I thought I was watching the NRL when England scored the opening try of the World Cup game against Australia.
Very sharp shifts of the ball behind not one, not two, but three decoy runners and then a clever long ball that took advantage of a defence that had tightened inwards and the Poms were over through winger Ryan Hall.
Then they scored again to lead 10-0, tempting me to think that maybe, just maybe, we were in for a tremendous contest in which the Aussies were going to be pushed to the limit.
Only problem was the game was just midway through the first half and the Aussies hadn’t gotten into gear yet.
There was plenty of time left for them to reel England in and then go past them – way more time than was necessary, in the end.
It was good to see the Poms be competitive, but I think that is as competitive as they can hope to get against Australia in this tournament.
If the two teams end up playing again, Australia will win by more like 20 points than the 28-20 they won by this time.
There are some terrific players in the England side, but not nearly enough.
It is the same problem they have faced for decades now, and one which they just can’t seem to solve.
The Aussies, with the greater concentration of genuine matchwinners, are inevitably going to pick them apart eventually, and that is what happened again.
Australia were rusty early on, and it showed. They were right down on England’s line just after the start, but didn’t take advantage because they didn’t choose the right options.
But that wasn’t going to keep happening, and when the Aussies did start firing it was champions Greg Inglis, Johnathan Thurston and Billy Slater who led the way.
Three tries later and Australia led 18-10 at halftime.
All of a sudden, the memory of that great start by the Poms seemed distant.
To their credit, the Poms stuck at it in the second half, but the Aussies were always able to keep them at arm’s length or longer.
A high shot by Sam Burgess on Sam Thaiday was critical, because it allowed the Aussies to extend their lead to eight points with a penalty goal midway through the second half.
Burgess keeps coming up with these costly plays, whether it’s in the NRL or at international level.
Considering how the Aussies were off their game early on and the Poms were on theirs, there must be more improvement in the Aussies from this point.
The big advantage New Zealand have over England in trying to beat Australia in an event like this is the fact all their players are playing in the NRL.
Only a minority of the English players are doing the same.
The best thing for the Poms at this level would be if their best 25 players were all over here playing in the NRL.
We’ve seen what the experience has done for so many English players over decades, and most recently for players like Adrian Morley, Gareth Ellis and the Burgess brothers.
But it would be unrealistic to expect something like that to happen, for two reasons.
One, it would obviously be very damaging to the English Super League. And two, how many of the top 25 Poms would actually get regular first-grade football in the NRL?
England should make the semi-finals of the World Cup. It is near impossible for them not to, the way the event is set up.
But that should be as far as they go.
Australia and New Zealand should fight out the final, with the Aussies understandable favourites but the Kiwis a chance of an upset again.
Muzz
Guest
The Australian side is to old,lets hope we don't lose the World Cup to learn that lesson. My 1 to 17 would be 1 Inglis 2 Morris 3 Hayne 4 Jennings 5 Boyd 6 Thurston 7 Cherry Evans 8 Pappalli 9 Smith 10 Tamou 11 Fafita 12 Thaiday 13 Gallen 14 Lewis 15 Bird 16 Farah 17 Cordiner
abc
Guest
Australia let england england score 3 softer tries....no mention of this in your comment?
Scotty
Guest
Really? The Kangaroos were well below thier best but once they were ahead they never looked like losing. Give them a few more games to forget the post NRL celebrations and parties and they will be running in top gear and Saturdays game would have been embarrassing. As the original article said, England have some good players and one or two on the way to possible greatness. The Kangaroos are packed with great players.
Mike
Guest
Is that Hacksaw Jim Duggan?
Renegade
Roar Guru
+1 I found that comment from Greg quite silly and ignorant. Every single one of them would excel.
Tiger
Guest
I have to agree, he's a top player but he sure has had an easy ride into the test team thanks to his friendship with Sheens.. Perfect example of this is 2009..Whatever you think of Ennis now in 2009 he replaced Farah at NSW hooker (had a great game), won Dally M hooker of the year, the Bulldogs got within one win of a place in the Grand Final (the Tigers missed the finals again)..yet Farah was selected over Ennis for his first Four Nations..that cost Ennis a test jersey..even Farah himself hinted it was fortunate Sheens was his club coach! I know rep coaches have favourite players who have performed for them before..I mean Fulton picked Roach and Sironen for Australia when they didn't make the Origin team but they had already played for Australia and were outstanding..that's the difference! Anyway what it tells me is club coaches shouldn't be current first grade coaches (as Sheens was in 2009).. In the end I hope the Aussies do win AND I hope Sheens picks the best, strongest side (Cherry-Evans anyone?) for the matches against the premier sides..because gee those kiwis look good!
