Australia hold off England storm
By Steve Jancetic, 1 Nov 2009 Steve Jancetic is a Roar Pro
- Tagged:
- Australia, England, Four Nations, Rugby League
Australia’s Four Nations campaign is back on track but only after holding off a fast-finishing England 26-16 at DW Stadium in Wigan on Saturday.
Having cruised to a comfortable 26-0 lead at the break, Australia held on for dear life as they finished with 12 men after Johnathan Thurston was sent to the sin bin for holding down the tackled player with seven minutes left on the clock and the visitors leading 26-12.
Winger Lee Smith reduced that margin to just ten when he scampered down the right edge where Thurston had been stationed in defence, but time ran out on the home side, who would have been left devastated by the first half capitulation.
It took only four minutes for Australia to get on the board with Lockyer starting and finishing the movement which took him level with Ken Irvine (33) for most Test tries for the Kangaroos.
A pair of penalties to the home side earned Johnathan Thurston a talking to from referee Steve Ganson for a double bout of backchat, but the leg-up proved to be no help as lock Kevin Sinfield could only find Anthony Watmough in support as he lurched towards the tryline.
Then came the eight-minute blitzkrieg in which the visitors blew the game wide open, England’s right-side defence cut to shreds with Billy Slater collecting a double before Greg Inglis pounced on an England dropped ball to run 80 metres for a 22-0 scoreline after as many minutes.
The Kangaroos had successfully taken the emotion out of the game as 23,122 fans that had packed into DW Stadium began to fear a repeat of the 52-4 drubbing when the sides last met in last year’s World Cup.
With Cameron Smith making way for Robbie Farah, the Kangaroos seemed to lose their way, but they were soon keeping the scoreboard attendant busy again.
A Danny McGuire intercept attempt on his own line went horribly wrong as the the Australian’s pounced on the lose ball to hand Brett Morris his second try in as many Tests and the visitors an unassailable 26-0 halftime lead.
Booed by their home fans as they left the field at the break, England soon had them cheering with South-Sydney bound Sam Burgess slamming the ball down thanks to a nice inside ball from James Roby.
The rendition of Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer as the video referee deliberated on Burgess’ try summed up the home side’s chances, but it appeared those prayers were being answered when Burgess claimed a second in the 53rd minute.
The man in the box correctly ruled the ball had been knocked dead by Justin Hodges, but England were proving there would be no surrender with the packed stands suddenly finding voice as well.
They got even louder when Gareth Ellis reduced the margin to 14 but, with just 11 minutes left on the clock, it looked like England were leaving their run a little late.
© AAP 2012Enjoy sports? Enjoy a bargain? All Sports Online has your favourite sporting brands at up to 70% off. Online only, premium quality sporting goods and merchandise at discounted prices. Get a deal now.
Do you have what it takes to become a sports writer? Write for the roar
Rugby League articles
- Rugby league’s new era: where to now? (16)
- New dawn for rugby league gets underway (11)
- Rugby league commission ushers in new era (3)
- Ennis confident about his NRL fitness
- Why sporting seasons should never cross paths (35)
- Independent Commission four years in the making, but worth the wait (26)
- Kearney still to choose Eels kicker
- Rugby league’s new era: where to now? (16)
- Federal Court has it wrong on sports broadcast copyright (48)
- An open letter to Channel Nine (107)
- The NRL’s scariest players (56)
- Is the All Stars match increasing the divide? (25)
- Channel Nine needs NRL-cricket ODI compromise (36)
- The NRL needs a vision (52)
- Explore:
- Australia, England, Four Nations, Rugby League
Mr cheese said | November 1st 2009 @ 6:55am | Report comment
Clare Balding, who presented the match on the BBC, said before it began that the Aussie RL team is even more popular and respected than the Aussie RU team. Is this true ? I assumed that the RU team would still have the upper hand because they play in bigger tournaments etc.
