England v Australia player ratings (263)
- 6 Oct 07, 05:38 PM
Marseille - Tom and Ben here, together in one blog. Here are our player ratings for England's quarter-final against Australia. Tom's rated England and Ben, Australia.
Do you agree? Let us know your thoughts!
ENGLAND
Jason Robinson 鈥 Great burst up the middle early on and from then on faultless under the high ball. Hamstring fully recovered. 8
Paul Sackey 鈥 For a man criticised for his defensive shortcomings, made the key tackle of the match when he came off his wing to nail Mortlock man and ball when the Wallabies had a three-man overlap. Solid under the high ball and unlucky not to pouch Mike Catt鈥檚 kick into the corner. 8
Mathew Tait 鈥 Allayed the pre-match fears that he would be taken apart by Matt Giteau and Stirling Mortlock. Given few chances to show his attacking skills but always lively and justified his place ahead of Dan Hipkiss. 7
Mike Catt 鈥 Massively improved from his last World Cup outing against the Springboks. Kicked beautifully from hand, put in a big shift in defence and unlucky to knock on Jonny Wilkinson鈥檚 quick pass when five metres out. 8
Josh Lewsey 鈥 Not his best game. Let Lote Tuqiri escape for Australia鈥檚 try and spilled the ball with England pressing hard at the other end. 7
Jonny Wilkinson 鈥 A strange match for England鈥檚 talisman 鈥 his kicking won England the match, but equally his misses almost cost them it too. Still struggling to control this World Cup ball, and will have nightmares about that missed drop goal 鈥 but rock-solid in defence and a key stabilising force in the backs when the pressure was on. 7
Andy Gomarsall 鈥 A dependable presence throughout, despite a nasty gash to the head. Kept his discipline despite the nerve-wracking tension and pressurised George Gregan into key errors as the match moved into squeaky-bum time. 8
Andrew Sheridan 鈥 Another brutal demolition job from England鈥檚 prime Aussie-destroyer. Made a complete mess of Guy Sheperdson from start to finish and deservedly won the man of the match award. 10
Mark Regan 鈥 Hit his jumpers all afternoon and justified Brian Ashton鈥檚 decision to bring him back at the ripe old age of 35. There鈥檚 life in the old dog yet. 8
Phil Vickery 鈥 Led from the front with a performance that shocased his vast experience. Determination written all over his face at the start, and could barely contain his joy at the end. 8
Simon Shaw 鈥 Dominant at the breakdown and powerful on the rumble, he rose to the challenge of the most important match of his England career. 8
Ben Kay 鈥 Set the tone for England鈥檚 performance with a fine take at the first line-out of the match. Typically bullish in the loose and at the breakdown. 8
Martin Corry 鈥 Some good carries and cute touches in the loose as England strung togther their most fluid performance for months. 8
Lewis Moody 鈥 Out-shone his illustrious opposite number George Smith in one of the key battles of the day. As always, sharp at the breakdown as England turned the ball over again and again. 8
Nick Easter 鈥 Another England forward who will look back on possibly his best match for his country. Caused Australia endless problems at the breakdown and stole the ball with Australia threatening on a number of occasions. 9
Replacements:
George Chuter 鈥 Continued his good form at this tournament and carried on where Regan left off at the line-out and the scrum. 8
Matt Stevens 鈥 Replaced skipper Vickery as the tension rose and maintained the pack鈥檚 dominance. 8
Lawrence Dallaglio 鈥 Only a brief appearance for the old warrior, but didn鈥檛 he just love being on the pitch when the final whistle went? 7
Joe Worsley 鈥 Replaced Moody and continued his team-mate鈥檚 fine work. 7
Toby Flood - Came on for Catt and did a job that belied his inexperience. Made one lovely break from deep and should make the bench again for the semis. 8
AUSTRALIA
Chris Latham 鈥 Some typical scything breaks from the Queensland full-back but failed to spot an overlap which could have led to a try. 7
Adam Ashley-Cooper 鈥 One good break from the young winger but struggled to get any sort of handle on the contest. 6
Stirling Mortlock 鈥 The usually bullish Wallaby skipper had an inconsistent day goal-kicking and failed to stamp his authority on the game when he received the ball. 5
Matt Giteau 鈥 Managed to unlock the England defence on several occasions but, like his fellow three-quarters, did not have enough ball to play with. 7
Lote Tuqiri 鈥 Scored the Wallabies鈥 only try, always looking for the ball and looked dangerous whenever it came his way. 8
Berrick Barnes 鈥 Starved of possession and guilty of some poor decision-making, but did show some class with ball in hand. 6
George Gregan 鈥 Not the way the veteran scrum-half wanted to bow out. Toiled manfully behind a disintegrating pack, but was panicked into making some poor decisions by lack of ball. 6
Matt Dunning 鈥 Lightning struck twice for the Aussie loose-head. He received a pasting against England at Twickenham two years ago, and was made mincemeat of again in Marseille. 3
Stephen Moore 鈥 Hit his jumpers all afternoon and mobile round the paddock, but, like his props either side of him, was pummelled at scrum-time. 5
Guy Sheperdson 鈥 Had his contest with Andrew Sheridan been a boxing match, his corner-man would have thrown in the towel after a couple of rounds. 3
Nathan Sharpe 鈥 Solid in the line-out but, like the rest of the Aussie pack, often on the back foot at the breakdown and in the scrum. 5
Dan Vickerman 鈥 An ill-disciplined display by the Waratahs lock, particularly in giving away a penalty when Australia looked like scoring. 4
Rocky Elsom 鈥 Second best at the breakdown all afternoon and spilled the ball when Australia had a scoring opportunity. 4
George Smith 鈥 Not a great day for the talismanic open-side, who was upstaged by his opposite number Lewis Moody. 5
Wycliff Palu 鈥 Some good carries but struggled to impose himself at the breakdown at the rear of a back-pedalling pack. 6
Replacements:
Drew Mitchell 鈥 Very sharp when he came on, and showed good footwork when carving through England鈥檚 midfield. 7
Hugh McMeniman 鈥 Little time to impose himself but showed some aggression in the loose. 6
Comments Post your comment
dad's army 2 shelia's army 0
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Awesome victory! Everybody may 'hate the English' but I'm sure that's better than the long flight home to Oz. Mortlock deserves more than a 5 he must have been the most missed tackled man as he ran through England. He was the reason the try was scored sucking in all of the defence. Maybe the last penalty decision was a big call but that's what it's all about. Don't agree with the 9 for Easter he played well but he was lucky at the 5 yard scrum when he lost control of what should have been a push over try - the bread and butter of a No 8 - but we got a lucky decision. Actually who cares now bring on the All Blacks or even the French.
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Great game for England, but 8s all round pretty much from Ben and Tom is over-egging it. They should have killed off the poor Aussies in the first 20 of the second half. Still jumped all over the sitting room when the final whistle went though! Australia do not advance!
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I'm sorry, for the impartial rugby fan i cannot believe how highly you have scored some the of players performances. Wilkinson was very average, as was half of the team. Admittedly the pack played well, but isn't this more English hype? Your caught an over confident Australian side cold and dominated their pack, still lacking tries from the back line against meaningful opposition and yet again you get carried away!! Come somebody get rid of Stuart Barnes on commentry for ITV, even the English must be embarrassed by him!
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All those star performers in the one team and they still only won by 2 points?
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Great game for England, but 8s all round pretty much from Ben and Tom is over-egging it. They should have killed off the poor Aussies in the first 20 of the second half. Still jumped all over the sitting room when the final whistle went though! Australia do not advance!
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top performance by england, australia's pack got owned by england today. Big andrew sheridan will give australia nightmares, i know he gives me them.
moody earnt at least a 9 today he dominated george smith.
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Well done England !
Just as in the last 2 matches they worked out a game plan which played to their strengths and the opposition's weaknesses & executed it well. I just wish Wales were capable of doing the same thing !
Next stop Paris & New Zealand or France. Whichever team they face it will be a massive task, but with the confidence boost from this win, anything is possible.
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lewsey was solid
i disagree
he ran good lines and get over game line
i would like to see anyone else stop lote tiquiri from 5 metres side on single handed
RUBBISH
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A bit harsh on the Aussie backs who were equal to England's. If Mortlock's last kick had gone over, would it be +1 to all the Aussies and -1 to all the English.
I thought Simon Shaw had a great game. He, Moody and Sheridan were the pick of the England team.
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I know this is the 大象传媒 but those Australia ratings make it look like England beat them by 40 points or something. England failed to score a try and the match against SA proved that Wilkinson is the only kicker England can rely on. You can continue to criticise him all you want but he's the no1 reason England are still in the tournament.
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Englands performance was outstanding but a rating of "nine" for Nick Easter. More like a five. He made countless mistakes and his penalty count could have cost england the match, if mortlock had kicked better. Moody also deserves a ten for a almost faultless peformance
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A lot of humble pie eating in the media after this one. They still may not win the WEC but reaching the semis, who'd of thought it.
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Quite agree. Lote Tuqiri suggested before the match that England only had one world-class back. On today's performance it appears that Australia don't even have one world class forward.
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Hey guys,
Am I right in thinking that we've beaten the Aussies three times in a row now? Does that mean we get to keep them?
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I am here in south africa with a huge grin on my face. Let me tell you the south africans are worried about meeting england in the final. Well done England.
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Hail the Aussies, they gave the Poms a real lesson in whinging all afternoon.
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A deserved victory - the England pack were awesome. How I wish Wales had such awesome forward power!!
Obviously, being Welsh, there is a flip side to this praise.
How can a back division that fails to score a try get such high ratings. The forwards must be gutted that the girls didn't run up a 30 point winning margin.
Allez les Blues tonight, hoping to see a Northern Hemisphere semi. Scotland to beat SA in the other semi would be fantastic for the 6 nations.
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Wonderful for England and completely deserved victory, unexpected - and all the more spectacular for that. Still, as much as I agree with your England ratings (and WIlkinson will have to clear his head for the semi)you were a bit harsh on the Aussie ratings i thought. I seem to remember their midfield breaking countless England tackles despite their scrum being useless and the line out not much better. For me England are still short of a strong running dynamic centre and it will ultimately cost them , but who cares for now !!!
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Blimey - generous with the points arent we?! For the ratings given you would have thought england womped the ozzies by a million points rather than scrape through a messy scrappy game. Engand did enough to stay in the game while the ozzies threw the cup away.
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Simon Shaw was the star for me. An absolutely exceptional display in the set pieces, some great open field tackling and a couple of magnificent inside passes. A tour de force.
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What do all the pundits (A word for self proclaimed expert) think of that? Mortlock, George Smith and the entire pack don't show up Aussies lose, end of story.
I think a lot of humble pie needs to be eaten in the media.
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Did we improve that much, or did the Aussies just bottle it?
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Simon Shaw was the star for me. An absolutely exceptional display in the set pieces, some great open field tackling and a couple of magnificent inside passes. A tour de force.
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Hey guys
Am I right in thinking that we've beaten the Aussies three times in a row now? Does that mean we get to keep them?
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no way that i agree stirling morlock deserves a 5. Narrow minded scoring there he may have missed those kicks but he had more impact than jonny even though he of coursse continues his journey as the rose tinted legend! I'm not saying jonny played a bad game, far from it; what i mean is stirling knocked sixes and sevens out of our defensive line all game. The ozzies without stirling would have spent 80 minutes in their own half! Aside from that cant agree more with the scoring for the pack! How refreshing to see an England side with confidence and direction........ brilliant bing on the kiwis!!!!..... or preferably the french haha.
Charlie
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Englands performance was outstanding but a rating of "nine" for Nick Easter. More like a five. He made countless mistakes and his penalty count could have cost england the match, if mortlock had kicked better. Moody also deserves a ten for a almost faultless peformance
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shaw deserved a 10 on that performance
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Well done and congratulations from a rugby-mad Welshman. I wish I had put some money on it! The only bad thing is the media will now think that the World Cup will be retained, just as they said that it was all but lost after the USA and South Africa games. To reiterate, very well done. We are not all England hating Celts.
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Quite agree. Lote Tuqiri suggested before the match that England only had one world-class back. On today's performance it appears that Australia don't even have one world class forward.
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When is your flight home Bruce?
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Yes Bruce,
those performers who, until now, were given no chance against an all-star, unbeatable team of heroes.
Isn't that what ratings are all about - playing to the best of your ability, or sometimes even beyond?
Put your bottom lip back in.
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harsh on lewsey
he had a solid game
one of his best in an england shirt for a while
came of his wing well and broke the game line
to criticise him for the try is stupidly harsh
he did bloody well
id like to see any1 else stop lote tiquiri 2 metres out from the side single handed. Good effort lewsey
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During this World Cup these boards have been full of criticism of England, unsurprisingly given some of the results, and much of it has been very reasonable. There have been those, however, who have never missed an opportunity to slate Brian Ashton (clueless according to some) and, of today's starting line up alone, Phil Vickery, Martin Corry, Nick Easter, Mike Catt, Matthew Tait and Paul Sackey. They sais that England had no hoe against Australia (and Samoa and Tonga for that matter). I hope that these people enjoyed the game today, but I also hope that they never watch England again because they do not deserve the guts and sheer effort of this team.
They get the high scores because every single one of them exceeded expectations and every single one of them had to. They snuffed out an outstanding back division and dismantled an appalling front five and I, for one, loved every single minute of it.
