England O Australia 2...Go you good things!

[sphill]

England 19 Australia 21
What a victory. What heroism. What backs-to-the-wall guts, determination and drive. This was Australian rugby at its best.

International rugby doesn't get much better, either. This Test was right up there as a memorable sporting occasion, providing a special match which involved stoic fightbacks, individual courage and moments of collective brilliance.

The 2004 Wallabies deserve to be eulogised for ending their season in such a marvellous way, showing again that Australian teams invariably perform at their peak when chaos is all around.

In the week before the World Cup final rematch, Australia lost three important back-line stars - Stephen Larkham, Stirling Mortlock and Clyde Rathbone - and on the bench were down to their last three attacking players.

The drama continued during the game when Elton Flatley damaged his knee after just 24 minutes, forcing a major back-line reshuffle, with Matt Giteau moved to five-eighth - a position he had not played for a year.

But the Wallabies proved above the drama, keeping their composure at crucial moments. It all revolved around their endeavour. They wanted so much to win at Twickenham for the first time in six years that every player stretched himself to the limit.

The back row was outstanding. The lineout and scrum were up to the task. The back line, when it received the ball, was often on song. Chris Latham, Morgan Turinui, Giteau, Jeremy Paul, Justin Harrison, Dan Vickerman, Phil Waugh, David Lyons and George Smith all had big games.

The passion was exhibited most glaringly by Flatley in the minutes before he was forced off. His right knee collapsed on him during a tackle, and despite being in enormous pain, it did not stop him from frantically hobbling for 20 metres to make certain he could provide resistance in the Wallabies defence.

Most players wouldn't have bothered. Flatley, like everyone else for Australia, wanted victory so much he was prepared to do anything to achieve it.

That's why every Wallaby can boast at least one brilliant tackle. That's why, when they couldn't get the ball in the second half, Australia still won, refusing to wilt and rebounding when everything was lost - especially when England scored 19 points in 16 minutes to regain the lead.

Australia were at their best in the first half. There were early jitters, but it came together in the 15th minute when Giteau was the mastermind behind one of the best tries of the year.

In a marvellous midfield run, he drifted across field, in the face of the England defence, and dummied before straightening to go around back-rower Joe Worsley. Giteau then shifted gears and fled towards the line, with hooker Paul close by to finish a great move.

Then it was Latham's turn to show he is now a fullback of the highest quality. He also drifted across field, bewildering the England defence, before charging between winger Josh Lewsey and centre Mike Tindall to give the Wallabies an encouraging 12-0 lead. The lead drifted out to 15-0 with a 41st-minute penalty.

Then came the England fightback. As expected, they gained the ascendancy up front. They decided the best way to plunder Australia was to use driving mauls in the opposition quarter. It worked twice - first in the 48th minute when breakaway Lewis Moody scored after the England maul sacrificed its way up the field, then 13 minutes later when Lewsey peeled off the maul, did a nice pirouette and scampered down the blindside to close the gap to 15-12.

Soon after, England showed they did not have to rely entirely on their forward might. They took the lead in the 64th minute through a perfectly-executed back-line sweep, which involved cut-out passes and an overlap finished off by winger Mark Cueto.

Every Australian supporter in the ground was starting to believe it was all over. The only ones who didn't were the players. As Latham later explained, "There was never panic, because we knew we'd done the work. We knew we had to take it to them.

"We knew England's biggest strength was their up-front bully tactics, and we had to take that out of them. So we did. We learnt the lesson against France, and South Africa in Durban, and we've dug ourselves out of it."

Even though they could not regularly get their hands on the ball, Australia gradually gained good field position, and two penalty goals gave the Wallabies the lead again in the 72nd minute. Suddenly England were under pressure, and they could not handle it. They started to fumble, enabling the Wallabies to secure a victory that will be remembered for many years.

It was no wonder that, when the Wallabies took to the dais to receive the Cook Cup, Wendell Sailor showed off some cheeky dance steps and Lote Tuqiri sprayed champagne in every direction. The joy was overpowering. This was a big moment for the Wallabies.

AUSTRALIA 21 (J Paul, C Latham tries; M Giteau 3 pen goals; E Flatley goal) bt ENGLAND 19 (L Moody, J Lewsey, M Cueto tries; M Tindall 2 goals). Crowd: 74,916.