Lewis Moody and Toby Flood have helped England’s rugby team to their first win in the southern hemisphere since 2003 as they beat Australia 21-20 in Sydney.
Fly-half Flood was picked ahead of Jonny Wilkinson for the game and he repaid coach Martin Johnson’s faith, kicking eight points. First-half tries from Ben Youngs and Chris Ashton, as well as a late Wilkinson penalty, helped seal the win.
And captain Moody was clearly delighted with the victory. “Amazing. A fantastic effort. We've got some great talent, and it's nice to get them some ball to play with.”
England came into the game on the back of heavy criticism following defeat to the Wallabies last week but responded superbly to secure the first significant win of Johnson’s reign. It was also the first time the English have beaten southern hemisphere opposition anywhere since the 2007 World Cup.
The visitors didn’t have it all their own way in Sydney, as Matt Giteau kicked Australia into an early 6-3 lead. England’s response was swift though and a brilliant solo effort from Youngs put them in front.
Flood then stretched the lead with another penalty but the home side were back in front within four minutes as Digby Iaone and Quade Cooper combined to send Giteau over.
England were back in front by half-time though as more good work from Youngs, and a smart offload from Tom Croft sent Ashton over in the corner to give England a 15-13 lead.
Despite a hint of a knock-on in the build up, Giteau grabbed his second try of the game in the second half as Australia took a 20-15 lead. However, Flood quickly reduced the deficit with a penalty before Wilkinson snatched a famous win.
Read more at RFU.com.
Comments
Add a comment