Sorry, don't mean to rant but the nay sayers have really got on my wick - English rugby doesn't need them and it certainly doesn't want them.
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Never mind Bruce! For a team that has "no world class players" the turn-over was easy! Reigning champions deserve RESPECT, something that some of the Aussie players did not understand or afford!
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The pack were quite beastly to those shrinking violets from Australia, but they must hope to have Andy Farrell fit from now on. They cannot expect to get away with missing open tries because they don't have a ball handler in the centre and the Kiwis or French will target that weak point in the defence even more effectively than the Aussies did.
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Congratulations and well done from a rugby mad Welshman. I only hope the media don't totally play up your chances of further progresion, just as they totally wrote you off after the pool games. We are not all England haters!
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no way that i agree stirling morlock deserves a 5. Narrow minded scoring there he may have missed those kicks but he had more impact than jonny even though he of coursse continues his journey as the rose tinted legend! I'm not saying jonny played a bad game, far from it; what i mean is stirling knocked sixes and sevens out of our defensive line all game. The ozzies without stirling would have spent 80 minutes in their own half! Aside from that cant agree more with the scoring for the pack! How refreshing to see an England side with confidence and direction........ brilliant bing on the kiwis!!!!..... or preferably the french haha.
Charlie
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Imagine, four more years of hurt for Australia......
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Slightly over the top ratings all round in the England team apart from Sheridan, why he doesn't alway play like that I don't know, he can bench 225kg and squat 250kg as the strongest man in rugby we should expect nothing less. Mortlock deserved a higher rating every time he got the ball he looked dangerous. Wilkinson looked out of sorts going forward and our attack still looked flat. But I shouldn't moan it was a class performance and I put 50 quid on England winning!!
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I'm impressed with the nay-sayers already. An England side, written off by everyone, thrashed by Australia, inconsistent against two up-for-it Pacific Island teams has come away with an historic victory. I read countless posts after the Tonga game at how England had got carried away with their wins thus far, how the Aussies were going to teach them a lesson. England, with a faltering backline, stepped onto the pitch and played to their strengths for 70-80 minutes. They still haven't found fluidity in the midfield, have been slightly unfortunate with their injuries, what with disruptions and changes, but they controlled the game against one of the finest sides in the world. They had missed opportunities, a fly-half playing below his usually excellent standards, and only came away with a 2 point victory despite their 'star players'. I'd have taken a 3-0 win, a 47-46 win; England are in the semi-finals; their fans are excited; the media are excited; the competition is alive. This is no England hype. They are the worst ever World Champions who have grown and stepped up on the day. Only thing that makes the day complete, is the standard criticism bandied around post-match of 'hype' etc. England were brilliant, no matter how over-confident Australia were. They only won by 2 points? So what. Australia failed to beat the worst World Champions, and are heading home. The Worst World Champions are heading towards a tantalising sem-final with one of two fabulous sides. Anything from here on is a bonus. Pressure's off. England are rubbish. English fans are over-hyping.
A contented England fan signing off.
Cheers boys. You did English rugby proud.
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Slightly over the top ratings all round in the England team apart from Sheridan, why he doesn't alway play like that I don't know, he can bench 225kg and squat 250kg as the strongest man in rugby we should expect nothing less. Mortlock deserved a higher rating every time he got the ball he looked dangerous. Wilkinson looked out of sorts going forward and our attack still looked flat. But I shouldn't moan it was a class performance and I put 50 quid on England winning!!
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Arrogant and over-confident, just like 2003, it as much pleasure beating the Aussies today as it was then! I nearly went into early labour (due 18th) at the final whistle!
Well played our forwards and I also thought Paul Sackey was outstanding, especially that match-saving tackle in the second half. Johnny needs to practice his kicking with that RWC ball though.
I really don't care if we get knocked out now, knocking out the Aussies was enough for me - job done!
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WE WON ! Fantastic work by the forwards BUT apart from Sackey's match saving work the backs were hardly seen at all. Everey time the Aussies started to move the ball your heart was in your mouth - good job the forwards had heart.
Not a winge , it's a fantastic win but let's see more from the backs - and can we have less of 'Wilkinson won the match' he was only able to do it because of the work of the forwards and let's not forget the sitter he missed toward the end !
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And you wonder why the rest of the world hates the English when you go on making noise like a bunch of kids.
You guys feel you are the best in Everything. Look at the ratings you gave Australia and you just won by 2 points. Australia scored a try and you guys didn't.
After the game against South Africa, i saw the ratings given to England and it wasn't as bad as Australia have been given when you couldn't even score a single try.
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One word - Fantastic
I have had the 'pleasure' of playing against the man mountain that is Andrew Sheridan and I know just how Guy Sheperdson is feeling... Sore and deflated.
Australia have to sort their pack out if they are ever to win the WC again, George Smith supposedly only second to Richie Mcaw in the openside position was left for dead by Lewis Moody who is supposedly a 6, and their front row was laughable. The tri nations NEEDS the argentinians to show them how a forward pack should be, it is a disgrace to world rugby that they are not in a top yearly compition.
Well done boys, come on the French
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AGREE WITH WT SOME ONE SAID ABOUT STUART BARNES...SOMEONE SACK HIM PLEASE...BUT WT A GAME...WT A PERFORMANCE...BEST PERFORMANCE 4 YEARS MAYBE...HAD ME GOING MAD...WELL DONE LADS...JUST CONCENTRATE ON THE NEXT GAME NOW
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@#4 Sour grapes there Bruce? Unhappy you scored a try and we didn't? When are the whines coming in that a penalty / drop goal should score less so as to encourage more tries? Don't care - we won and I couldn't give a monkey's how we did it. Does that really rile you Aussies? 'Cos I bloody well hope so.
Ben and Tom - you've given me a great laugh over the last few weeks, but aren't you:
a) getting a little bit sick of each other, yet?
b) wishing you were on the OBO during the Sri Lanka ODI's. Come on England for tomorrow.
Plus, c'mon Lewis!! Drown those prancing horses in your brake dust and show backstabbing Alonso a clean pair of heels in China.
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Well done England the players gave everything.
Many thanks to our Welsh friends for their kind words.
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good win and well deserved but ratings to bias for example mortlock played pretty well and he didnt miss half as many kicks as wilkinson.
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John O鈥橬eill鈥檚 comments about 鈥榟ating the English鈥 inspired me to switch my allegiance during the week to England for the Quarter Final clash this morning. I then read (online) with interest as various Australians made various predictions on how Australia would win. What hubris. For the Australian rugby team, I鈥檇 like to define the word hubris. H is for haughtiness. U is for unsophisticated behaviour and comments. B is for boorish. R is for respect for the opposition no matter who they are. I is for immaturity which describes the behaviour and attitudes of the whole squad from John O鈥橬eill down. S is for stupidity. There, have I made myself clear?
I just want to remind John O鈥橬eill that there are more people in this world who hate Australians than the other way around. There are at least 60 million English people who can鈥檛 stand us but they are far more sophisticated and you would never hear the head of their Rugby Union coming out with that 鈥榗hip on the shoulder鈥, insecure Irish nonsense.
As for the 鈥榖orn to rule鈥 comments, well, Mr O鈥橬eill, Australia will never rule 25% of the earth鈥檚 surface, will we? Oh, and by the way, what language do we speak and where does Rugby originate from? I can tell you the answer is not Sydney!
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Couldn't face watching the second half, but followed it on the ticker-tape here on Auntie's website. Whilst the English backs gave a solid display, I wouldn't say that there was a lot of difference between them and the Aussie backs - both sets made elememntary mistakes at times. The real difference was the scrums; yet again Australia proved that it is very hard to win a match when your backs get minimal, let alone quality ball to use. There was also a sense in which - at least in the 1st half - that the weaker scrum was being favoured by the ref. How Ausytralia's loose-head stayed on the pitch during the first half still amazes me - he was dropping the scrum just about every time it formed and should have spent at least 10 minutes off the pitch within the first half hour.
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if those rankings are accurate England will have to score 20's across the park to get to the final.
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On those scores England will have to score 20's across the park to advance to the final.
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A message from a Scotsman - well done England you were absolutely superb today, it was good to see the dirty Aussies well and truly sucker punched !!! Enjoy the plaudits you thorughly deserve it, and good luck in the semis.
It was also a very important win for NH rugby - the critics have slated the 6N all tournament but at last some vindication. Hopefully more of the same tomorrow night (though unfortunately I can't see it happening !!!)
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simon shaw played his best game for england, the front five were superb in all aspects.
josh lewsey needs to look at his ball retention at the tackle area and our kicking from hand was very average.
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Does anyone else have Aussie mates who have suddenly gone very silent on the texting front?
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Typical English over-reaction.
Sheridan deserved a 9 for his performance, NO-ONE else in the England team deserved more than a 7. They were decent but never looked like breaking through Australia in any meaningful way. The closest they got was a series of half yard charges from 15 yards out before dropping the ball sloppily.
Australia just didn't click today, few players were bad per say but it just didnt work together.
Mortlock a 5 ? No way, he broke through the England line 3 times and didnt turn the ball ver any of them. I think England as whole brok line less times that Mortlock did.
The Aussie from five were soundly beaten, but worth more than 3 if only for decent work in turning England over repeatedly in the loose.
The only really poor Aussie was Gregan, who has been terrible all world cup, h just has no dynamism, poor choice of kicking and not good handling anymore.
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who cares what points out of 10 the england players got ! we beat australia it doesnt matter how or how many i just wish i was in sydney right now to say hi to all them lovely little ozzys !!
great work england
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Wow I didn't see the win coming but well done boys especially Moody who was my stand out player.
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NOW THAT is what grinding out victories is all about!
Congrats to England, commiserations to Australia. This was one of those "What in the name of Sam Hill" scoreline matches that judging by all the coverage, could have gone a million ways.
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Very well done the boys! I have thought for ages tht the likes of Larkham, Mortlock and Tuqiri have carried this hugely overrated Aussie team, our pack gobbled up any time for Australia's backs to perform. Sheridan and Moody simply awesome. I hope this shuts up the boorish AFU heirachy from making any more playground comments in the future. Still don't think we'll win the cup but so what.
As for the ratings, Tom & Ben how much absinthe did u quaff before posting these scores?
Australia's backs were better than ours, their forwards didn't show up - lets see a bit more objectivity than blanket 8's for our boys.
Otherwise a mouth watering semi with one of two outstanding teams, can't wait, swing lo!
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@#57 Ieueuanauan - or however hell else you spell it. Not Welsh are we? Well, yah-boo-sucks to you. We're in the semis and you are not. So just shut it. We didn't need to break through in any meaningful way. The only meaningful thing was we scored more points than them. End of.
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Ieuan, guessing your welsh. YOU ARE OUT england in in the semi's. New zealand and aussies over confident. England v France. Both sides think they can win. who wants it most will win.
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I think some of the England players did not deserve the high ratings you gave them.
The star players were Sheridan (MoM), Sackey and Moody. The rest of the forwards deserve 7 or 8s but the majority of the backs were more 6 or 7s.
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Very well done the boys! I have thought for ages tht the likes of Larkham, Mortlock and Tuqiri have carried this hugely overrated Aussie team, our pack gobbled up any time for Australia's backs to perform. Sheridan and Moody simply awesome. I hope this shuts up the boorish AFU heirachy from making any more playground comments in the future. Still don't think we'll win the cup but so what.
As for the ratings, Tom & Ben how much absinthe did u quaff before posting these scores?
Australia's backs were better than ours, their forwards didn't show up - lets see a bit more objectivity than blanket 8's for our boys.
Otherwise a mouth watering semi with one of two outstanding teams, can't wait, swing lo!
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@#57 Ieueuanauan - or however hell else you spell it. Not Welsh are we? Suspect so. Well, yah-boo-sucks to you. We're in the semis and you are not. So just shut it. We didn't need to "break through in any meaningful way". The only meaningful thing was we scored more points than them. End of. Oh, and now we're playing the French we have a right to think - William Webb Ellis tropy, here we come. We should beat Scotland, after all.
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I think some of the England players did not deserve the high ratings you gave them.
The star players were Sheridan (MoM), Sackey and Moody. The rest of the forwards deserve 7 or 8s but the majority of the backs were more 6 or 7s.
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Oh dear Australia... if only your rugby talent was as mobile and as fluid as your mis-placed arrogance. Four more years, lads... Four more years. Nice to see such a superstar like Chris Latham attempting drop goals from the halfway line. Obviously lost a bit of faith in those forwards - or should that be 'Sideways - and then backwards. Good job S. Africa are still holding up the S. Hemisphere along with Argentina. Do your talking on the pitch, Bruce, it tends to win matches.
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go on england we can beat the frogs
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go on england we can beat the frogs
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go on england we can beat the frogs
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Brilliant, incredible game. Well done ENGLAND.
Bill, Scotland
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As a Scot, I have to admit England deserved to win. Far more passion and awesome at the breakdown. However the ratings make the game look way more one sided than it was. To my mind Gomarsall and Sheridan were the star players. Wilkson's kicking was mediocre and should have made the game easier than it turned out. A few rose tinted glasses on the ratings. But a good result, the England vs Scotland final or 3/4 place play off os still on !!
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Did we improve that much, or did the Aussies just bottle it?
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OK MOOdy 8 for dominating Smith countless turnovers in your face rugby and then DALLAGLIO 7 did nothing except dropped the ball while under no pressure, did nothing and gets seven 7 Worsley also. Jeez the bias...