Mike from tari
Guest
I was impressed with Lewis when he came on, added plenty of thrust, Fifita was also good but why was he not given more time. As for the Poms why was Sinfield playing 1/2 back, he's a really good lock, crazy choice, they stuffed up team selections again,
Daniel Szabo
Roar Guru
Stupid mistakes are what cost England in the end. The thing about stupid mistakes is that, as stupid as they are, they're the easiest mistakes to fix. I'm not convinced that Rangi Chase is a better option at five-eighth than Gareth Widdop. James Graham will also be a very welcome addition to the England team. Swap him for Tom Burgess I reckon. One thing is for sure: this is a very very good England team. Tomkins is brilliant. Ryan Hall is a great winger and would kill it in the NRL. Sam Burgess would make the Kangaroos and George Burgess wouldn't be far off (I'd have him ahead of Fifita). Sinfield is pure class but needs to fix his goal-kicking. But most importantly, if England fix their discipline then Australia will need to be at their absolute best to beat them.
Silver_Sovereign
Guest
Farah is former Tigers' coach Sheens' best mate. While Tim is coach Robbie will always have a spot in the national team regardless
sham
Guest
The try by Slater at half time just occurred because oe of the England backs fell for a dummy. Sure Burgess got plamed off a well but that was a soft try - just poor defence. I actually thought that the English backs defenced well for almost all the game. England lost it in the forwards. They were only getting to the 40 metre line for their kicks - the Australians were getting a better roll on. Fifita was killing them so they had hands on the ball all the time. If England got a fewmore penalties and field position they could have won. They kept inviting Australia to attack them in their own half through penalties and dropped ball - they need to move up faster in defence and put more pressure on te Australian kickers. If they do that they have a chance. While the Australans have the best players in the world their attack is actually predictable. It is just that Australia is so good that it does not matter. Never fall for a dummy from either Thurston or Slater has to be a golden rule as is wating for Slater to get an inside ball - when he does smash him with everything you have.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Silly Pom penalties,at crucial times led to their downfall.They can play better and so can the Roos How many angry pills was Burgess on? The Poms performed better than I expected. The rucks and PTBs need cleaning up.Too much freedom given to defenders.
Col Quinn
Guest
Maybe but I thought Codjoe took the points in the centre dual. Probably the first time Inglis has face a centre as big, if not more, than himself
Sideline Comm.
Guest
Yeah I'm not really sure what he was doing. He was playing half-back there for a while, but Thurston and Cronk where still on the field too. I don't think Farah did badly and I like the bloke a lot, but I do think that Cherry-Evens is probably the best bet for utility.
Sideline Comm.
Guest
I think Tomkins was really good, but even if Slater was not the best fullback around others would taker the crown before. Inglis for example.
Kris Swales
Expert
Bit harsh on Farah, he really livened things up when he got out there, but it was strange seeing Cam milling about waiting for a turn at dummy half.
Tiger
Guest
Aussies need a 'REAL' utility..Smith needs to stay on the field at dummy half for the full 80 minutes..he is to good at controlling the pace of the game!! Sheens needs to select with his head..not with his heart (or is it love?)!!!
junior_hupigo
Guest
Dan agree with your comments...its the talent when teams like the England is closing in on the game. But take the Kiwis and the haka.
Dan
Guest
They definitely could beat us if they got their act together more, but Australia always tends to outlast England in internationals, and we tend to need to play a bit poorly for them to have a chance. At the end of the day there's just so much talent in the Kangaroos, and invariably the class tends to come to the fore when England look like getting on top..
Kris Swales
Expert
Poms had the cattle to beat us, but seem to have forgotten how to. Aussies were there for the taking the other night.
Worlds Biggest
Guest
Good solid start for the Roos.