Rugby World Cup 2007 Quarter Final
AUSTRALIA 10 - 12 ENGLAND
6th October 2007
Match Review by Ed Budge

The greatest day in Rugby World Cup history. There must have been something on Le Mistral – blowing in through Marseille, winding through picturesque villages, past Paris and across La Manche for an evening arrival in Cardiff. France dismissed the tournament favourites with typical Gallic panache and uncharacteristically Spartan courage in defence, while England sent their fiercest rivals home courtesy of an elemental display of power rugby. England’s scrum destroyed Australia.

For Twickenham 2005, read Marseille 2007. For Al Baxter, read Guy Shepherdson. The monolithic Andrew Sheridan showed once again that his Antipodean counterparts have flattered to deceive by devouring his opposite number with a Man of the Match performance that echoed, then eclipsed, then obliterated his destruction of the same opposition two years ago.

Another Aussie front row bites the dust

The shadow of Andre Watson and 2003 loomed looked set to enshroud England early on, when Matt Dunning’s lazy left limb made friends with the Provençal turf at the first eight – count them, eight – set scrums. He did not escape prosecution for long. By the second half, penalties rained down on the helpless Wallaby front three to the point where England fans cheered their own side’s knock-ons. It was a massacre; led by Sheridan and amply supplemented by Mark Regan, Phil Vickery, Matt Stevens and George Chuter.

It was England’s best performance for years, forged in the darkest of the dark places and augmented by a willingness to move the ball away from contact, a sharp attacking game twinkling with understated intent and a stoical, an heroic, defensive effort.

England looked by far the better side in the opening quarter: Lewis Moody and Jason Robinson each breaking though the line untouched, the latter from a beautifully delayed pass from Simon Shaw, only for the attacks to come to nothing, while Mike Catt and Mathew Tait were playing with forceful variety, mixing up the game with grubber kicks of varying success and numerous bursts into the line.

Andy Sheridan and Matt Dunning get acquainted.

Australia had opened the scoring when Stirling Mortlock succeeded with his second penalty attempt of the day, having missed the first. But Jonny Wilkinson replied with two strikes of his own, the latter being the first of many to come from a contorted Australian scrum.

However, the stubbornness that has made the Wallabies the most successful side in World Cup history would not permit the match to be decided in the tight exchanges alone. Thrity minutes had elapsed when Mortlock burst through Moody’s tackle on the 22 to set up Australian possession near the line. After countless phases in which England’s defence continued to repel Rocky Elsom and Wycliffe Palu – two classic flat-track bullies – on the fringes, the ball was eventually moved wide. The 21-year-old Berrick Barnes waved the ball around like a wand, begging Mortlock to straighten the line. His captain obliged and was hauled down by Tait, but cover was slow to arrive and Lote Tuqiri squirmed through Josh Lewsey’s desperate tackle to score in the right corner. Mortlock, whose misses were to cost Australia the game later on, produced a gem of a conversion to give his side a 10-6 lead at half time.

For the first time, one could see more than the fleeting glimpses of ‘Ashton Rugby’ in the hands of the men in white. England’s play at the breakdown was a revelation – English ball was plucked out of trouble and moved swiftly away from the likes of George Smith with myriad deft touches from forwards and backs alike, all marshalled with aplomb by the veteran Andy Gomarsall (revelation number 2). Australian possession was treated disdainfully, with the English flying through rucks like madmen, scattering Aussies in their wake. The English pack prowled the field waiting for another tackle into which to explode while their opponents coughed and spluttered up penalty after penalty

Mortlock tries to find a way through

With an hour gone came the two moments that would define the game that defied all logic. Firstly, Wilkinson kicked the penalty that put England into a 12-10 lead that they would not surrender, won – you guessed it – at another scrum, from which Elsom detached early. Moments later, an huge Australian overlap in midfield was thwarted; Paul Sackey saying cobblers to drift defence and stepping off his wing to hammer Mortlock. It was a massive moment; driven by instinct and catalyst for the self-belief that carried England to the semi-finals. Hang the power of Mortlock, the subtlety of Giteau! Say nothing of the bullish Tuqiri, the impudent Barnes, the exceptional Latham! You, Australia, shall not pass!