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OK MOOdy 8 for dominating Smith countless turnovers in your face rugby and then DALLAGLIO 7 did nothing except dropped the ball while under no pressure, did nothing and gets seven 7 Worsley also. Jeez the bias...
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what beats me is the total annihilation of the oz scrum,they looked third division,I've never seen an international team so comprehensively out played.Pussycats from the first put in.
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how the mighty are fallen! As a Scot living in NZ, I have heard the 'southern hemisphere' dominance rant a millon times. So I have just laughed my head off wathcing the french take the game from the AB's nose, and the news that england beat the aussies (suprisingly for me!) goes down very well too.
Now if only we can beat the Pumas tomorrow, the Springboks next weekend and the auld enemy in the final....
;-P
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what beats me is the total annihilation of the oz scrum,they looked third division,I've never seen an international team so comprehensively out played.Pussycats from the first put in.
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Great game - ratings are crazy though - Johnny had his worst game for England - 5 at best, and Mortlock terrorised us.
Who cares, bring on the French!
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Eng v SA final anyone. Would have been long odds this morning, Aus and NZ have gone!
Bring on the French, I fancy our chances next week.
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3 straight victories against the Aussies in the RWC - does that mean we keep 'em?
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3 straight victories against the Aussies in the RWC - does that mean we keep 'em?
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I'm impressed with the nay-sayers already. An England side, written off by everyone, thrashed by Australia, inconsistent against two up-for-it Pacific Island teams has come away with an historic victory. I read countless posts after the Tonga game at how England had got carried away with their wins thus far, how the Aussies were going to teach them a lesson. England, with a faltering backline, stepped onto the pitch and played to their strengths for 70-80 minutes. They still haven't found fluidity in the midfield, have been slightly unfortunate with their injuries, what with disruptions and changes, but they controlled the game against one of the finest sides in the world. They had missed opportunities, a fly-half playing below his usually excellent standards, and only came away with a 2 point victory despite their 'star players'. I'd have taken a 3-0 win, a 47-46 win; England are in the semi-finals; their fans are excited; the media are excited; the competition is alive. This is no England hype. They are the worst ever World Champions who have grown and stepped up on the day. Only thing that makes the day complete, is the standard criticism bandied around post-match of 'hype' etc. England were brilliant, no matter how over-confident Australia were. They only won by 2 points? So what. Australia failed to beat the worst World Champions, and are heading home. The Worst World Champions are heading towards a tantalising sem-final with one of two fabulous sides. Anything from here on is a bonus. Pressure's off. England are rubbish. English fans are over-hyping.
A contented England fan signing off.
Cheers boys. You did English rugby proud.
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It is my guess that Ieuan isn't French, but I still get the unmistakeable stench of "Sour Grapes".
However, I must agree! Nick Easter should have got the nod. Two or three second half turnovers prevented the Aussies progressing in our 22.
As for Gregan, wasn't it a shame, that his usual petulance near the end (his last meaningful touch on International Rugby) did not result in 3 points!
Finally, my heartfelt commisserations to those teams who have to make that long QUIET flight home!!
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Any kiwi's or Aussies got any semi final tickets for sale??
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From a Scotland supporter well done England. A well deserved victory. Awsome performance from Sheridan and the rest of the front row. Shaw was fantastic and Gomersall ran the show! If you have belief it is amazing what you can do, now do it Scotland!!!
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It was a close game &, with most of England's pack & several of Australia's back line on top in their respective realms, these players' ratings come nowhere near to reflecting the game I watched. A case of overexcitement (& maybe a lack of rugby nous?) on the part of Tom & Dirsy, I daresay.
Nonetheless, it was great to stick one on those insufferably arrogant Australians & their whinging media.
Please God let this teach them some humility!
Oh, & sincerest congratulations to France for beating 'les bouteileurs 茅terneux' in truly Epic style ... see that tackle count!
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3 straight victories against the Aussies in the RWC - does that mean we keep 'em?
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Great job by all the team. To be so out of touch and downright poor so far in the tornament it was an amazing turn around. any victory over the Aussie is great and all the player deserved the ratings. Just for fronting up and for the heart they showed.
Living in NZ and seeing the Kiwi's faces this morning, over beer and a BBQ, as they lost to France justifies the ratings. AWSOME PERFORMANCE AND ROLL ON NEXT SUNDAY MORNING.
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I'd just like to thank Zinzan Brooke for his astute observations about the quarter finals. Well done Zinny!
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Any kiwi's or Aussies got any semi final tickets for sale??
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Ieuen
Why not show the grace many of your fellow countryman have and congratulate a team which thoroughly deserved to win. The tournament has been a dreadful advert for northern hemisphere rugby (including earlier English outings) up until today with both England and France finally showing some backbone against overconfident "we'll turn up and win" soutern hemisphere teams.
Hope the Scots show the same resolve, because Argentina have been a breath of fresh air, it would therefore be nice to see four fantastic quarters well balanced and close.
NZ - yet again cream easy opposition, not prepared for a battle, one day they will learn! Well done France (never thought i'd hear myself say that) roll on the semi.
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These ratings are way off the mark. I am an England fan and, although we deserved the win, it was a very tight game right up to full time.
Therefore, the ratings should be quite close.
Would have been better if we had not dropped the ball on two occassions when it looked just as easy to score. Bring on France! Anyone's Cup now.
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As a ardent welsh rugby fan I can only take my hat of to England. After the 36-0 drumming by South Africa they did not loose faith in themselves and produced a immense performance. Their pack was awesome and the team spirit was evident for all to see. If they get their backs pereforming half as well they must be taken as serious contenders for retaining their title.
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These ratings are way off the mark. I am an England fan and, although we deserved the win, it was a very tight game right up to full time.
Therefore, the ratings should be quite close.
Would have been better if we had not dropped the ball on two occassions when it looked just as easy to score. Bring on France! Anyone's Cup now.
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England in the semi final, Australia is not - END OF STORY. Whether England beat Australia by 2 points or 40 points is irrelevant. The only thing that mattered was winning and England did that. The same goes for France. At half time, France looked out of the game but somehow they turned it round and now they are in the semi final, New Zealand are not; who cares whether that was by 2 points either.
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I was chuffed to see England beat the Aussies today, but those ratings are a bit of a joke.
Had Mortlock scored that last penalty, then one can assume that the only difference to these ratings would be that you guys might have given him 7 instead of 5.
That would give total ratings (excluding subs) of 82 for Australia and 117 to England - somehow I doubt you'd have given those ratings had England lost, which goes to show that they are just massively overhyped.
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There's nothing more satisfying than beating Australia at any sport, especially when the odds are stacked against you. A proud performance from a side lacking cohesion. Great to serve the Aussies a bit of 'humble pie' and a further four more years of agony! Big up to Ashton's Brawlers!
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talked about the match the previous night at seghill rugby club and none of us fancied england except john who said the aussies were bricking it with wilky and robinson back. well all i can say is there scrums needed plently of bricks
don't think we'll win but a great performance
think the aussie backs were extremly dangerous and deserved more marks always looked capable of scoring not so ours
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talked about the match the previous night at seghill rugby club and none of us fancied england except john who said the aussies were bricking it with wilky and robinson back. well all i can say is there scrums needed plently of bricks
don't think we'll win but a great performance
think the aussie backs were extremly dangerous and deserved more marks always looked capable of scoring not so ours
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Comments 36-59 should be disregarded - these guys should have been watching France beat the All Blacks.
Great tournament.
Come on England.
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talked about the match the previous night at seghill rugby club and none of us fancied england except john who said the aussies were bricking it with wilky and robinson back. well all i can say is there scrums needed plently of bricks
don't think we'll win but a great performance
think the aussie backs were extremly dangerous and deserved more marks always looked capable of scoring not so ours
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Respect to the Aussies - good losers as always.
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It was a close game &, with most of England's pack & several of Australia's back line on top in their respective realms, these players' ratings come nowhere near to reflecting the game I watched. A case of overexcitement (& maybe a lack of rugby nous?) on the part of Tom & Dirsy, I daresay.
Nonetheless, it was great to stick one on those insufferably arrogant Australians & their whinging media. Please God let this teach them some humility!
Also, sincere congratulations to France for beating 'les bouteilleurs 茅terneux' in truly Epic style ... awesone tackle count!
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There's nothing more satisfying than beating Australia at any sport, especially when the odds are stacked against you. A proud performance from a side lacking cohesion. Great to serve the Aussies a bit of 'humble pie' and a further four more years of agony! Big up to Ashtons Brawlers!
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As a ardent welsh rugby fan I can only take my hat of to England. After the 36-0 drumming by South Africa they did not loose faith in themselves and produced a immense performance. Their pack was awesome and the team spirit was evident for all to see. If they get their backs pereforming half as well they must be taken as serious contenders for retaining their title.
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Blimey, I thought that the world cup had died for me after Wales deservedly lost to Fiji. But what a great day for the world cup today and I enjoyed almost as much as I might have if Wales had been involved. I have listened to many supporters of other teams (Australia, NZ and England) telling me that Fiji beating Wales was a really great thing for world rugby, and they were probably right. Well I hope that the Aussies and Kiwis feel the same after todays results...
Anyway, my own bitterness aside, I thought the passion of the English and French players today really stood out. I thought Simon Shaw was marvellous, brutal in close contact but skillful in general play - he deserved a definite 9. Wilkinson was a 6 for me, being brushed off a couple of times in the tackle and missing kicks (although his offload that Catt couldn't take was superb).
Not sure Tait deserved a 7 with some distinctly powderpuff tackling and one occasion where he seemed to be trying to brush some dust off an Aussie's back.
England will need more fluency and a huge shot of creativity to beat France, but there are real building blocks there. I was a little disappointed with Nick Easter's less than graceful and slightly naive comments about the press. He will have to be at his best next week to avoid looking like an idiot.
Anyway, let's hope that either England or France can lift the cup and lift some of the gloom that has surrounded northern hemisphere rugby.
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It was a close game &, with most of England's pack & several of Australia's back line on top in their respective realms, these players' ratings come nowhere near to reflecting the game I watched. A case of overexcitement (& maybe a lack of rugby nous?) on the part of Tom & Dirsy, I daresay.
Nonetheless, it was great to stick one on those insufferably arrogant Australians & their whinging media. Please God let this teach them some humility!
Also, am sure I'm not alone among rosbifs in sending sincere congratulations to France for beating 'les bouteilleurs 茅terneux' in such truly Epic style with that incredible tackle count!
Score so far: NH 2 SH 0
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Does Neil really think England would win against Scotland?
If it degenerates into a kicking contest as this one did need we remind him which country has the only 100% kick record this tournament? And all that without seemingly doing a large fart before every kick a-la Wilkinson!
Seriously though, well done to England! A deserved victory and what promises to be a vicious semi-final clash with the French. I'm actually looking forward to that way more than I would have an Australia / New Zealand game.
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Stuff the ratings... England pack looked world class for the 1st time in 4 years and won us the game. Johnny Wilkinson had an average game, but if his average game means only 12 points and a place in the World Cup semi final, so be it; i'd hate too see what he's like on a good day; although, Hang about, i believe i have, some time in November about 4 years ago...
And THANK YOU France... Cardiff is buzzin right now!!!
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It is amazing how quickly the English fans start talking up their team after one close win. Typical English victory, power through beefed up forwards and let a great kicker win it for them. It is easy to rubbish Australia (and lets face it they have not had a great team since the late 90s) but to beat them by two points, and then suggest the tri nations is rubbish and needs Argentina is a joke. I wonder what the post match comments were like after the flogging by Sth Africa and France from recent games, as well as hidings from Australia and NZ in the last 8 months. THis England team won it fair and square today, but they are no where near the team that won it 4 years ago. I predict they won't make it past the next round and they were lucky to win it today, with a very sub par Aussie performance.
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It is amazing how quickly the English fans start talking up their team after one close win. Typical English victory, power through beefed up forwards and let a great kicker win it for them. It is easy to rubbish Australia (and lets face it they have not had a great team since the late 90s) but to beat them by two points, and then suggest the tri nations is rubbish and needs Argentina is a joke. I wonder what the post match comments were like after the flogging by Sth Africa and France from recent games, as well as hidings from Australia and NZ in the last 8 months. THis England team won it fair and square today, but they are no where near the team that won it 4 years ago. I predict they won't make it past the next round and they were lucky to win it today, with a very sub par Aussie performance.
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come on england, im a proud welshman, appalled by our displays this wc, but i told all my mates england were too big a price so ive had bundles on at 80,s 66,s and 33,s all ew, need a result next week for a huge payout, just a word about the lack of support for england from the media, what they did not realise was englands group, with sa, samoa and tonga was as strong as a six nations tournament, ireland, wales, scotland and italy would get very little change out of that lot, come on england, peaking nicely.
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Mortlock deserves higher scoring, he was all over England when running. Often it took about 3 people combined just to bring him down, and quite easily I can say he was the reason the Australian try even happened.
Agreed on the Aussie props scores though, I wonder if someone stole their studs off their boots. They seemingly felt contact in the scrum and flopped over every time. Considering they're meant to be the tough front to the scrum, all I can say is that they were complete, utter, rubbish.
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The English pack were not that dominant. They didn't win a tight head or score a push-over when they were close to the line. However, they were more efficient than the Wallabies. The Wallaby forwards were slow to the break-downs, outnumbered most of the time and lacked urgency. Aussie packs were as bad as that in the Super 14s so not unexpected here.