Dan said | November 1st 2009 @ 11:46am | Report comment
It’s certainly a contentious statement… Lately the Kangaroos have been increasing their appeal thanks to the more competitive performances of NZ and the fire generally in those matches. The Tri Nations and this year’s four nations and last year’s world cup were all surprisingly well recieved despite Rugby League’s very limited international appeal. Add to that the Wallabies very bad international record over the past several years (at least in comparison to their standards of the ’90s and early ’00s) and the general downward spiral in Union toward games being decided more and more on penalties, and you can see a clear move by a significant number of fans back toward Rugby League’s more straight forward rule system and higher levels of crash and bash try scoring action. Rugby no doubt remains the deeper game strategically, but the inability of the governing body to address the many rule ambiguities (esp at the scrum and ruck – where even the commentators are often completely confused) has made the game harder to grow in Australia’s massively competitive sporting market.
That said, I would still argue that a Wallabies V France game would get a much better crowd in Sydney than a Kangaroos V England match… though this may be the reverse in Queensland.
oikee said | November 2nd 2009 @ 1:07pm | Report comment
I dont know about popular, but respected, yes. We all know how good any Kangaroo team is, but to rise to the occassion as the kiwis did is even more respect and popularity for a team. The kangaroos are a benchmark in League, and the other teams are coming to get them.
Think about this, we dont have Lockyer throwing those long passes next world cup, and his backing up for tries. No, rugby league is doing nicely, we dont want to rush things. Our rules are straight forward and everyone knows how to play the rules.
Rugby league has got all the rules spot-on, so the game is good.
Firestarter Bob said | November 1st 2009 @ 12:34pm | Report comment
Kangaroos bigger than the Wallabies.
The bad news is this year’s highest-rating Bledisloe Cup match, on free-to-air, attracted 521,000 viewers while May’s rugby league Anzac Test drew 917,000.
The highest-rating 2008 Bledisloe Cup Test achieved 727,000 on Channel Seven, a massive 206,000 more than 2009. Both were out-ranked considerably by the ARL Kangaroos Tests.
http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/news/its-too-much-for-a-game-to-bear/2009/10/24/1256147922799.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
Working Class Rugger said | November 1st 2009 @ 1:43pm | Report comment
Ummm…. Very contentious statement. Put it this way.
Rugby Leage: England vs Australia – Wigan – not sold out.
Rugby Union : England vs Australia – Twickenam – sold out – capacity: 80,000.
In terms of rankings in League it was 2nd vs 3rd.
Whilst in Rugby its 3rd vs 6th. And still it sold out.
As for the actual game. The performance from the Kangaroo’s or the sheer lack of made the gave the opportunity to England to make a game of it. It the 1st half the English were average and in the 2nd the Roo’s were just bad. Poor quality international overall. I’m sticking to my guns and predicting an Aus vs NZ final in a canter.
Firestarter Bob said | November 1st 2009 @ 3:19pm | Report comment
Crowds in England is hardly a measure of the relative popularity of the Kangaroos v the Wallabies to Australians.
The Link said | November 1st 2009 @ 3:28pm | Report comment
Pretty sure they mean in Australia.
Dogs Of War said | November 1st 2009 @ 2:44pm | Report comment
Pacific Cup Final is about to be played for those interested…
Aussies+Kiwi’s
http://bigpondtv.com/leaguetv
Everybody Else
http://bigpondvideo.com/pacificcup
Starts at 16:00 AEST
Republican said | November 1st 2009 @ 7:51pm | Report comment
What a great yr for the Kiwis!
Dominant over Oz in Union as usaul and now League. They are going to humiliate the lack lustre Kangaroos.
They also beat us at Basketball and Hockey to name a couple. The cricket season is nigh so watch this space.
4.5 mill v 21 mill, great sporting nation NZ, well done.
In the next decade it will be Soccer and AFL that they dominate if we benevolent Ozzies continue to foster their sporting fervour.
I believe it is time to encourage them to join the Federation to save us further humiliation.
Working Class Rugger said | November 1st 2009 @ 8:42pm | Report comment
I can’t help it. But I’m watching the replay of the France vs New Zealand match and wow!. I mean wow!!. A terrible game. The Kiwi’s are just waltzing home. The commentors are trying there best to hype it up but seriously. Why the hell are the French even playing. Not one of them would even play Top 14 let alone in the French Rugby side. The 4 Nations has shown that when it comes to international Rugby, Rugby Union is the one you want to watch.
