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The Wallabies have defeated Rugby World Cup hosts England 33-13 at Twickenham to book their spot in the quarter finals of the tournament.
Flyhalf Bernard Foley and number 8 David Pocock, among others, were the stars for Australia as they put in a scintillating first 40 minutes to get over the hosts at their cauldron for the first time since 2012.
Foley scored 28 points, kicking six from six and scoring two tries in a standout performance.
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The win gives the Wallabies three wins from three and puts them on 13 points on the ladder, which is unassailable for England, whose tournament is now over.
Scrummaging was also a feature, with Australia banishing the ghosts of games past at Twickenham, earning penalty after penalty against the English scrum.
The first half was one of exceptional quality, with both teams putting plenty of phases together. Although it was Australia who were asked to do most of the tackling early, England were unable to force Australia into ill-discipline.
Only one penalty was given up within kicking range in the first half, from an England scrum penalty.
Perhaps surprisingly, much of the England attack was focussed on playing through the backs, with plenty of metres being made in open play through the outside centre channel.
The English seemed to make metres at will whenever they kept the ball in hand, particularly straight off set piece.
David Pocock palms off Tom Wood against England for the Wallabies at the Rugby World Cup (Photo: AFP)
But Australia absorbed the pressure – refusing to give away penalties, and continuing to make around the bootlace tackles when it mattered.
Bernard Foley was the beneficiary of the Wallabies’ strong play in response, crossing the stripe twice to have all of Australia’s points in the opening 40.
His first five-pointer was a numbers play to the right, and a right-foot step was enough to see him beat the England line and carry fullback Mike Brown over the line.
His second try was a perfectly worked inside ball to Kurtley Beale on a switch play,
David Pocock resumed in the second half as he did the first – a turnover after Mike Brown made a half break to defuse what looked like a dangerous situation for England.
Playing at number 8, it again proved to be a fantastic combination in tandem with Michael Hooper, who injected plenty of energy into attack and defence for the Wallabies.
The scrum, too, was a feature for the Wallabies, earning them three penalties in the space of 30 minutes just before and just after half time, with Joe Marler warned and subsequently replaced for illegal scrummaging.
Replacements for England seemed to be the turning point in the game, as the momentum shifted towards the home side.
A try to Anthony Watson was the result of some very patient build-up work, and was good reward for a strong period of play.
They continued to press the issue on the Wallabies, who started to make mistakes under pressure. Some poor passes from Nick Phipps, a poor lineout and some errors in contact were out of character from the Wallabies, who had been so measured and patient in the first 50 minutes.
Concerningly, Israel Folau left the field for Australia with an ankle injury, who had also lost Rob Horne in the first half.
But the Wallabies worked themselves into field position, earned a penalty through a tackle off the ball against Matt Giteau. A puzzling yellow card was also issued, but it allowed the Wallabies to kick ten points ahead with nine minutes to play.
An 80th minute try to Giteau after a series of turnovers put the icing on the cake.
The Wallabies are through. England are out.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.