Sheridan was the best player on the ground because he worked hard all day. But as far as being scary, he looks more like a cuddly bear from where I was sitting. The French forwards will dominate against England.
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From the ratings I take it England won by about 60 clear points in this game, right?
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My name is paddy and i am one too,here in sydney(coogee beach)the aussies are sick to death,yes they are passing out on the streets.
All week "we're goin too smash them"me listening to this makes this famous victory for England sweet,being a paddy I wouid not normally cheer on the poms but by god
I felt proud to come from our side of the world last night,thanks England.
,
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My name is paddy and i am one too,here in sydney(coogee beach)the aussies are sick to death,yes they are passing out on the streets.
All week "we're goin too smash them"me listening to this makes this famous victory for England sweet,being a paddy I wouid not normally cheer on the poms but by god
I felt proud to come from our side of the world last night,thanks England.
,
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Superb! Who cares by what margin, England WON!! Two brilliant results for the Northern Hemisphere in one afternoon. I'm in Vancouver and really missing the build up and atmosphere of the pub for these ocassions.......now to find some local Aussies to discuss the finer details of the match.....like the final score!!
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Quite a few well dones with a hint of jealousy in them from other close nations but who cares. Well done Ashton in geting an England team going nowhere to one which is becoming a very good team and one which will run the French very close and hopefully beat them. no-hopers at the start according to the amateurs of the press to a team likely to retain it's title as World champions.
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Great england pefromance for sure, especially up front, but those ratings v Ozzies are unwarranted as we only won by 2. The Oz back line matched ours pound for pound, it was the front 5 who did it for us at set piece, outstanding. Now we have the AB's out, roll on Les Bleus !
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Scrappy game. Australian backs were far superior but they were feeding off a poor pack and so had limited opportunities. Player ratings a joke. England may be improving but, as they proved tonight, the French have now totally exorcised the demons of the opening night and must be hot favourites in a weeks time.
Oh yeah .. and England had better pack Jonny in cotton wool 'cos without him they wouldn't have scored a single point
Still, as a rather despondent Irishman facing 4 more years of EOS, it is great to see the 6 nations beating the tri-nations. Come on Scotland!!
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At least they can split the airfare home with the Kiwis.
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I'm not a jingoist in any form - in fact there are many things about England (the country) I detest but one thing I love about the English rugby team is that in the face of unwarranted flack, insipid jealousy from all other nations and after some pretty awful results , when push comes to shove they show how it's done. Australia have the biggest mouths in the game when they are on the front foot but push them and they fall to pieces. We can all sing when we're winning but true character only shines in a crisis. The Ozzy forwards fell apart, laughably so, leaving the backs to make amends. Chris Latham attempting drop goals from halfway??? and they have the nerve to suggest that Jonny is 'all we've got.' Jonny kicks goals from penalties conceded by the opposition team who don't have the size, power and skills to compete legally. I bet every Australian the world over ( or should I say London) wishes they had a team as dogged as England. Four more years you loud-mouthed no-hopers. Buy yourselves a scrummaging machine for Xmas start training. You need it.
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Well done Northern European semi-finalists especially England (Barf!... -there, Ive said it!)France (Really fantastique!!!) and hopefully Scotland, subject to the (magnificent) Argies dropping their guard like an old Fray Bentos steak pie can still hot from River Plate dousing.
Fiji will of course run rings round South Africa to keep Pacific representation,perhaps, I hope? Whatever, great input from all the WC teams especially the so called also rans.
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Well done Northern European semi-finalists especially England (Barf!... -there, Ive said it!)France (Really fantastique!!!) and hopefully Scotland, subject to the (magnificent) Argies dropping their guard like an old Fray Bentos steak pie can still hot from River Plate dousing.
Fiji will of course run rings round South Africa to keep Pacific representation,perhaps, I hope? Whatever, great input from all the WC teams especially the so called also rans.
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from a scottish fan well done to the English you outplayed the Aussies (over-hyping themselves as usual). scrum was solid, lineout good. just hope jonny's kicking improves for next week - will be rooting for you then.
hope we can pull off a shocker against the Pumas - we'll see!!
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Well done England. Well done France too. Fantastic for the Northern Hemisphere. Who dares wins from now on.
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Well, it certainly was a cracking match, but these ratings are something of a kneejerk reaction. This match, for me, was another practical example of the adage that "forwards win matches, backs decide by how many".
The England forwards, particularly the tight five, stuffed the Wallabies at the scrummage; the team defended generally well as a whole, and the team took the right options at the right times. Together with a catalogue of Aussie errors (some admittedly forced by excellent English defence); that is why we won.
But I would say that the Aussie backs were far superior to ours. Every time they got clean possession (not often), Mortlock, Giteau and Barnes looked very dangerous; breaching the gain line and making line breaks. Latham and Tuqiri had good games, and Mitchell was good when he came on.
On our side, Gomarsall was good, Robinson ran well but kicked poorly at times, Catt helped control the game well, Wilkinson (by his own exalted standards) was poor. But; frankly; form is temporary, class is permanent - I'm not too worried about Jonny missing a couple of kicks.
What's more important is that (I thought) they were taking the right options and playing with some brain and direction. So Jonny missed some drop-goals - so what. The point is that he was right to go for the drop goal; ultimately, that is really the skill of a fly-half: game management. Of course, normally, Jonny executes his skills much better than anyone else around (certainly in England) and that helps too.
But today, if we'd teamed the Aussie backs with the England forwards; it would have been a 50 point thrashing.
SO- let's not go overboard. The forwards played well. The backs played only ok, as a whole.
If Mortlock had kicked that kick; we would be having the why-oh-why discussion. Let's be level-headed about this: England were never as bad as people made them sound; and now they haven't played as well as the newspapers will say they have tomorrow. To beat France, we need the forwards to fire again; more good decision-making, Jonny firing (he will, he doesn't often have two poor games) and, if possible, just a touch more confidence and precision in finishing chances once we have made line-breaks. Then we might have something.
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I think the boys were just having us on a bit with those ratings, because they got over-excited and imbibed a little too much.
I think that an arrogant, conceited over-rated team swaggered out onto the pitch and got a nasty shock.
The English forwards were fearsome and the Australian pack were demoralised and demolished. Look what Moody did to Smith? Regan's an old warrior but he wound them up like a spring! I could tell the first time that they deliberately collapsed the scrum and started whinging it would be our day.
It may only have been a two point margin but it could have been more. Remember the swaggering antipodeans were supposed to beat the English no-hopers by a huge margin.
I enjoyed this afternoon as much as I have ever enjoyed anything; it was bliss. The delicious irony of it all. It wasn't just a victory for England and France but a validation of Northern Hemisphere rugby and the derided 6N.
Thank you boys and bring on the French. Good luck tomorrow Scotland!
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I think the boys were just having us on a bit with those ratings, because they got over-excited and imbibed a little too much.
I think that an arrogant, conceited over-rated team swaggered out onto the pitch and got a nasty shock.
The English forwards were fearsome and the Australian pack were demoralised and demolished. Look what Moody did to Smith? Regan's an old warrior but he wound them up like a spring! I could tell the first time that they deliberately collapsed the scrum and started whinging it would be our day.
It may only have been a two point margin but it could have been more. Remember the swaggering antipodeans were supposed to beat the English no-hopers by a huge margin.
I enjoyed this afternoon as much as I have ever enjoyed anything; it was bliss. The delicious irony of it all. It wasn't just a victory for England and France but a validation of Northern Hemisphere rugby and the derided 6N.
Thank you boys and bring on the French. Good luck tomorrow Scotland!
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Well, it certainly was a cracking match, but these ratings are something of a kneejerk reaction. This match, for me, was another practical example of the adage that "forwards win matches, backs decide by how many".
The England forwards, particularly the tight five, stuffed the Wallabies at the scrummage; the team defended generally well as a whole, and the team took the right options at the right times. Together with a catalogue of Aussie errors (some admittedly forced by excellent English defence); that is why we won.
But I would say that the Aussie backs were far superior to ours. Every time they got clean possession (not often), Mortlock, Giteau and Barnes looked very dangerous; breaching the gain line and making line breaks. Latham and Tuqiri had good games, and Mitchell was good when he came on.
On our side, Gomarsall was good, Robinson ran well but kicked poorly at times, Catt helped control the game well, Wilkinson (by his own exalted standards) was poor. But; frankly; form is temporary, class is permanent - I'm not too worried about Jonny missing a couple of kicks.
What's more important is that (I thought) they were taking the right options and playing with some brain and direction. So Jonny missed some drop-goals - so what. The point is that he was right to go for the drop goal; ultimately, that is really the skill of a fly-half: game management. Of course, normally, Jonny executes his skills much better than anyone else around (certainly in England) and that helps too.
But today, if we'd teamed the Aussie backs with the England forwards; it would have been a 50 point thrashing.
SO- let's not go overboard. The forwards played well. The backs played only ok, as a whole.
If Mortlock had kicked that kick; we would be having the why-oh-why discussion. Let's be level-headed about this: England were never as bad as people made them sound; and now they haven't played as well as the newspapers will say they have tomorrow. To beat France, we need the forwards to fire again; more good decision-making, Jonny firing (he will, he doesn't often have two poor games) and, if possible, just a touch more confidence and precision in finishing chances once we have made line-breaks. Then we might have something.
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The Australian pack was ridiculously incompetent the last time it pitched up at Twickenham. And on this evidence, Matt Dunning & co. haven't improved much since. England are particularly strong there but still, the Aussie forwards were awful.
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The Australian pack was ridiculously incompetent the last time it pitched up at Twickenham. And on this evidence, Matt Dunning & co. haven't improved much since. England are particularly strong there but still, the Aussie forwards were awful.
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To Yussef and all the other Aussie hating Poms - to paraphrase Winston Churchill, you might have won today but tomorrow you'll still be living in England - ha ha!
PS. Tries win the big games in the end, not kicking. Enjoy it while you can!
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To Yussef and all the other Aussie hating Poms - to paraphrase Winston Churchill, you might have won today but tomorrow you'll still be living in England - ha ha!
PS. Tries win the big games in the end, not kicking. Enjoy it while you can!
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It seems most people are making the assumption that South Africa are certain to make the final. I wouldn't bet on that, though I have to confess to winning a pretty hefty sum today not just for picking the two winning teams, but for getting the scores correct too. Winning so much money, however, was nowhere near as satisfying as seeing the expression on the faces of Nathan Sharpe's face at the end of the match. Rugby is a tough game and one of its eternal virtues is the respect players have for their opponents. Many of the Australians were insultingly dismissive of the England team before today's match, so I hope they enjoy the long flight home to the land of the whinger. New Zealand lost their match against France for other reasons, one of which, I'm convinced, is that they didn't play in black and didn't look at all intimidating as a result. It's a tragedy that some of the All Blacks will never get another opportunity to win a RWC, but they're in very good company. Still, they've now got four more years to find a fly-half who can manage to run a gameplan when under real pressure in the way that Wilkinson does, because Dan Carter wasn't up to it today, just as Carlos Spencer wasn't up to it four years ago.
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well done england.great game aussies.a heart stopper of a game,the difference was the kicking.i thought the hardest working player on the field was the fijian bloke tuqiri.he was always in the thick of things and was rewarded with a try.overall a game equally matched physically and emotionally but as far as the game went the english was really hungry.in the end they burnt the aussies big time.to the oz go find matilda and do a fine waltz with a few pints of VB OF CASTLE MAINE.CHEERS FOR A GREAT LOSS.TO THE POMMIES YOU HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO SO EARLY TO BED AND LETS FIND OUT WHAT THE NEWS MEDIA HAS TO ANSWER TO YOU SUPERB VICTORY.
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well done england.great game aussies.a heart stopper of a game,the difference was the kicking.i thought the hardest working player on the field was the fijian bloke tuqiri.he was always in the thick of things and was rewarded with a try.overall a game equally matched physically and emotionally but as far as the game went the english was really hungry.in the end they burnt the aussies big time.to the oz go find matilda and do a fine waltz with a few pints of VB OF CASTLE MAINE.CHEERS FOR A GREAT LOSS.TO THE POMMIES YOU HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO SO EARLY TO BED AND LETS FIND OUT WHAT THE NEWS MEDIA HAS TO ANSWER TO YOU SUPERB VICTORY.
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In agreement with some of these posts, you can't possibly award such a contrast of ratings in a match which ended 10-12!
Nevertheless, the England team deserve great praise for today's performance - on the other hand, the Aussie forwards have embarrassed themeselves.
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What a morning, I am a pom living in New Zealand and have had so much shoved down my throat about how the AB's will face South Africa in the final and that England are a joke. I did keep telling a few of them that the Kiwis have a knack of peaking in between world cups and bottling it when it matters. How sweet it was getting up at 2am, with low hopes, but high optimism to watch England grind out a victory against the Aussie, John O'Neill how do you feel right now ?
It was n't the best display of rugby to watch, but I was on the edge of my seat all match.
I'm picking an England v Fiji final !!! I think England have shown that they have the passion and spirit to compete against anyone, if they don't go any further we will all be proud of them, anything more will be a bonus.