Dogs Of War said | November 1st 2009 @ 9:04pm | Report comment
You reckon? Australia vs New Zealand was top class, Australia vs England was decent. As in all sports you are going to have some duds, though I didn’t get a chance to watch the NZ vs France match.
Did watch the PNG vs Cook Islands match and it was very entertaining, reminded me of 80′s Rugby League, and PNG with a few more of their NRL players available next year, should make a better go of the 4 nations than France did. France really need a second team of players, or at some bonus for other ESL clubs to develop players so France can build into a classy opposition. Cricket has shown that you need only about 6-8 nations that are competitive to make it decent.
That all said, was the NZ vs France match worse than the kick for goal fest that was the Australia vs NZ union match? I made it to half time, before the wife took the control off me, and I didn’t argue.
Dan said | November 1st 2009 @ 9:05pm | Report comment
Of course Union has greater appeal, but from the Australian perspective it is the only chance we get to see a truly elite rugby side representing us. They nod off from time to time to be sure, but in rugby we have nothing remotely close to the depth of skill and creativity that exists in league. The tries the Kangaroos scored against England would have been close to impossible for the Wallabies bumbling backline to execute; the passes either missing their mark or being dropped.
Sorry for the rant, but despite League’s limited international appeal, it was refreshing to watch an Australian rugby side that could both hold the ball and also do something useful with it!
What can I say, it’s been a tough six years being a wallabies supporter.
oikee said | November 2nd 2009 @ 12:32pm | Report comment
Dan, did you see that ballwork for the roos second try. It was that fast the commentator was still calling the guys names after Turston had taken the kick for goal.
Mate, unbelievable.
oikee said | November 2nd 2009 @ 12:28pm | Report comment
WCR, really buddy, thats why you have no idea about rugby league. The French are much improved and only have a few players in the super league, all i have seen is a Freach outfit that will become a international force with-in 10 years. The ranking of number 4 is spot on, very good side.
Put it this way, if they had a decent 10-14 team comp like rugby union in France, they would be near unbeatable.
Working Class Rugger said | November 2nd 2009 @ 2:06pm | Report comment
Oikee
A very good side. That’s rubbish. The French were terrible. The Kiwi’s romped home in a canter. They were competitve in the first but at the same time the Kiwi’s weren’t roaring along either. They just waited knowing the French would fade and then they annihilated them. I watched the game. Many of the Kiwi player ‘sbarely broke a stride into the contact and still made plenty of metre’s. How the hell are the french the 4th ranked team. PNG would tear them a new one. As for not having many Super Leagfue player’s. There are only a handful of “Frenchmen” ( there are a few Kiwi’s and Aussies in the team) from outside the Catalans set up. how do I know this. Because it was mentioned on this site. They do have a National comp in France by the way. The Elite. Yet still they are rubbish. It’s like saying the Scotland vs Lebanon game last night played in a bogg somewhere in or near abouts in Glasgow was a blockbuster. Nice delusion but complete BS. Yes, I watched that game too. Well, more or less watched, payed more attention to the comment on the side of the screen than the game. That was where the action was.
As for not having an idea about League. What’s so difficult to understand. It’s not that difficult to read.
Working Class Rugger said | November 1st 2009 @ 10:02pm | Report comment
Dan
You clearly didn’t watch the 2nd half then. The only reason England got back into the game was because the Kangaroo’s never left the dressing sheds mentally after half time. They played terribly. Which made England look good. Pure and simple. Next week NZ will tear them apart. Make no bones about that.
The major issue is so far there has been 4 games with only one good one. Two are complete fails whilst the Eng v Aus game was barely a pass mark. Don’t agree. Try seeing it through someone new to League. The general pace is well below the NRL. With at times the Kiwi player barely hitting a stride into the contact. The atmosphere for the French game was terrible which indicates the entertainment value. By the way there is acre’s of space in League compared to Union to pull off those plays, there is alot more pressure on top of you in Rugby. But hey, at least your happy with being a big fish in a small puddle.
