"The Red Roses are well ahead on the first count, they're on a 30-match winning streak now, and have suffered just the one, solitary, defeat in the last six years. But it's less clear what their other tally is. Their one-point victory over France in the final match of this year's Six Nations was the only time they've had to confront the possibility of losing in the last few months, and even in that match they led from start to finish."
"Australia started fast, and hard. They had two advantages. One was that they needed to play well to make sure of their place in the quarter-finals, if they lost by 76 or more they would be out of the tournament, and the other that they were coming into this match off the back of a fiercely competitive Test against the USA, who were now level with them on points in Pool A."
"For the first time in over eight hours of Test match rugby since they went 3-0 down in the opening minutes against Wales in Cardiff last March, England found themselves in the unfamiliar position of being behind on the scoreboard. It's easy to look good when you're well out in front, but it's much more interesting to see how a team handle life when they're losing."
England's Red Roses sit on a 30-match winning streak with only one defeat in six years. Their one-point victory over France in the Six Nations was the only recent occasion they confronted the possibility of losing. Australia started the match fast and hard, needing to avoid a heavy defeat to secure a quarter-final place and buoyed by a fiercely competitive Test against the USA. England had faced two relatively easy opponents and had already qualified for the knockouts. Five minutes in Australia scored from a rolling maul, leaving England behind for the first time in over eight hours of Test rugby, and the match teetered for 40 tense minutes with much action in England's half.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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