Recap: England vs Australia LIVE | Rugby World Cup
Follow all the action on the RugbyPass live blog from the World Cup quarter-final match between England versus Australia in Oita. Keep up to date with the latest score, stats and join the conversation from anywhere in the world in our Live Match Centre (click here).
Michael Cheika insists his Australia enter the game devoid of fear after promising all-out attack. Cheika will lock horns with his old Randwick team-mate Eddie Jones for the last time in their current roles as the losing coach is expected to depart should they suffer defeat in the last-eight showdown.
Australia are substantial underdogs, not least because of their six-Test losing run against Jones’ England, but Cheika insists they will play without restraint. “I always say, but no one seems to believe me, that my attention is always on just Australia, the type of game we can bring and how we can attack the opposition whether that’s with the ball or without it,” he said.
“Not thinking about how we’re going to defend against the opposition and what they will attack us with. Then it becomes a battle of will, who wants to attack more? When I talk about the attack I’m not just talking about with the ball, I’m talking about who wants to attack more.
“We’re almost I suppose dead in that way because the fear inside us is dead. We’re not afraid to go there and get it and that means it’s going to be a great game.”
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For all their history as sparring partners as coaches, Cheika and Jones have engaged in a joint charm offensive this week. Cheika, however, does not believes Jones’ claim that his decision to drop George Ford in favour of Henry Slade in order to beef-up England’s midfield is due to the threat of Wallabies centre Samu Kerevi.
“Most of that stuff is, what’s the word for it? Fake news? Like ‘I changed this because this is happening’,” Cheika said. “Mate, none of us are giving out our tactics in real life and we’d be mad if we did. If he was really telling me that he has changed the thing because of this… well I’m not going to go to my blokes and say, ‘Well, he changed everything because of you guys’.
“It’s irrelevant to us, that stuff, it’s just like turn up and be ready and play what’s in front of you. It doesn’t matter, as long as you know exactly what you want to get and you go out and get it.”
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Meanwhile, England’s ‘Kamikaze Kids’, who face Australia’s feared ‘Pooper’ combination in the quarter-final, admitted the Wallabies duo served as inspiration when growing up. Tom Curry and Sam Underhill played together for the first time in the record win over Ireland in August and their impact at the breakdown, when carrying and in defence has seen them installed as Jones’ preferred flankers.
They now collide with David Pocock and Michael Hooper, the veteran twin opensides who have operated in tandem to great effect since 2012, amassing 180 caps between them. Comparisons have been drawn between the rival back rows and Underhill understands why.
“We’re very much looking forward to it,” said the Bath forward, who is one half of the pair dubbed ‘Kamikaze Kids’ by Jones in recognition of the destruction they cause in training. “You want to challenge yourself against the best on the world and it’s fair to say they’re two world-class opensides.
'I go into schools a lot and those kids need to be able to look up and identify with it. Rugby union has sort of a middle class (appeal)'
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“They’re players who Tom and I when we were growing up and coming through looked at and inspired to be like, so it’s a bit surreal to be coming up against them now. There are similarities between us in some ways. In the game now, everyone is expected to do everything.
“The traditional roles when you have a specialist seven or blindside or eight… yeah, people have still got their strengths in certain areas but you have to be able to do everything. Even as a seven you’re expected to be carrying, good at set-piece, good in defence and in the breakdown. That’s probably why you see more sides picking two sevens because sevens can now do more, just as your sixes and eights can do more.”
Underhill’s excitement is shared by Jones, who played opensides George Smith and Phil Waugh together when Australia coach. “It’s going to be a great contest. Pocock has probably over the last ten years been the foremost number seven in the world,” Jones said.
‘Even experts, we can’t tell on some of the concussions. It's a very diverse, varied sort of reaction to head injury. Every person is different’
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“Hooper is a massively important player for Australia, he’s a link player, takes the ball forward a lot once they get inside the
opposition’s 22. He’s obviously a key leader for the team, but our two young boys are just getting better every game. It’s going to be a battle at the breakdown. Curry has improved his lineout jumping immensely over the last six or eight weeks and Underhill’s probably the most combative seven I’ve seen for a long time.”
Underhill wears the seven jersey with Curry operating at blindside flanker where his additional size and height are better suited. “Being combative lends itself to the position. It’s a physical position and not the most glamorous of work at times but sometimes it’s not about line breaks, miss passes or kicks in behind,” Underhill said.
“It’s pretty gritty and unglamorous work. You have got to enjoy that and you’ve got to see how what you’re doing contributes to the team. When the guys are scoring out wide it’s usually because the forwards have done something good in the middle, something that’s fairly dull to watch but that creates special moments in the game.”
WATCH: Jim Hamilton previews the England vs Australia quarter-final in the latest episode of Don’t Mess With Jim
Comments on RugbyPass
I’m not surprised by such ‘virtue signalling’ by Sonny Boy. Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He’s such a pious Islamic muppet, imo.
39 Go to commentsI’ve actually never heard of the guy (then I don’t watch League as it is boring). But if he is good enough.. then good luck to him. If not, well, he can always return to league.
2 Go to commentsIt is pretty clear that by almost any measure that NZ are a more successful rugby nation than South Africa. Quite aside from the distasteful events during the last RWC final. NZ lead SA in all significant measurements.
37 Go to commentsDickson went to his pocket for a card, saw who it was, changed his mind and spoke at length to TMO. One angle clearly shows Care diving over a Saints player to kill the ball. 1st yellow, reason given for not Red was player was falling backwards. He was only falling backwards after contact with Lawes. Graham try should have stood. Mitchell did not have both hands on the ball, ball went forward from a Saints boot dragging over it. 2 intentional knock-on's. One of which had an overlap on the outside. If Quins are happy to win by intentional foul play, then it does not say much for them. Would appear to be a bad day for Karl Dickson, also for the RFU in appointing a Ref who spent 8 years as a player at one of the clubs.
1 Go to commentsLet’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
4 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
4 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
39 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to comments