DOW
Mate, here’s thing about Rugby. Although scoring tries is the ideal way to score (it’s my preferred method) you don’t need them for a game of Rugby to br good. There are many elements to Rugby that make the game. It’s fine if you don’t appreciate the power aspects of the scrum and ruck but that’s the game. Whilst the Tokyo Bledisloe wasn’t a great game give me that over the 4 Nations any day.
oikee said | November 2nd 2009 @ 12:43pm | Report comment
WCR, like everyone else who watches rugby, if you enjoy goal kicking and typical ruck and mauls with the never ending penalties that give teams a rest for the next ruck and mauls, then yes rugby is the game, because every game is basically the same. Watch it mate, i do, i watched the game in HK, or Toyko, and it was just another warm-up game for the All-blacks, like the one last year, and year before that.
Never has a test match reached the heights of a Origin game as did the Kiwi Roos match played in London. Why do you think people remarked “game of the century”.
I dont wish to get into a verbal , buts lets be honest, the Wallabies are now on their Europe holiday’s as they do every second year when they tour Europe.
And they are 2nd rate having lost 7 in a row to All-blacks. Maybe they are not good looking enough, or are they too ugly? who knows.
Tom Alexander. said | November 1st 2009 @ 10:31pm | Report comment
After the scoreline hit 26-0, i thought, England really are that bad. But to their credit, in that second half anyway, they made a game of it by stepping up a level good enough to nullify with a 16-0 shut out, Australia’s awesome backline. I don’t know what to say about the Wallabies anymore. We need a stronger domestic competition below Super 14 to keep up with the rest of the pack (New Zealand and South Africa). After those losses, it makes you wonder where they are at mentally. Hopefully at twickenham, they will be able to rise to the occasion.
Dan said | November 1st 2009 @ 10:36pm | Report comment
I did watch the whole game and thus why I mentioned (how the nod off). When the Roos are on, they put on insane plays. They’ll beat NZ in the final because they’ll turn up to play. They’ll know how bad their second half was.
As for Rugby, you’re quite mistaken. I have a great appreciation for rucking and scrummaging, but in all honesty I think there needs to be serious rule changes in that area… Match after match I hear the commentators and coaches confused as to why a scrum or ruck penalty is given and the fact is these rulings are deciding too many matches. Of course they didn’t decide last night’s match, the ABs were simply the better side.
Nevertheless, I honestly felt that the ELV system of short arm penalties, while not perfect either, made for much better flow and took away what are often mistaken or bewildering 3 point penalties… going back to this old system of place kick after place kick – which inserts needless stoppages into the game – just makes for very dull viewing at times. To be fair, there were some moments of pure brilliance from both sides and this game didn’t have too many bad rulings, but I still think short arms make so much more sense for the majority of ruck and scrum infringements.
Working Class Rugger said | November 2nd 2009 @ 12:42am | Report comment
Dan
I don’t think Rugby’s perfect. Not by a long shot. It can be improved. The advantage rule is too flexible to individual interpretation by ref’s. The ruck often becomes a mess open to cheating and I cannot for the life of me figure out why other than poor technique scrums keep collapsing. So I don’t think it’s perfect. And I do agree with your short arm point. I would like to see them re-introduced asap. And that’s the difference I have noticed in my time on the Roar. Rugby fans are often critical toward the game if not played the way they want. They appreciate the difficulty but are quick to point out the faults. In contrast League fans for the great majority even after at least to me a poor weekend of League they just don’t look at it in any critical sense. At least not publicly. The game is not perfect, yet from some of there postings you’d could mistake it for worship. Just look at the first 3 posts of this thread. They focus on Rugby instead of being critical of the Kangaroo appalling lack of composure in the 2nd half early this morning. Something that should be a serious worry come the final. But no, let’s have a dig at Rugby.
Paley said | November 2nd 2009 @ 4:09am | Report comment
Who is having a dig at union? Mr Cheese asked about a comment made by Claire Balding on the BBC broadcast. Most people in the UK who have ever considered it would probably think union is bigger than rugby league in Australia – the media here for the most part do nothing to suggest otherwise so Claire was merely building up the game.
There have some very good rugby league games played this weekend although I was rather depressed after that first half of the England v Australia game. I haven’t seen any union this weekend so I can’t comment on it.