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I just love it when we beat the ozzies. They're big, good-looking, fit good at sport, athletic, and above all always so bloody arrogant when it comes to playing ENGLAND... no wonder the kiwis support us against them, two weks ago I met some ozzies who were so sure that in the 1/4s they'd walk all over us I just wish I could meet them now. What you can taste is HUMBLE PIE and I know You'll never admit it but THE BETTER TEAM WON ON THE DAY, get over it.
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Re Avalon dreaming:
"Tries win the big games in the end, not kicking. Enjoy it while you can!"
you are dreaming mate.. tries clearly don't always win the big games, cos they don't come any bigger than england and australia in a world cup!!
and, we're are quite happy with england ta!! haha
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What a lovely morning it is here in Canberra, Capital of Australia. It's eleven o'clock, but twelve hours after the game kicked off and after extensive research on the interweb I still can't find any quotes from John O'Neill about the result. How strange.
What a match. Gomarsall, Shaw and Sheridan were massive, as was the wad of bog roll that Mike Catt fitted up his schnozz.
Anyway, I'm off down the shopping centre now to see if anyone wants to indulge in some more of that 'banter' they were so interested in last week.
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I seriously wonder whether some of the people who have posted in response to these blogs have ever played the game. England were superb. Yes they are not yet the team they want to be, and their first up tackling was poor but tactically their game was very good. I think some of the player ratings wre a bit high but can you blame the boys for getting a little over-excited? I can't!! Just wish I'd been there to see it myself. And anyone who says Wilkinson was "average" needs their head checking, even if he wasn't on 100% form with the boot, his distribution and decision making were superb. He constantly asks questions of every defence he plays against, today was no different. Bring on the French next weekend, I'm on my way to Paris already!
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Fiji wins the best game of the world cup and still doesn't get player ratings.
England and Australia plays some utter drivel and they BOTH get player ratings.
Proof positive that the 大象传媒 are racist.
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I think we should put these ratings into perspective. England won the game with a brutal forward performance, but not all the players played that well. I was particularly impressed with Mike Catt, and the way he responded to the late call. Sackey was good defensively, and Robinson was solid. Gomersall seems to have helped put the heart back into the team, but the backs are all nearer 6 than 8. Sheridan and Shaw were awesome yesterday, and both deserve 9s. I think the shock factor has put all ther marks up a bit.
Do the Aussies and Kiwis (plus assortment of Samoans, Fijians, Tongans etc.) fly home on the same plane via Japan? If they do, I'll be waving at them from Tokyo, and wishing them a smooth landing. Obviously they don't really like it bumpy do they.
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Well done England, in a match that could have gone either way your forwards deserved the victory and played all over the top of us. As for the ratings well we all get carried away sometimes, even us aussies. Got to agree with Vic comment 131 The English forwards and the Australian backs would have been an awesome combination.
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Whoever did these ratings must really love england. For example all the bench players 7 0r 8. You are kidding.these ratings suggests that england beat us aussies by 50 points. It was two. two measly points. We could have won it if mortlock had his boots on. Really England only won because the rules regarding the scrum are riduculous. In Aus we are playing the stellenbosch rules. Wait till they are adapted to world rugby.Bye Bye Jonny. Oh and the english backline, boring only one player making a line break and you gave them all ratings of 8. looking through rose coloured glasses. Argetina v France Final. At least these teams play better rugby than england.
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I just hope that Australia and New Zealand have got flexible fares.
If not they can always do some sightseeing around picturesque France.
Just like England in the cricket, right?
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Being a pom currently living in Australia this result is magic! The Aussies have been crowing all week about how they are going to stuff us by more than SA, and now they shall be eating a lot of humble pie..
The match was a bit of a scrappy affair, although to be fair so was much of the NZ v France game. I would put Farrell in for the French game, still not happy with our midfield defence against some big French centres. The pack won't be able to dominate the French as much (the Aussie front row is woeful) but then their backs aren't as good - roll on 5am next Sat
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What a night!
Forget the ratings - the score is the only thing that matters in knockout sport.
I am so proud of the English and the French. What efforts.
I am sure nearly everyone inside and outside of their respective countries wrote them off - and this only spurred them on.
I had them both to win their semis by 12 and under.
People have to start trusting the coaches a little more - both Laporte and Ashton raised eyebrows with their selections - but both proved ALMOST everyone wrong. Where on the other hand - everyone was relatively happy with the Aus and NZ sides....And to quote a legend 'Four more years boys!'
Yes the N. Hemisphere still need to progress their game towards this new era, but it just shows you that in 80 minutes of pressurised knockout rugby, anything can happen, and today - experience and simplicity won out over individual and collective flair. Didn't the same thing happen in the last WC?
The S. Hemisphere are lucky that they have 2 of their teams in 1 quarter final, otherwise they may not of had anyone in the semis And .....Maybe the AB's aren't chokers....maybe they are just not good enough!
Just a bit of tongue in cheek but I am sick of their arrogance!
C,mon Dads army....2 more games lads. We are so proud right now but the job is still unfinished!
All I need now is Farrell to play - so more doubters can eat their words.
Get fit son!
What a night!
Frosty
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Just to echo a prevous comment on Zinzan Brooke's quarter-final musings. It seems that I wasn't the only one who totally disagreed with his assessments on Saturday's matches - way to go! I'll stick my neck out and agree with him about the SA/Fifi match, but I think Scotland will do the biz, too. I'm not really old enough to remember his playing days, but presumably he didn't get his "All Blacks Legend" tag from his ability for picking winners.
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Am gutted by this result but can't really complain. However I will... In all the rugby i ever played (ie most of my life) the object to me and my teammates was to get the oblong thing over the line at the far end. England only looked like they wanted to do that briefly. Any team would kill to have a player like wilkinson (at least when in form) but the team around him adapts to a style that lets them down when he doesn't show up. People talk about hating England. I don't - i love england; in fact i live there. I hate English rugby. It all started for me with Rob Andrew and (although not as bad) it continues in the English attitude now about how to win. It may get results but surely the game is about tries.
Forwards very impressive though - they deserved the win alone but that style of rugby won't win the cup.
Argentina all the way!
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The Aussies should have, could have, would have,..... but they are on the way home now....whether England beat Aussie by 1 point or 50 points its irrelevant..Theyre going home and we (Engurlaaaand) are still in the World Cup for at least another week.. why were the ratings so high???. well everyone and their dog had said England will lose by 50 points, england hadnt been performing well all world cup,.. they turned everything around and came up with a HUGE game and beat the Aussies, who were massive favorites to win the game.. so the boys all deserve 11 out of 10 in my opinion... have a safe trip home Aussie aussie aussie..that 14 hr flight will feel like 14 months...!!
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Great performance today, its a game of winning, and winning they did. The ratings are worthy of highs for the pure effort that was put in, if they continue to play like that, they will beat France. As a Engishman who is often in Oz, its going to be a lovely "four more years"
Now come on Scotland and Fiji, it would be great to see that as the other semi-final. You can be sure the majority of English fans are hoping you win.
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The Aussies should have, could have, would have,..... but they are on the way home now....whether England beat Aussie by 1 point or 50 points its irrelevant..Theyre going home and we (Engurlaaaand) are still in the World Cup for at least another week.. why were the ratings so high???. well everyone and their dog had said England will lose by 50 points, england hadnt been performing well all world cup,.. they turned everything around and came up with a HUGE game and beat the Aussies, who were massive favorites to win the game.. so the boys all deserve 11 out of 10 in my opinion... have a safe trip home Aussie aussie aussie..that 14 hr flight will feel like 14 months...!!
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Who cares if we win the world cup or not.Great inprovement....If we all belive it will happen,Bring on france in france ...Le Crunch...... Interesting...... but it all falling for england now........Who are the whallbies?.......NO 3 team in the world or someting >>>>>>>>>BRUCE
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i disagree with the scoring
australia, even though they lost, looked way more dangerous with the ball, their backs were bigger, faster, stronger
true, the forwards let them down
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Yes, Shazza 56, none of my Aussie mates have sms'd me today!!!! - quite a different response to the recent agonising Ashes months...
I used to let the overt criticism of the English by the Aussies get to me, but I have learnt that nothing gets under their skin more than being outwardly polite. Smiling and being diplomatic in the face of goading and arrogance drives them crazy!!!
Congrats to the lads for a superb performance. I have been hearing ALL week long how useless were are and how the Wallabies were going to teach us a serious lesson in rugby. Well, it would seem as though the roles have been somewhat reversed... I'd like to thank our fellow pool members for waking us up and making us work so hard. The fact we had such a physical pool, I think, served us better that what Australia faced in the lead up to the quarter final (Wales excepted).
We will need to improve a little to beat the French, but our forward pack was brilliant. The toughness and sheer physical grit in last night's game - to my mind - have only been matched so far by the South Africans. Should we and SA progress to the big one, it will make one hell of a match!
Watching the passion and determination made me feel very proud to be English. The lads winning was a bonus and will certainly make my turning up to work tomorrow morning a far more enjoyable and peaceful prospect :-).
Whether we can go all the way - who really knows? But if the lads keep believing and trusting in each other, anything is possible.
GO ENGLAND!!!
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Mortlock was awesome today. With his scrum going backwards he looked dangerous every time he got the ball. He's the best player in the world right now.
The england pack deserve the praise but they were up against a very weak front three. Well done to Regan who was under massive pressure to hit his jumpers. He'd have been off after 20 minutes had he not managed that.
Reading the Aussie press before the game they all predicted Mr Mortlock would have Tait on toast for afternoon tea. Matthew Tait didn't miss a tackle all afternoon after the opposition midfield asked some serious questions of him. Cometh the hour......
Everyone doubted Sackey's defensive nouse and he proved us all wrong. A moment of almost divine internvention has kept England in the world cup.
Moment of the game for me was seeing Jonny pick up Mortlock in the tackle ans dump him back two yards on 60 minutes. The WRC ball may not fly straight but Englnad still have hardest pound for pund tackler in world rugby. Brian gets man of the afternoon. What a decision to drop the form players and pick a pack to destroy the Aussie weak link.
Bring on the French!
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England's best result since winning the cup in 2003. Tactics were spot on by Brian Ashton. England literally bulldozed Oz out of the competition. What a joy to watch. And to round off my day,the French,inspired by England's win no doubt,sent the ABs home while my daughter's Kiwi boyfriend cried into his beer. Something about ABs always choking at this stage. Shame,he's a nice lad.
It doesn't get much better than this. England now have a real chance of keeping the cup.
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As A welshman, I am glad that England chose this time to make a mark on the Southern Hemisphere. However,
I feel that England as a result of this could precede with their inadequate Guiness Premiership, which on average has at least 9 foreign players in each team. This leaves no room for emerging English talent. I can name at least 6 solid flyhalfs in wales under 25..... can any english people???? I must quickly re-iterate again my congrats to England, you played a better gameplan than we did against the Aussies and deservedly won.
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Very proud Englishman Living in Australia .Just went to the golf club for a gloat. Yesterday Pomm bashing central .today the library
Well done England!!!!
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Hi - first what a pleasure to see England win - I've been supporting Ireland my old country and what a nightmare that has been -
England have been on the up since Samoa - the ratings for the previous two games were harsh but this time you are too liberal with high ratings. Look at the French - NZ ratings - are you saying England was that much better than the French?
Anyway - should be another great match next week - let's hope England can keep improving and make everyone eat their hats.
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Both Australia and New Zealand came from easy groups and were not ready for the competitive game.
PS - re posts 31 and 32 etc - saying that the two point margin in a game that could have gone either way should not result in such disparity in player ratings, is not proof that I am Australian. I have never crossed the ditch to land on that ...
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Thoroughly deserved win.
Thought the forwards were excellent and the backs showed flashes of inspiration. Great defensive effort.
They highlighted the limitations of this Aussie side brilliantly.
As a Welshman I'm heartily applauding England for reaching the SF and sticking one on the Aussies...but (as ever) wonder how we lost so meekly to such a beatable side.
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Saturday 6th Oct - what a fantastic day for Rugby (particularly in the northern hemisphere). Only last week I was saying how much the 6 Nations teams had fallen behind and then England / France go and do that! So much of the game is played in the head - and I think we should give Brian Ashton (and Rob Andrew) 10 out of 10 for their part in the England win. I agree that the Aussie scores are too low - especially Mortlock who made my sphinkter squeal every time he got the ball. But I'd give every England player 10 out of 10 (other than Joe Worsley who nearly lost it for us by giving away a stupid and unnecessary penalty at the death) - it was heroic and completely unexpected. I can't believe that I'm starting to wonder if we can win it?
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You seem to have overlooked Worsley's contribution. Which was simply to give away stupid penalties to nearly cost the game for England. 7/10 - which game were you watching?
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England kicked twice when a scrum would have been the obvious tactic given the domination of the English pack. I guess the distance was in JW's range and England wanted 'safe' three points rather than a try for a less safe seven. The aussies could have broken through our line at any time, we didn't make most of our advantages and the aussies would easily settle for conceding three points rather than face a scrum and potential try scoring opportunity.
Still a wins a win, take it any which way. Should be a tough semi, it's a shame four sides who would all have made for a good final ended up in one side of the draw thus eliminating two in one day
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The england team have played so poorly in the group stage, that nobody expected this result.So don't blame us if we revel in this victory.I agree that some of the ratings are over generous, but when we pull off a result like that everyone is a hero.The biggest surprise to me was Jason Robinson.In him we have a fantastic counter attacking full back. So why was he so content to kick the ball away.Agreed he did have a great burst early on and he was safe under the high ball, but he is so effective when he carries the return.It is a shame to see that this part of his game has been restricted. France next.Who wants to predict that one.
