Australia 20 // England 21
There is a corner of an Australian field that is, it seems, forever English. Seven years after his finest hour, England's Jonny Wilkinson showed why he still owns a rugby pitch in Homebush. The fly-half, whose final touch of the ball in the 2003 World Cup final won the Webb Ellis Trophy for England, was the match-winner at the ANZ Stadium again yesterday. Wilkinson has endured 13 injuries since that night, and is no longer the starting No 10 for his country. However, after emerging as a second-half replacement for Toby Flood, it was Wilkinson's kick that eventually proved decisive as England halved their two-Test series with the Wallabies.
Given their turgid display in defeat in Perth seven days earlier, England's performance marked quite a turnaround. The most obvious difference was in the ferocious physical play of their defence, led by Lewis Moody, their captain. In particular, the visiting team singled out Quade Cooper, the young fly-half who had run amok the previous week, for some rough treatment. After 20 minutes, Moody torpedoed himself at Cooper. The message may have been delivered, but it was the England captain who came off worse, as he knocked himself senseless.
Moody earned himself his nickname "Mad Dog" because of a reputation for having little regard for his own physical well-being. He staggered around groggily for some minutes, and recovered enough to lead his side to victory. "We let ourselves down in the first 40 minutes last week," Moody said in a post-match television interview. "We had to address that, and from No 1 to No 22, the whole squad were fantastic. Everyone has come together this week.
"We have some great talent - Chris Ashton, Ben Foden, Ben Youngs and Shontayne Hape - who can really run with the ball, and it was nice to give them the chance to show what they can do." Ashton, the wing, and Youngs, the scrum-half, reaped tangible rewards for their enterprise in the form of first-half tries. The two youngsters, in whom England have invested great hopes for the future, both went over in the same corner in which Jason Robinson, the former full-back, dotted down their lone score in that 2003 final.
The swaths of empty seats at the ANZ Stadium were a clue to the fact the stakes were a great deal less than seven years ago. An attendance of just over half that of the World Cup final was also a pointer of how far the two sides have fallen in the intervening time. England are not fancied by many to repeat their 2003 feat in New Zealand in 12 months time, while the optimism that built up for Australians after the win in the first Test was punctured here.
There were still some reasons for cheer for the home side. Matt Giteau, having ceded the Wallabies No 10 shirt to Cooper, made a fine return to the side following injury. His match haul of all 20 Australian points included two tries, but his display also contained one significant blemish. In the 70th minute, Giteau was right in front of the posts with a penalty that would have given the Wallabies a precious two-point lead. Inexplicably, he fired wide.
Wilkinson still had time to miss a similarly good chance to extend his side's lead from the kicking tee. In the end it counted for little as his side celebrated a morale-boosting success.
* Compiled by Paul Radley
