NewsBite

Australia ‘embarrass’ England to move through to quarter finals

AS AUSTRALIA racked up an historic win over England, the world’s reaction was priceless. The locals were particularly shocked.

Dan ElsomDan Elsom
@elsom_dan
4 min read
October 5, 2015 - 6:14AM
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 03: Adam Ashley-Cooper and David Pocock of Australia (R) applaud the fans as they do a lap of honour during the 2015 Rugby World Cup Pool A match between England and Australia at Twickenham Stadium on October 3, 2015 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 03: Adam Ashley-Cooper and David Pocock of Australia (R) applaud the fans as they do a lap of honour during the 2015 Rugby World Cup Pool A match between England and Australia at Twickenham Stadium on October 3, 2015 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

IN A match that will forever haunt English rugby, the Wallabies were simply too strong for the home side, knocking them out of their own World Cup with a 33-13 victory at Twickenham.

See how the world reacted to this thrilling upset.

UK MEDIA — ENGLAND ‘DOWN AND OUT’

BRITISH media have already slammed their own side’s performance against the Aussies, as the Sunday papers for both The Independent and The Daily Express run with the headline “Down and Out.”

And while it may not be the “end of the world” as described in The Mail’s backpage, the media onslaught is already in full swing.

Hugh Godwin of The Independent described the match as a “goose chase” for the Poms.

“England sank sadly and definitively out of their own World Cup an embarrassing 15 days into the tournament, with four weeks still to play.

“It was close for a period during the second half but mostly this was white jerseys chasing a wild Aussie goose,” Godwin wrote.

Chris Robshaw is in for a rough stint in the British papers.
Chris Robshaw is in for a rough stint in the British papers.

While Steve James from The Telegraph questioned the position of head coach Lancaster following the humiliation.

“It is a quite horrific embarrassment and the inquest will undoubtedly be extremely messy. Head coach Stuart Lancaster will now come under enormous pressure. That is only natural.”

Also from The Telegraph, Paul Hayward claimed Lancaster’s men simply were not ready for the Wallaby onslaught.

“Mortifying. England out, three games into their own World Cup, 16 days into the tournament. The bond between team and fans — broken, for now.

“This event will glide on without Stuart Lancaster’s men but there is no disguising the ignominy of what happened here, and against Wales. England were not ready, not clever and not good enough,” Hayward wrote.

To make matters worse for the Poms, the Belfast Telegraph alleged the defeated home side may face a fine from World Rugby for failing to meet post-match media requirements. While teams are committed to sending 10 players into the mixed media zone after a game, England sent just two — Tom Wood and Richard Wigglesworth

THE LEGENDS

SOME of the game’s biggest names, including members of England’s 2003 World Cup winning side chimed in with their opinion on England’s defeat, praising Australia for their dominant performance.

THE COACHES

ENGLAND’S Stuart Lancaster struggled to get through the post-match interview, and apologised to a nation for “letting everyone down”.

“We’re gutted. And gutted for all the fans and everyone at home. Everyone put so much effort in but we’re sorry we let everyone down.”

“The first half we went in 17-3 behind and I felt that was a tough scoreline. We got back into the game but in the last five to 10 minutes, after the yellow card, Australia dominated and deserved to win,” the England coach said.

England coach Stuart Lancaster couldn’t hide his disappointment.
England coach Stuart Lancaster couldn’t hide his disappointment.

Speaking with BBC radio, Lancaster gave accolades to the Australians, nominating Wallaby No.8 David Pocock as a standout.

“We came up short last week against Wales and this week — that’s the bottom line. But there are some good players in this squad and I hope the nation stays behind them,” he said.

“The last three years we’ve put in some pretty good performances, but on the day Australia were better. And that’s what World Cups are all about; on the day.

“I thought we played some pretty good rugby across the game, certainly in patches, but I thought David Pocock was outstanding in the breakdown and he’s a special player.”

Wallaby coach Michael Cheika had a more positive message to send out to Australian fans than his English counterpart.

“It’s not easy to come here and out-cheer the English but there were times when our fans did that, so we really appreciate it, and we hope we make them proud throughout the rest of the tournament,” he said.

“We are just another step along the way, its only getting more difficult now, we’ve got a pumped up Wales coming up next. But I’m really proud of my lads tonight.”

THE SKIPPERS - ‘I’M VERY PROUD TO BE AUSTRALIAN’

WALLABY captain Stephen Moore made an emotional speech after the game, thanking the Australian public for their overwhelming support.

“I’m just proud of the effort, we had a good week together this week. the boys played for each other,” he said.

“I’d like to thank England, they gave us a really tough game, we knew it was going to be tough to win here.

“Most of all I would like to thank all the Aussie supporters in the crowd and watching back home. I’m very proud to be Australian.”

“I’m proud to be Australian.”
“I’m proud to be Australian.”

Moore’s opposing captain Chris Robshaw said his side were gutted in the defeat, sharing his coach’s view that they had let their country down.

“We feel we let the country down today. As players we didn’t quite get there. We apologise to them. Australia played very well — but we’re gutted,” he said.

“Credit to Australia, we knew across the board that they would put us under pressure and they were good today. The yellow card for Owen Farrell was tough, we started to build a little momentum but left ourselves a little too much to do. We felt we built up some pressure but credit to their defence.”

‘THE FOLEY SHOW’

BERNARD Foley played possibly his best game in the gold jumper, running in a record 28 points for Australia. His performance so good that the Rugby World Cup twitter page dubbed the match “The Foley Show.”

In a call more ridiculous than Danny Cipriani’s claim no current Australian player would make the England side, Foley managed to miss out on the man of the match honours, just pipped by England second rower Joe Launchberry.

More related stories
Suaalii turns heads in crazy debut
Rugby

Suaalii turns heads in crazy debut

Joseph Suaalii stole the show in his Super Rugby debut with an instant impact on the Waratahs, as they clinched a last-gasp win over the Highlanders.

Read more

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/rugby/australia-embarrass-england-to-move-through-to-quarter-finals/news-story/9c392e6d84cc1d6696acb7c25d2c0419