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Well done England! Let's see a RSA v England final.
Too all the Aussie fans, hard luck. South Africa will redeem southern hemisphere rugby. Enjoy the flight home.
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It was a great game, i was on my feet for most of it. However... how can you give Joe Worsley a 7 when he so foolishly put his hands in the ruck to give Australia a chance with that penalty near the end? That was they was we lost many games in the 6 nations following the 2003 WC. If Mortlock had put that one through Worsley would have scored much lower, I'm sure... The fact it didn't go over is not the point.
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Some good points here. I think it's easy to get bogged down in the details - at the end of the day, in the world cup it's the overall team cohesion that often makes the difference.
What I love about the rwc is that the lesser rugby nations can chance their arm against the best in the world. There's been talk of dropping the number of teams in the tournemant to 16 but I think results have shown that that would be a mistake. Unless sides like Tonga, Australia, Fiji, and New Zeeland have a chance to run out against the better sides, their players will never learn.
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Great to see the scrum has not been reffed out of the game. Scrums are the heart of the game and where big matches are won and lost. England destroyed the Aussies up front and were rightly allowed to do so. Have not seen Northern Hemisphere power at contact area until this match. Australia were woefully slow to breakdown and even slower recycling.
The England backs however gave a poor Australia a chance. Wilkinson missed the most tackles, but Tait and Catt are also too weak in this facet. Luckily it did not matter.
When I watched the evening game the contrast was striking - the extra power and pace coupled with skill levels made me think I'd watched the schoolboy curtain-raise in the afternoon.
Will be nice and quiet on the streets of London for some time - only the South Africans left - still they are not annoying in the slightest.
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The England pack were awesome. How come the backs got rated so highly for a holding operation?
It will funny seeing all the pundits in the media trying to eat their own words whilst praising those they would bury.
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A reposte to Josh (entry 148).
It is always magic to beat the Aussies: partly because they are without doubt a great sporting nation, but mostly because they are the most self opinionated, whinging bunch on the planet. The All Blacks, who actually are the best in the world, took their beating like the superb sportsmen they are; you moan because the rules aren't right! You got beaten up front AGAIN because you just ain't good or strong enough; you didn't get the massive victory you predicted because on the day because the 15 English players on the park played with grit, passion and nouse and outplayed your self aclaimed wonder boys. So Skippy, accept it, get yourself a pack, concentrate on the game and you might just beat us in 4 YEARS TIME!
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I watched the England v. Australia match at my local, the Castle Inn Chiddingstone.The atmosphere with both young and old was electric, whilst polite at the same time. My summary is that whilst some of the people in that village inn did not understand all the rules,they left with both an unmistakable sense of pride and wishing to learn more about the game with the odd shaped ball.I also felt a sense of pride about both winning and conduct of this game on and off the field, and I am a Scot.Well done England!Come on Scotland this evening.
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Ratings WAY too high but to be expected ;) I expected a close game after Englands improved performance and both they and France pulled it off in style. South Africans worried about England...as if!
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i agree with EBERG it wasnt really a stand out game by the poms especially since wilkinson kicked all the points. the reason every1 hates england is because you get cocky after you win. and how can you say mortlock had a bad game he made more ground that wilkinson for sure and they both missed the same amount of shots but its more highlighted in mortlocks rating. y dont u get som1 who isnt a pom to do some fair ratings. cos the english backs were crap the game wouldnt have been hadnt it been for the forwards
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WELL as an irish man I have to say that it is brilliant that England won yesterday.It is great for northern hemisphere rugby and now that France also won I wonder has Eddie O Sullivan egg in his face after his comments about the time of year that the world cup is played....saying that it suits the southern hemisphere better...no more excuses EOS we wern't up to the mark!!!WELL DONE ENGLAND as our closest neighbours hope ye go all the way now.
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Well done the lads, it was a truly committed and breathless performance by the whole team especially the forwards, and it was sooooo pleasing to see the Aussie pack demolished under the pressure!!
We were watching with our mouths open at the number of times the ball was snaffled by some really aggressive work at the breakdown.
As an England fan its always nice to beat the aussies, but twice as sweet when, yet again they over hype themselves and fail to give International teams the respect they deserve.
Jonny's kicking was a bit of a concern and i'm sure he won't be happy with that drop goal miss. Well need to take all the opportunities we are offered against the french as I'm sure they'll be on a massive high after beating NZ last night. But what a match it's going to be!!
The England boys have done themselves and their fans proud, good luck to them!!
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As an Australia, I thought the writing was on the wall from the very first scrum of the game. It must have collapsed at least three times, which is hardly an encouraging sign at the start of a game, when players are fresher and stronger. Fortuitously, the referee awarded Australia the free kick from that scrum, but I had an uncomfortable feeling that this was only the start of it...
Although it was hugely disappointing to watch from an Aussie perspective, congratulations to the English side. They were deserved winners. It's all very well and good having a fantastic backline (and when the Aussie backs did have the opportunity, there were some great moves), but if those players are starved of the possession, what can they do? There was a great comment above (post 128) about how forwards win matches, while backs determine the margin of victory.
I know many like to say "the English only win because of Jonny". But no, this is to belittle the rest of the side. The English forwards were magnificent yesterday, and it was because of their efforts in forcing Aussie mistakes and penalties, that Wilkinson was able to slot over the penalties. And even then, he missed a few easy ones as well...
I'm not proud of what some of my countrymen were saying before the start of the match. Guys, were you purposely trying to wind everyone up, and ensure that the English would be even more fired up? Well great effort then, you achieved that magnificently. Perhaps next time we'd be better advised to keep our mouths shut and concentrate on our own pre-match preparations.
Well done England.
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..... zzzzzzzzzzzzz .....
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Having reflected on the warm feeling gained by England and France's performances overnight, am still hoping to see England put the finishing touches to the open moves. No questions over the pack's performance, and a vast improvement in the loose, just worried that we still are not making the most of the possession we gain. Have solved the problem of the inane and myopic commentary provided by Barnes by listening to Radio 5 whilst watching ITV - the dislocation between radio and TV is worth the sacrifice.
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Rarely can a team have had so few chances at scoring tries and won! This game was a throwback to the bad old days and it's why rugby will never be a big global game. England's big men up front just rumbled on and on and tediously on whilst barely getting a sniff of scoring a try. How dull and boring and utterly tedious. Tedious, tedious, tedious - Sheridan was man of the match...need I say more.
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Well done England! I haven't been so pumped for a match for a year or two. Some of our recent performances have left me flat, but this one had the adrenaline going and I was straining with every scrum, rolling with every maul and bracing myself for every tackle.
After being written off as no hopers by everyone outside of themselves and the true fans (including our 'loyal'press) England showed that they have heart and courage.
True they aren't firing in midfield but they've been sensible enough to see that for themselves and play to their strengths and not their weaknesses. It may or may not win the World Cup but it will loosen a few fillings on the way to finding out.
As to winning by only two points, the real margin was the points difference that the Australians and the press expected PLUS two points.
As for Stuart Barnes:- if you go back and listen to the commentaries so far he didn't had a good for England until yesterday. You wouldn't need to sack him to get rid of him, just show him a bandwagon to jump on and then drive it away. Come back Bill MacLaren we need your impartiality and your gently droll humour.
May I also add my thanks to all those non England fans who have left messages of support.
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Just one point I'd like to make. Lots of folk are trying to belittle England's victory by pointing out that all their points were penalty points. They then claim that England somehow "dragged Australia down to their level". Try a little logic. England can only score penalty points if Australia commit fouls in kicking distance of their line. So why did Australia commit so many fouls near their line? Well, they're experienced players so we can reasonably assume few of the fouls were accidental. The rest were presumably deliberate attempts to break up an England scoring position illegally. Examples? Try Gregan's gross offside when England were about to get clean ball in a scoring position. So who was dragging the game down? That's right, it was Australia.
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Aah Bliss out of the cup and beaten by the English.
As a pom I can't wait till I go to work on Monday, smile politely as usual to all my workmates ansd then proceed in a completely un British manner to rub their noses in the fact that Australia have without a doubt the most pathetic excuse for a pack and ultimately for all their arrogance and in the case of mrO'Niell; childishness, Australia have lost to England in the only 2 games that matter in the last 4 years. SH teams and fans continually bleat on about their beautiful running game: Devalue the drop goal and penalty, make tries more valuable, @@@@ off and watch rugby league. The scrum and the kicking game are and always have been an essential part of union without it all you'd have is 15 show ponies like Turquiri prancing around.
Englands players made up for their lack of form with passion and grit, Australias supposed world class players choked (Jonnie may be all we've got but at least he can nail a drop goal from 50 metres mr Latham) .
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not many people will be complaining about winning games with penalties now i guess.
Great performance by the pack, especially the tight five yesterday.
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You forgot to rate the Ref. He was England's most valuable man by a mile.
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I spent 4 hours down the gym yesterday morning before i headed down the pub for the game. It hurt to move my arms much but i broke through the pain barrier when England won, throwing my arms around everywhere jumping around like what maybe people would say an idiot. Throwing myself into vast hugging affairs with the other lads.
What a good day, and with France knocking out NZ, we could get to the FINAL! :D
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After the last game I wrote that I was concerned that we didn't have an out and out openside. After yesterday I take it back - we have found one - the entire England pack!!! Totally agree with the ratings of England, although I would have given Simon Shaw a 9 for a really powerful and aggressive display. What made me particularly proud to be English yesterday was the fact that the entire team stepped up to be counted - other sportmen representing England or G. Britain could really learn a lesson from those guys yesterday. Bring on 'les bleus'!!
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England outplayed Oz and should have won by 10 or more points - end of story.
By the way - don't bring cricket into this, it doesn't provide you with a fall back option after that poor performance.
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From a Welshman, I would first like to say congratulations to England; that was an awesome pack performance. The Coach also deserves mention. He has turned a mediochre side into a fine tuned side.
The margin of victory flatters Australia. Easter could have easily scored a push over try, but for miscontrol (I believe his 9 points above should be a 7). Wilkinson missed kicks which was alien to him 4 years ago.
England will need to get rid of these errors if they are to lift the World Cup again. I think they have the correct mental attitude to do this.
This was one of two fantastic games I saw yesterday. It is good for the Sport. South Africa are probably favorites now, but I am sure the other teams still in the competition will want to prove me wrong. I hope they do.
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bruce, star performers? For the last 4 years everyone in England has been complaining about our lack of just tht! England were not perfect, but then its quite hard to be perfect when under pressure from one of the top teams in world rugby. Bottom line, England won when most people didn't give them a hope in hell, and they played some decent rugby (backs included) in the process.
Lets get behind the boys because although France will clearly be a tall order after last night, i for one dare to dream and quite fancy a SA rematch when our pack is on form
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I fully agree about Barnes, had to switch to the commentary in French.
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D Moody - I can only assume that you are not English, and have probably never played a game of rugby in your life. Whichever nationality that you may be, you are quite clearly a sad human being. Put the game in its context - with the English having been written off by everybody and then you might appreciate what the England rugby team achieved out there. No on second thoughts you probably won't...
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I was expecting a close affair before. Everybody's been raving on about Australia (Wales put on 20 pts on the board and if it were not for a few silly errors, it would have been a much closer affair) and NZ (OK destroyed Italy and Scotland but these aren't in the same league as England, France and Ireland). I've always thought that being in a tough group such as France and England will always help you later on and it sure did! They were ready for a contest and the Southern Hemisphere teams thought it was going to be a stroll in the park - perhaps now they'll keep their mouths shut over their superior game! NZ seem to always choke on the big occasion.
England were immense. I agree with the ratings apart from Wilko and Mortlock. Firstly, Wilko is England -take him away and you lose 36-0 to South Africa. His overall game was superb and this ball seems to be causing him dead ball kicking problems. He'll be on the field from dusk til dawn with the ball until next weekend. I thought Catt could have scored a try as well but his kick for Sackey was sublime - very unlucky bounce! Mortlock was Australia out there. Their forwards were EATEN alive by ours, their scrum was very poor but Mortlock (and the kicking of Latham) was the ONLY bright thing to come out of the match for the Aussies. He missed a few difficult pens but Carter and Wliko have also missed similar oppos so there must be something with the ball!
Message for the England XV
Please, please, please keep playing like that! I have no doubt you'll win the WC again if you show the same class against the French and onwards. You were absolutley superb and the margin of victory should have been much higher. It was a sheer delight for an Englishman living in France! Total class!
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I was expecting a close affair before. Everybody's been raving on about Australia (Wales put on 20 pts on the board and if it were not for a few silly errors, it would have been a much closer affair) and NZ (OK destroyed Italy and Scotland but these aren't in the same league as England, France and Ireland). I've always thought that being in a tough group such as France and England will always help you later on and it sure did! They were ready for a contest and the Southern Hemisphere teams thought it was going to be a stroll in the park - perhaps now they'll keep their mouths shut over their superior game! NZ seem to always choke on the big occasion.
