ENGLAND HAVE BEEN GOOD BUT NOW THEY’VE GOT TO BE GREAT
THIS game has so much history it will be massive. so far in Anglo-Australian encounters at World Cups we have one victory apiece in the final, two England quarter-final wins and two Aussie pool wins. That is some back story as we build to saturday.
i’m confident of an England victory as long as their mindset is exactly right after a two-week lay- off. They can’t afford a sloppy opening 10-15 minutes but one of the distinguishing features of this team under Eddie Jones has been their fast points-scoring starts. More of the same, please.
For me, England have been efficiently ticking over in third gear, waiting to really pick up speed in the knockout stages. i had them down to produce something special in the France match, but alas that never took place so now they must waste no time engaging top gear.
There are a stack of quality players queuing up to do that — Jamie George, Maro itoje, Billy Vunipola (if fit), Owen Farrell, Anthony Watson, Manu Tuilagi, Elliot Daly. so far they have been good, from this moment onwards they must be great.
And disciplined. England have been brilliant in that department but must keep going. Australia are all over the place with their reckless, wild tackling and cards in every game. Make that a big point of difference. As for Australia, their legendary former skipper George Gregan nailed it yesterday when he insisted they need to ‘flick a switch’. That’s exactly what they did against New Zealand in the Rugby Championship and the result was a record Wallaby win over the All Blacks. Except for their second half against Wales, when they upped the tempo and intensity and nearly salvaged the game, the Aussies have been one-paced and predictable throughout this tournament. it’s because their midfield isn’t functioning. They travelled with two specialist No 10s — Christian Lealiifano and Bernard Foley — and have also turned to strong-running inside centre Matt Toomua at fly-half. As Australia also selected an old-fashioned blockbuster at 12 in samu Kerevi, the result is no balance or fluency in the midfield, no real creativity or variety with which to launch some dangerous runners.
Coach Michael Cheika has to address this. it’s taking the wind out of Australia’s sails. it’s doubly mystifying when such a gifted playmaker like Kurtley Beale seems to have become a fringe figure. This is the country who gave us the Ella/Lynagh combo back in the day. They virtually invented the twin playmaker concept as far as modern-day Test rugby is concerned.
Cheika’s selection in midfield is the key to Australia mounting a serious challenge and the other factor is that none of those four players mentioned is a front-line, Test rugby goal-kicker other than Foley, who seems to be a little off form.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines it could be quite an entertaining week if Jones (left) and Cheika decide to lock horns verbally. Neither is a shrinking violet and both have their own sweet way with words. if you can’t have a bit of banter before an England v Australia World Cup quarter-final, when can you?
What i would say, with my coaching hat on, is work out exactly what you want to say, what little quip or windup you want to employ, before the press conference. Make sure you hit the bullseye rather than ad lib something you think might be clever but rebounds a little. Let battle commence on that one.