And they did not. After a wave of substitutions and a penalty miss from Wilkinson and one from Mortlock that had a country on its knees, praying that a victory would not be undeservedly snatched away, Alain Rolland blew his whistle.

Few would have believed it possible. The few that did, mercifully, counted Brian Ashton amongst their number. Ashton picked a side designed to pulverise the weakness of his opposition, to grab at the throat of the Australians and not to let go, nullifying the body for a full 80 minutes. That the scrummaging force he chose did so much more is credit to the men themselves. To Shaw, who tackled himself half to death; to Vickery and Stevens, who dove on every loose ball going; to Moody, who attacked the rucks like a demon; to Catt and Tait, who would not yield in the presence of a physical assault that the scriptwriters assured us would overwhelm them. And of course to Sheridan, whose all-round employment of nigh on 21 stones was pretty damned close to perfect.

Euphoria as England make it to the semi finals

To those who dared to dream, dream again. New Zealand are out of the World Cup. Four teams remain, all of whom have crushed, struggled or dazzled their way to the semi-finals of the greatest Rugby World Cup to date. Those who cast their penny into the fountain and took England to win at 50-1 before Saturday should be feeling mighty pleased with themselves. Almost as pleased as the men who kept the adventure alive on an extraordinary Saturday in Marseille.

Australia (10) 10
Try: Tuqiri
Pen: Mortlock
Con: Mortlock

England (6) 12
Pens: Wilkinson (4)

Player Ratings:

Jason Robinson – 7.
One superbly picked line, and untroubled in defence. A mixed, but generally satisfactory kicking game.

Paul Sackey – 8.
Once again, an error-free display capped by one, if not two, hugely crucial tackles

Mathew Tait – 7.
Not, as some have suggested, responsible for many, if any, of Mortlock’s bursts. Showed laudable instinct and flexibility to his attacking game.

Mike Catt – 6.5.
Tried just about everything and kept the Australians guessing for the entire match. A few errors didn’t cost his side in the end.

Josh Lewsey – 6.5.
Has become ever more reliable as the tournament has gone on. Injected power when needed.

Jonny Wilkinson – 7.
Ever the heartbeat of the side, was once again let down by his goal-kicking and some of his distribution. His presence alone unsettled the Aussies.

Andy Gomarsall – 8.
How he’s done it, nobody knows, but Gomarsall picked and executed all of his kicks and passes with astute judgement.

Andrew Sheridan – 9.
Enormous ball carrying force and the architect of England’s utter dominance of the scrum. Man of the Match.

Mark Regan – 7.
Did just what he was picked to do. Scrummage and irritate. A few handling mistakes cost him a point.

Phil Vickery/Matt Stevens – 8.
I am marking them as a pair, for it was only the scrum cap that could tell them apart after the substitution. Both destroyed Dunning, scrapped like flankers for loose ball and ran with power.

Simon Shaw – 8.5.
Beaten to MOTM by Sheridan, but took his defensive showing of the 2004 Heineken Cup final onto the biggest stage of all. Still handles the ball like a centre.

Ben Kay – 6.5.
Smartly delegated much of the line-out work to Shaw, thus negating the effect of Sharpe and Vickerman. Eliminated the faux pas of previous games.

Martin Corry – 6.5.
Missed a big tackle on Mortlock, but drove solidly throughout and took a few good line-outs.

Lewis Moody – 7.
Also let the Aussie captain through, for the build up to the first try. Rucked superbly and picked good lines in attack. Will need a partner in crime if he is to bring the same pace to England’s game in future.

Nick Easter – 8.
Growing into International rugby with every touch of the ball. Power and finesse in equal measure (alright, maybe not quite equal).

Celebrating with the fans