England were immense. I agree with the ratings apart from Wilko and Mortlock. Firstly, Wilko is England -take him away and you lose 36-0 to South Africa. His overall game was superb and this ball seems to be causing him dead ball kicking problems. He'll be on the field from dusk til dawn with the ball until next weekend. I thought Catt could have scored a try as well but his kick for Sackey was sublime - very unlucky bounce! Mortlock was Australia out there. Their forwards were EATEN alive by ours, their scrum was very poor but Mortlock (and the kicking of Latham) was the ONLY bright thing to come out of the match for the Aussies. He missed a few difficult pens but Carter and Wliko have also missed similar oppos so there must be something with the ball!
Message for the England XV
Please, please, please keep playing like that! I have no doubt you'll win the WC again if you show the same class against the French and onwards. You were absolutley superb and the margin of victory should have been much higher. It was a sheer delight for an Englishman living in France! Total class!
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I think Dewi Morris can look for another job now because he will not get any paid work a respected rugby pundit. Brian Ashton got the team selection wrong! What planet are you on Dewi
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I AGREE WITH YOU GUYS ENGLAND HAD A BRILLIANT PERFORMANCE, AS A PROUD WELSHMAN LIVING IN AUSTRALIA WHEN THE FINAL WHISTLE blew I SAT BACK IN DISBELIFE AND SHOCK AT THE THE SAME TIME AND WAS CURSING LIKE THERE WAS NO TOMMOROW, BUT NEVER THE LESS WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE BIGGER PICTURE ENGLAND HAD AN UNBELIEVABLE PERFORMANCE. iT'S WEIRD IN A WAY THAT THE ENGLISH had an average to bad pool performance and come up to a world class side like the wallabies wHere not many people believed they were going to win and totally closed them down.
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How can the be such a vast difference in the two teams ratings when it was only a 2 point margine?If this is England at an average 8 it really just shows that it will be the last game they will win in the 2007 world cup.
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How can u justify the vast difference in the two teams ratings when it was only a 2 point winning margine?If this is England 8.5 ave it just shows us that was the last game they will win in the 2007 world cup.
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As an Irishman, an Ireland and Leinster supporter Im delighted for the English lads. They were 100% committed fromthe first minute. If only Ireland had that passion,,, it just goes to show that teams with less talented back lines but with big hearted forwards can do wonders. It sickens me to listen to the Aussies and Kiwis whinging about referees and balls and whatever. Especially after they have slagged off our 6 nations,,, I for one am looking forward to next years 6 nations as it is obviously the quality annual competition in the world. You southern hemisphere boys need to get your house in order.
Go France & England and best of luck to Scotland
Cheers
Slainte
Fordey
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Australia, I hope you hate us more!
England still lack penetration, but its only points that win
At last somebody mentioned Stuart Barnes, the biggest embarrassment to England's victory. Why do we need a commentator, who thinks he's a summarizer, a summariser, who repeats the obvious and a studio panel who dissects the came before, after and during?
Bring on France, We can upset the French, We've done it many times
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Well done to the lads. They were righlty blasted for the SA game but showed that under Ashton and Vic that they are going the right way. Altough the lack of tries is a slight concern with the Frogs coming up, another week to iron it out and we will be laughing all the way to the final!
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Help - someone get a Dr. I have been laughing for 20 hours solid only taking time off to drink more refreshment and concentrate on taking a pee. I am in severe pain and live in hope that this guffawing will die down to a chuckle some time during the midweek. The main course in Marseilles yesterday was sumptious in its presentation and delectable to the pallet - followed by a splendid petit gateux from Cardiff to follow. Specialite de la maison.
We have been accused of all sorts over the last 4 yrs. Ineptitude of those managing the game in the RFU - sure, that's completely justified. But the players are as good as anything around given adequate preparation and a good coach appointed just in time.
Aussies were gutless yesterday - change the mustard shirts to 'canary yellow' for your next outing so you don't forget that at the heart of this game is confrontation. If you don't front up when it counts then you'll get smashed.
In the UK we had to put up with Murray Mexted on the commentary - whining like the favorite at the World Whining Championships. Only NZers can really reach this level of irritation. Hopefully he'll be going home with his team.
FOUR MORE YEARS TO THOSE OF YOU WHO GAZE AT THE SOUTHERN CROSS!
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Hurrah for us - and I don't care if you call me arrogant - we won fair and square according to the laws of the game. As far as I can see the people moaning (not enough tries etc etc YAWN) are the ones who have already gone home and I for one don't care what they think while they sit at home munching on their sour grapes.
While we're at it why don't we throw the national stereotypes out of the window along with the form book and get behind the Scots for another historic victory tonight!
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Its very interesting as an avid rugby player to read some of the 鈥渃omments made by others鈥 on the match and the rating's given to the players by the 大象传媒. Granted it was not one of the most polished performances by an England side. In fact we need to improve the second phase play by a great deal and be a lot more inventive with the ball, if we are to make the final and dare I say it retain the World Cup. For me however the fact that England have steadily improved in each game they have played and more importantly they have sent the smug Australians packing once again makes me burst with pride..Yes pride because as Englishmen we should be. Other nations take great pleasure in sporting achievements and revel in them we tend to say well done then pick the performance to pieces 鈥淲e Won against great odds鈥. Well done England more of the same please. What a final it would be if both Scotland & England made it.
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Decent game. Wilkison is a phenomenal player but deserves the rating he got. Not his greatest day, but possibly england's?
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I just have to come clean and try to absolve myself. I was one of the nay sayers. I didn't believe England had it in them, they just seemed uninterested and without ideas or leadership. Yesterday's performance was something different and something I didn't really think England were capable of. Well done lads and I'm sorry I doubted you. On a more personal level I owe a big apology to Sackey, I doubted his ability to defend and thought eveyone was getting a little carried away with his attacking skills. I've never been so happy to be prooved a fool (and it's happened on many occasions). Gonna be fun against les bleus.
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Apologies if somebody has previously posted on this, but I would like to know the answer.
In the third minute of the England-Oz game, Berrick Barnes misjudged a long kick downfield and it was within centimentres of going over the dead ball line. Johnny touched it down for a 22 metre drop-out.
What would have happened if Johnny had been standing beyond the dead ball line (which he could quite easily have done) when he touched it down? Would it have been a scrum way back downfield to England?
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Great performance England, hopefully (but i doubt it) this will shup up Wayne Smith's mouth for a while. He is a sports writer for an Australian newspaper, got to there web site www.Australiannews, and read his comments titled "Wallabies to lift England burden" im sure the England boys would love to shove his comments down his throat. Good luck in the semi's.
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215 - in answer to part of your question he deliberately stepped out of the field of play to pick the ball up and then touched it down i.e. was off the end of the field. I was expecting a kick up field but the ref gave a 22. I would also like to ask other 'real' refs (and not the prat that made the original decision) what the ruling should have been?
In addition when Sackey was taken out in mid air, catching a high ball, why was that not a yellow card as per the premiership and six nations last year?
As for ratings Catt 8?? Tait 7?? If these are the case why does it take a pass from a second row to open up the defence?
Exceeded my expectations - let's enjoy the bonus of at least two extra matches whatever they bring.....
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I love the number of comments written by Aussies jibing back with a "if that last kick had gone over" - I think the Australian backs deserve higher marks for keeping the scoreline so tight whilest there pack played at a level that Portugal and Romania would be ashamed of
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When all the hysteria and emotional outpourings have died away, it may be prudent to reflect that England, in fact, played a mediocre game against Australia in a spoiling, technically lacking, ball-killing style that ill-befits world champions. While this may be a recipe for winning at tournament rugby, it does not make them the best team in the world: the best team in the world just lost to France.
England did not, could not, even score a try. If you take away the sublime boot of Jonny, England play a lumpish, vapid game of rugby as was clearly demonstrated when they met South Africa (they could not score a try there either, it should be recalled).
The Wallabies' off-song performance remains a mystery - they simply appeared to be lagging a day behind on the wake up call setting on their Teasmades. Why this happens in sport, even to a mighty side like Australia, is an imponderable that sports psychologists, coaches and the players themselves will never fathom: all we know is that it has something to do with being human.
On this occasion England got lucky: they caught the Aussies on a downwave and managed to scrape a win. If France now can be consistent - and that, of course, is anyone's guess - they are capable of cutting England to shreds, especially if England repeat yesterday's uninspired performance.
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When all the hysteria and emotional outpourings have died away, it may be prudent to reflect that England, in fact, played a mediocre game against Australia in a spoiling, technically lacking, ball-killing style that ill-befits world champions. While this may be a recipe for winning at tournament rugby, it does not make them the best team in the world: the best team in the world just lost to France.
England did not, could not, even score a try. If you take away the sublime boot of Jonny, England play a lumpish, vapid game of rugby as was clearly demonstrated when they met South Africa (they could not score a try there either, it should be recalled).
The Wallabies' off-song performance remains a mystery - they simply appeared to be lagging a day behind on the wake up call setting on their Teasmades. Why this happens in sport, even to a mighty side like Australia, is an imponderable that sports psychologists, coaches and the players themselves will never fathom: all we know is that it has something to do with being human.
On this occasion England got lucky: they caught the Aussies on a downwave and managed to scrape a win. If France now can be consistent - and that, of course, is anyone's guess - they are capable of cutting England to shreds, especially if England repeat yesterday's uninspired performance.
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England win by 2 points. Aussies miss a potentially match winning peanalty kick with 2 minutes to go. And you guys rate england an average 8 against about 6 to Aussies. This is another typical England over reaction to an early stage win. Hype Hype Hype. When are you pommy "experts" going to get it through your thick skulls that winning one game does not make a tournament - hold off the platitudes till the final. The Englans frowards dominated the play and deserved high ratings. The England backs did nothing, and were outplayed by the Aussies, when the Aussies got a chance from their own woeful forwards.
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Fantastic win - roll on France next week
Have to disagree about Stuart Barnes. Really miss his commentary now I don't have Sky. Just listen to Brian Moore & Eddie Butler on 大象传媒 and you will realise how good Barnes & Miles Harrison are
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people say that the ratings were to high, england were absolutly phenominal hard in the tackle great turn over ball if anything the aussies ratings are to low as they were not poor jus outclassed. every england man deserved 10 out of 10! apart from sheridan who deserved 11, its clear that there are some people on here that dnt follow rugby jonny may have missed a few kicks but that has been the precedent for every team in this world cup(except scotland) but jonny has been solid in defence and created opertunities. so instead of sayin we were marked to high how about people comment about being marked to low and get behind the boys! COME ON ENGLAND
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I live in NZ, and couldn't be bothered to get up at 2am just to watch England get slaughtered. So it was half way through the AB/France game that I found out that miracles do happen. The previous week I had been in Oz and their commentators said after the Tonga match that there was nothing in England for them to be worried about! Nothing could be sweeter. It doesn't matter how we won, it's the fact that we did - and against the Aussies to boot. It may not be pretty nor convincing rugby, but you play to your strngths, not your weaknesses. You'll hear from the Aussies and the Kiwis that we're only a one trick pony (that kicks). Yep, that may be the case, but we're in the semis and they're not!
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well...after three nights on a diet of nightnurse and curry anything I say will be .....hang on..some bloke's looking at me funny
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To Sid Penguin
I thought he WAS standing over the dead ball line...
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can we just clear up a few mythologies here? First off the bat, that old chestnut about tries vs penalties/drop goals. Penalties are awarded for infringements that break up attacking play, or are dangerous. Teams that do not infringe (i.e. break the rules) do not get penalised. To those who suggest that penalties should not result in a scoring advantage to the infringed side, I'd simply say: Football. Would you seriously suggest that a goal scored from a free kick or penalty in football is less valid than one from open play? It only seems to be losing sides that make this complaint. Never noticed an australian suggest that any of their own points scored from penalties shouldn't count. Likewise for drop goals. A well taken drop goal is one of the most dramatic moments a rugby match can offer; time stops, the ball describes it's arc, the breath is held...it's pure poetry. Next up, this business of forwards boring, backs exciting. Listen up guys, in case you hadn't noticed, Rugby Union IS the forwards!! Take away the scrum, take away competition at the breakdown, and what you have left is... Rugby League! The whole point is that in union you have specialists, big blokes and little (well, littler) blokes with different jobs on the field. That's what gives union it's subtlety and intrigue. Your big blokes batter their big blokes, leaving holes for the little blokes to dance through. Simple and beautiful. If your enforcers can't stand up to the confrontation, don't say the rules are wrong; maybe you're just watching the wrong sport. Finally, Australia wouldn't have won if only Mortlock (an immense player) hadn't missed that last kick; if you're gonna retrospectively award missed penalties, look at the whole game: 3 for mortlock, 3 for Jonny. 9 points missed each. Same result.
Fair play England; not perfect, but you had the balls of a bull and the heart of a lion. Plenty to build on.
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I thought Moody, Sheriden and Shaw were fantastic total dominance with controlled aggression.Johnny kicked poorly for his high standards but all round a complete team effort, well done.
As an rugby fan i have followed England on their travels with enthusiasm and pride for many a year.I have watched many hangers on jump on after we won the last world cup, and slowly jump off as we went downhill from then on, our game does not need the glory hunters and their negativity.
For the rest of us be inspired by our character and commitment against the aussies and watch with pride as our lads finally smiled again.We arnt the finished article but have improved with each performance. We will need to step up again to beat the inspired French, but are capable of doing so.Then the final again and it does not matter if you are the best team on paper or not, 80 min, a win and history is re written.
Attitude determines Altitude.
The best of England to you all.
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Just remember the old saying "pride before a fall".
