Let your game do the talking

13 April 2012

Australia will triumph in a tight battle with England at Twickenham on Saturday because they have the priceless ability to fashion a win under extreme pressure.

I know that is how England beat the Wallabies a year ago - a try in the 90th minute - but the Wallabies have the confidence to achieve this on a regular basis while English have seen three Grand Slams slip by.

England should have won at least two of those Slams but something is missing when it comes down to that vital point of a match. England are still a damn fine team and they will, I am sure, discover this ability.

Clive Woodward's men will be looking at these three Autumn internationals as a way of getting over another missed opportunity. They will be thinking: "If we beat the world champion Australians, Romania and then South Africa we are going to be back on track for the Six Nations."

If England go into the 2002 championship, which begin in February, with those wins they really will believe a Slam is possible and that would remove a monkey that has turned into a very large gorilla from their backs.

The absence of Martin Johnson has been a key factor and the problem created by his hand injury has been compounded by the fact that England's back-up leaders, Lawrence Dallaglio and Matt Dawson, are also out. I believe that having Johnson around is important for the wellbeing of the entire team.

Johnson is a rugby icon, just like John Eales, who captained Australia to World Cup success in 1999 and led the team to a Test series triumph over the Lions this summer, before retiring.

However, the Wallabies have been preparing for that situation and George Gregan is now in control of the side. It isn't like losing Johnson and then finding the next two guys in line are also out of the equation.

It didn't just suddenly happen. When Eales packed up it was a planned handing over of the reins to Gregan, who is very well equipped to handle the pressures that come with the job.

I am not sure the England victory over Australia a year ago will be as relevant to the Wallaby players as it is to those of us who were cheering for the green and gold in the stands that day. That late, late try came from a hopeful kick, against a team that was down to 13 men and it needed a very tight call from the video referee that, in all honesty, could have gone either way.

But, it's in the record books as a try. No whinging!

For me, going back to Twickenham on Saturday will bring back memories of that special day in 1991 when I was part of the team that won the World Cup Final against England.

The images of that wonderful November day are very strong at the moment because I have just returned from a trip to Sydney, where a dinner was held to mark the 10th anniversary of the triumph - the first World Cup success for Australia.

Most of the guys from the team were there, although David Campese, who lives in Sydney, didn't make it for some reason and it was his loss.

I don't understand it, but then I don't understand why Austin Healey has been making all this noise through his newspaper column and book about Australia and Justin Harrison, the young lock forward who made his debut in the final Test against the Lions.

Harrison has handled himself very well while Austin keeps going on about it. At the end of the day Harrison took the crucial line-out against the Lions and that speaks louder that any rubbish that appears under Healey's name.

The sad thing is that Healey is a great player and if he just let his rugby do the talking then he may be better off.

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Let your game do the talking

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