will be very close if past results are any sort of guide. In 10 games between the sides dating back to the 1991 World Cup final, eight have been decided by a margin of seven points or less and the 32-31 scoreline in England's favour at Twickenham last November simply mirrored the trend.
For England to be toppled, the Wallabies will have to get among the most durable of packs and dominate their lineout, with George Smith's replacement, Phil Waugh, operating to the satisfaction of referee David McHugh at the breakdowns.
Woodward insists England will compete just as vigorously as against New Zealand last week, when they had two men sent to the sin-bin, and the visitors' defence tends to be hermetically sealed whether the game is played beneath a closed roof or not.
The omens, even so, are not all favourable, with Melbourne proving an unforgiving venue for English Lions such as Jonny Wilkinson and Richard Hill on their last visit in 2001.
Wilkinson, who was later carried off on a stretcher, threw the loose pass that enabled Joe Roff to cruise away for the try that turned that series, and Hill's participation was ended by a stray elbow from today's stand-in Wallaby fly-half, Nathan Grey.
Two years on, Australia's coach Eddie Jones says the losers will not suffer "irreparable damage" to their World Cup prospects, hinting that England are on the flatter upward graph: "They're going to improve in the next three or four months, the question is whether it's as fast as other teams."
The southern hemisphere badly need proof that the form horses can be reined in.
"If Australia can get fast ball from the breakdown, I think they'll cause England a lot of trouble," said the All Black captain Reuben Thorne.
The current England team, though, are in the mood to make history whether Woodward likes it or not.
AUSTRALIA: Latham; Sailor, Turinui, S Kefu, Roff; Grey, Gregan (capt); Young, Paul, Noriega, Giffin, Sharpe, Lyons, Waugh, T Kefu. Replacements: Cannon, Darwin, Vickerman, Heenan, Whitaker, Rogers, Tuqiri.
ENGLAND: Lewsey; Robinson, Greenwood, Tindall, Cohen; Wilkinson, Bracken; Woodman, Thompson, Vickery, Johnson (capt), Kay, Hill, Back, Dallaglio. Replacements: Regan, Leonard, Borthwick, J Worsley, Dawson, King, Luger.
Referee: D McHugh (Ireland).