The way England played was totally boring and unless you were a one eyed soap avoider will bring no joy to the true rugby lover. I seem to remember the last time the Aussies played the soap avoiders at football we kicked your arse,(Oh I forgot you said it was just a friendly), we slapped you in the cricket and the Rugby League as well if I remember
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I'm a little surprised that we made the quarter-finals - about right really - with our current pack of forwards, we are only the seventh or eigth best team in the world - roll on the beale-barnes-giteau era - if we can get a forward pack who can at least have parity over opposition, we may have a chance in 2011
for the moment - vive la France!
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Hey guys .... keep a good perspective here...the English forwards played a great game. The players actualy searched, fought and wanted the ball. They retained possession and the number of phases were as high as we had in the past...the expereince gained from the hard pacific island games made this possible.
This being said we need to tighten up defensively in the centres.
As many of my friends said after this performance....This is how we can play...
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John O'Neill is certainly eating his ill-considered words of last week. English sportsmen are generally highly skilled and professional athletes and have again shown they have the tenacity and skill to beat any opposition.
However, I am now reminded of 2003 - a tiny minority of English supporters refuse to let their team win graciously. Spiteful attacks on the losing team, their fans or countrymen just make us want to back anyone but England.
Well played England.
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Hi Im an Englishman living in NZ
i've been taking alot of stick by my fellow class mates and it was sweet to rub it in to there face that we've got to the semis. England were good for the win but without Sheridan, Moody and Shaw we would have got thrashed our backs never looked like scoring a try and for me Mortlock was the best back on the pitch everytime he had the ball i remember thinking that he could score here, Wilkinson missed some kicks which normally he would have slotted blindfolded, England forwards dominated Australia and we deserved to win because of there domination, but i hope we can look at the french but can our forwards dominate them like we did to the Australians. What impressed me the most though about the English isn't the forwards domination because we all knew we could allready do that but it was us doing the unexpected like running the ball when normally we would just relly on Jonny clearing it. Plus i loved hearing Andrew Meartens on NZ Tv make every excuse he could think of on why NZ lost but they just wasn't good enough, If you spend half an hour virtually on the other teams try line and cant score you dont deserve to be in the semis
Come on England bring the trophy home
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I agree with most of the comments above and if the ratings were based on performance against expectation then I would agree with the high marks because England did perform above expectation and equally Australia below expectation , but if the marks are based on performance, the teams were a lot closer than the marks suggest. The backs were almost identical. Mortlock was easily the most dangerous runner on the park and if he'd kicked better Australia would have won. Fair enough the England pack were awesome and at the end of the day were the difference between the two sides. Moody deserves more than 8 but other than that the forwards' marks are pretty fair.
No tries for England is worrying - France game should be very interesting - I wonder which French side will turn up this time. Personally I'm hoping for rain and for France to bottle it - just like they did in 2003!
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Dear Andrew Worthington - many thanks for your good wishes. Good to see an Aussie so gracious in defeat...
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Well done England but there you havent won the competition yet.
Isn't it strange that England get applauded on winning a game with their forwards and the boot but when Scotland did the same against Italy they got critisized heavily for it. Typical English media.
BTW would of made this comment even if I got to a PC before the Scotland game kicked off yesterday.
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Well done England but there you havent won the competition yet.
Isn't it strange that England get applauded on winning a game with their forwards and the boot but when Scotland did the same against Italy they got critisized heavily for it. Typical English media.
BTW would of made this comment even if I got to a PC before the Scotland game kicked off yesterday.
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england werent a lot better, just 2 points, australia were poor. mitchell should of started. sheridan and moody played great though
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I have looked over some of my earlier posts and realise that I may have mis-spelled some words.
I clearly meant to say that we DO have a perfectly balanced back row, that Corry IS a brilliant and very fast runner and that vickery IS better that stevens and definetly NOT past his best.
It is also clear that I meant to record my opinion that Brian Ashton was a brilliant coach with an exceptional game plan, and definetly NOT off his head or or drugs.
My apologies gentlemen.
Good luck to the good guys amongst the SH fans going home empty handed again (couldnt resist that...)
Give credit where credit is due - England France Argentina and SA are there because they are the best four teams in the tournament, everyone else isnt. Period
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France beat NZ in a close game and loads of players get 6. England beat a worse team and they all get 8s! The good old 大象传媒!
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Well played England.
Not a classic performance, but full of spirit, fire, quick to breakdown and better handling.
Just shows what getting the basics right can achieve.
We are still some way from the finished article and i woudl agree that some of the england player ratings are over the top. But hey we went into the Aussie game without a hope and pulled out one of the great forwards performaces ive seen, so credit where credits due.
Most worrying aspect for up coming semi-final and 6 nations, is our inability to score trys. A settled back line will help this, Ashton needs to look at what he feels his best backs are.
But if someone had said semi finalist before the tournament, id have said we would have exceeded expectations, everything from here on in is a bonus.
And the most important thing is we beat the AUSSIES!!! HA HA HA
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Just because france won NZ are still the best team in the world by far! (im an Aussie fan) good win for england though :)
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Player ratings are fun, and not to be taken too seriously BUT...
England got a well-deserved win NO THANKS to Worsley (rating = 7!?!)who nearly gifted the Aussies the match by giving away a penalty in a situation where they had no immediate chance of scoring. He should be dropped for a significant period.
Imagine how his fellow forwards would have felt if Mortlock's kick had gone over...
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You auzzies were beaten to a pulp by the english forwards, forget the scoreline...count the stitches!!
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12 - 10. 2 world cup games 2 English wins!!! Enough said!!
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For all their claims to be the world's greatest sportsmen, it is a pity that Australia have still not learned to cope with defeat. Contrast their players at the end of the England match, forming a huddle to wave away the cameras and cry, with Scotland, who formed a line to clap Argentina off the pitch. That is sportsmanship. That is what the game is about.
I am not one to gloat, but after suffering the pre-match crowing and the post-match whingeing of the Aussies, my favourite meal is Stuffed Wallaby, barbecued in whine sauce.
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One of the great things about rugby is that, unlike football, it's not full of people throwing themselves on the floor for no reason and generally trying to cheat. With this in mind, I was worried at the start of the match that the ref was letting Australia collapse all the scrums and awarding the penalties the wrong way. Lets not forget that last time we played, the Australians engineered it so that the scrums were uncontested. I'd hate to see rugby turn cynical like football...if you don't want to take part in the scrum then don't play union.
Otherwise it was a fantastic game...really tense and exiting. England were immense.
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I can't get over everyone saying we are bigging the english up too much!!! for a team that has under performed lately, to beat the Aussies is a great achievement. It was a team effort but the men who stood out for me was Nick Easter, Andrew Sheridan and Lewis Moody!!
Well Done England Keep going!!!
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For all their claims to be the world's greatest sportsmen, it is a pity that Australia have still not learned to cope with defeat. Contrast their players at the end of the England match, forming a huddle to wave away the cameras and cry, with Scotland, who formed a line to clap Argentina off the pitch. That is sportsmanship. That is what the game is about.
I am not one to gloat, but after suffering the pre-match crowing and the post-match whingeing of the Aussies, my favourite meal is Stuffed Wallaby, barbecued in whine sauce.
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Still a lot of Jealous types writing in here.
England AKA "the worst world champions ever, are still in the world cup" .The wonderful New Zealand, Quick thinking Australia and Golden Age of Irelaqnd are not.
Get over it, England played well. Made 5 6 or 7 clear line breaks against what most beleived was a superior team. They deserve the high scores.
On Friday in here we were getting beat by a better team, today we scraped past a load of old rubbish.
4 more years to be classed as better than England for all those detractors. Read it , watch it and weep.
Come on England. The 4 years between world cups are meaningless if you wimper out of the cup at Quarters or earlier.
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I'm with tony d post 238. I thought we'd picked the wrong front row. I thought we'd picked the wrong back row. I was in despair about our backs.
Wrong. I know NOTHING.
There was a LOT of good handling which we had only seen glimpes of during the Tonga game. There were frequent bullocking runs with tacklers falling off - a feature of our opponents' play until now and best of all there was a sense of purpose to almost all of our play.
This coincided with a DROP in the amount of 'kicking for territory' and an increase in patient, confident attempts to break the Aus line.
Will we play like that against the French?
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Being an Englishman I was delighted with the win. But I have to agree with some of the comments above, especially about Mortlock. The Aussie bacls did look much more dangerous and I feel it is one area where England are lacking. This to me is the area that has had the least improvement since the SA game.
I just pray England continue their improvement. For England to reach the final the backs have to start playing.
Still well done lads, looking forward to the semi, lets beat 'Les Bleus'
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A much improved performance by the England team which gave them the win. No one has yet made comment that Australia DID NOT SCORE ANY POINTS at all in the Second Half, I cant ever remember that happening to OZ in a major competition can you ? Which means that our defence must have come on a bit since the South Africa game. We just need to use the confidence and challenge the French at the break down, if we can get a few turn overs who knows, we could progress to the final, I wait with bated breath as I did before the game with OZ!
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I think that the Aussies should look for a new Shirt sponsor, maybe "Lion Brand", for all of the comments that were made before the game that left them with a severe case of egg on the face.
England were Fatastic they did what had to be done, WIN!
None of the media gave them a chance of even getting past the group stages but they have proved all of them wrong. Vive le geriatric's
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Lee @ 149
Why do you include Ireland when saying there are a lot of jealous people commenting? I, as an Irishman, have commented stating my delight for the English lads, as have a lot of my fellow country men.
I live in Sydney and last week plastered across a couple of the papers here was that NH rugby is in crisis. Delighted to go to work on Monday with the word Southern in place of Northern.
The Aussies have got to be the most arrogant & patronising sporting nation on the planet & they got what they deserved,,
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I just wish we'd have won by one point.
And all of our points be drop goals. Just to rub it in even more.
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Fordey 235. I apologise to any Irish, Scots and Welsh who do not fit into the "supporting their own country and whoever plays England" bracket. You are in the minority though. Just look back at the griping about the Terrible / Boring / Cheating / One dimensional / About to get stuffed next week English team in any of the threads in here and you will see.
I particularly chose the Irish as they were Home nations only hope according to the Irish press and most of the Irish public (my paddy mates anyway). No one else had a chance and I've had that stuffed down my throat since Croke park. Things have turned out differently and I suppose Ireland were unlucky to be drawn in a group with two of the semi finalists, but the same could be said for Tonga and Samoa.
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Catt got an 8! what a shocker! alright he can pass, but we could have scored two tries if he could also catch. His kicking did not warrant his selection either with many over cooked from outside the 22. Get tait and Lewsey in the centre, power, pace and creativity.
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Daniel at 182 : "everyone hates us because we get cocky when we win"
Are trying to tell me that we should be miserable having won?
Are you telling me that anybody else would not be ecstatic after that unexpected win???
Get real! We are realistic enough to doubt the semi - read the posts!
Don't blame the whole nation for totally unreasonable scoring of the players by 大象传媒 pundits.
Good rugby - yes it was - exciting close and skillful at times. A spectacle of running rugby it was not but I wonder if the Aussies and Kiwis would accept now an ugly win!!!!
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from a neutral perspective thought this game was awesome. rugby doesn't always have to be pretty to be good! it's great to see a wide running game, but just as good to see a gritty forwards display, and Englands dominance in the front five was epic. having said that these ratings are pretty rubbish. and i agree with Daniel 182 in that how can Mortlock get rated lower than some of the English backs. despite the lack of ball he recieved he made some decisive breaks including in the build up to the try and in my opinion was still one of the best backs on the pitch. yeah he missed crucial kicks but they were hardly easy, everyones putting Wilko's misses down to the 'swearling winds in the velodrome' so give the big guy a break!! he had a good game but it just wasn't enough!
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So this O'niel guy (yes who? we had never heard of him until he opened his big Aussie mouth to hide his foot in it) says all the world hates England. This guy wants to get over his Colonial/convict/slave trade hang ups and say hello to the modern world. Does he think that everyone loves the arrogant Aussies then? I for one actually love the Aussies - love playing them - love beating them - love knocking them out of the world cup and love stuffing their words down their throat. For sale one Australin team in great condition with the engine barely run in. Only one problem, the choke is stuck open.
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Excellent performance from all but the forwards in particular were immense. We should have bagged 2 tries as well and we're unlucky! In fact, the scorline flatters Austalia a little. However, people saying this is a surprise, etc should be looking at the result against Wales, who managed to score 20 pts, gift 1 try and miss 2 penalties. I expected a close affair but the margin of victory should have been much higher.
I tend to agree with the ratings apart form Mortlock who I thought was the only threat from Australia along with Latham's kicking. I also think Johnny's overall game was superb. I hope he completely masters this new ball for Saturday.
Sepaking of Saturday, in my view, France has had their "lucky game(s)" against NZ (one blatant fwd pass + conversion off the sticks + yellow card for something which most times doesn't get a yellow + in fact loads of cards against any opposition the French have come up against) and England has yet to have any luck in the competition (Samoa + Tonga should have received 4 yellows between them + Australian prop should also been yellowed) so maybe it's going to come against the French. I know we shouldn't be looking for a football-esque situation with the cards but in games where there's so little between the teams, believe me a yellow is going to make all the difference. Referees have to be consistent!
We ARE capable of winning this - there's no question about it but we may need that bit of spawny luck that the French seem to have had throughout the competition until now.
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Your ratings are a joke. well deserved victory but you won 12-10. England still have the same problems as before and Aus had a shocker.
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