'Where now for England?'

Readers react to the Wallaby win

England's defeat to Australia during that thrilling Test match at Twickenham on Saturday got our readers' literary juices flowing. Here are a few of your offerings...

'WHERE NOW FOR ENGLAND?'

"Congratulations Australia. As an England fan being on the losing end, it was still a good game to watch.

"I can see why everyone has been raving about Giteau as he showed some real touches of class and vision. Harrison also had a great game. England were lucky that Mortlock was injured as the stand-in (Turinui?) made England's job a lot easier. 

"Come the next World Cup Australia will have a side that will definitely challenge (losing the last Final will drive them) and with young but already excellent players like Giteau, Waugh, George Smith, Australia will just get better with experience. The only real weakness is the front row scrummaging and again yesterday (just as in the Final) Australia got away with murder.

"But what were England playing at?

"Taking off Paul after 25 minutes! Thus leaving no back-up fly-half or kicker. No international coach should make such a school-teacher blunder.

"It was a real shame for Hodgson that his kicking let him down and the papers will not doubt be fickle and turn last week's hero into this week's villain but I hope Robinson keeps faith in him as he offers so much in attack.

"The England pack still looks lightweight and whilst the Southern Hemisphere teams are incapable of capitalising on this weakness the likes of France, Ireland and Argentina will.  Borthwick is not stealing opposition ball so why persist with a player who adds so little elsewhere when we could utilise the power and strength of likes of Shaw or Kay.  The return of Vickery and Woodman (if on form) will help.

"Time is fast-running out for Thompson to sort out his line-out throwing. It is by far and away the most crucial part of his role so if he cannot do it right then he must go even if he is exceptional in the tight and loose confrontations (and I say this as a Northampton fan).

"Completely separate from the imbecilic late tackle on Giteau which cost us the game (whether we deserved to win is a separate issue), Gomarsall looked poor for the second week in a row.  Scrum-half is still England's problem position with Dawson unlikely to be around at the next World Cup. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to this. Robinson had to set an example of Dawson, but hopefully he will be back for the 6 Nations and blood Ellis to see if he can step up.

"The largest positive was that England showed the mental resolve to come back into the game which for an inexperienced team is very encouraging. I was pleasantly surprised how well the England pack competed (but this should be judged against mediocre forward opposition). The team will only improve with time.

"Well done Australia but don't make the mistake of thinking it will be this easy again for a long time to come!
- Stuart, England fan, Milton Keynes

"Below are the statistics on the success rate of the rugby world cup champions in the season following their world cup win.

"1987: New Zealand (in 1988) 5 wins from 5 matches = 100 percent success rate
1991: Australia (in 1992) 7 wins from 8 matches = 88 percent success rate
1995: South Africa (in 1996) 8 wins from 13 matches = 62 percent success rate
1999: Australia (in 2000) 8 wins from 10 matches = 80 percent success rate
2003: England (in 2004) 6 wins from 12 matches = 50 percent success rate

"England, the worlds worst world champion team."
- Steve McFarlane, Australia

" What exactly are England the World Champions of? This loss against Australia has established the fact that England are still not up to the standards of World Champion - fact.

"Everyone was surprised at Henry Paul's inclusion at 12 - I have never thought he was at the standards of international rugby, and this game proved it - he was woeful.

"Eddie Jones kept his promise (for once) and the Australians did not back down from anything - their forwards were excellent!! Back to the drawing board, Robinsons!"
- Andy Martin, Ulster

"Congrats to Australia after an epic game. Thought Giteau was awesome and Cueto's try was worth the admission fee on its own.

"My biggest disappointment was Andy Robinson taking Henry Paul off after 20 minutes leaving England with no goal kicking or fly-half cover. Thought it was seriously stupid substitution, why just substitute Paul when the entire England team played so badly in the first half? Robinson picked the team and should have more faith, his lack of it cost England the game.
- Mark Huckerby

"Firstly, let's keep Australia's win in perspective. It was the best they've played at Twickenham for a long time. They defended very well, were competitive at the breakdown and the used the ball well when the had it. Most importantly they missed few kicks at goal. Let's not get the knives out for England.

"They've played far more poorly and beaten Australia in some of these close matches at Twickenham because they've missed fewer kicks and had more composure from experience. Despite all the errors, England looked hungry and ambitious, just like last week against the Boks and still had chances to win the match.

"The third try was the best of the match and it was great to see the back three showing their pace when released into space. Although painful, this loss will do them good in the long term. England already look a good team and have plenty of potential, although a lot to work on."
- Mark Simmons, Northampton

"Having missed the match due to an unfortunately timed flight back from Dubai where I had watched last weeks match in an Aussie bar (yes the Eng/SA match was aired instead of the Scot /Aus match). Thus, I had to really on your reporter. Seems that I missed a good one! Mind you I don't like the closing comment concerning the deservedness of an England win had it happened probably because of all the mistakes. Would it have been deserved if we had not missed all those kicks at the posts? In my mind we would have since we scored 3 tries to 2, which as Eddie Jones will tell you time and time again in defeat against England is what matters the most&. Also, winning even when playing badly is what a good team does. It proves that even in defeat we are still a good side to have come back after such a dismal first 50 mins or so and to have almost done it. Yes the mistakes are unforgivable, but its the missed kicks which make the difference between winning and losing.

"Maybe with Wilko we would have made the kicks but would we have had 3 tries? Probably, because 2 at least were made by the forwards and of course he is so good in defence Australia may have got less tries.

"What the result does prove is that kicking can make the difference between winning and losing and therefore Hodgsons place is not assured yet!"
- Hu Wingrove

"Two weeks ago I would have been happy with - 1 win from 2, a net point win over the 2 games, outscoring both SA and Aus in the try count and conceding few tries.  Overall England have achieved this.  Australia deserved to win yesterday as much for the performances of Harrison, Smith, Giteau and Larkham, as non-appearances by Borthwick, Hodgson and Paul. England's pack has only one survivor from the world cup whilst Australia's had 7.  The test match experience showed in some stages of the game.
 
"This England team must now go onto what will be the hardest 6N of recent years and the games will be more intense than the 2 just played.  Trips to Dublin and Cardiff would test any team.  Robinson needs to make few changes but the places of Paul and Borthwick must be reviewed.  Paul is supposed to be the game breaker but looked out of depth, whilst Borthwick is the line out king of the ZP, but didn't get a steal out of either game.
 
"Overall a new England has be born with some positive displays, not least managing to score off first phase ball - after all when was the last time England did that?"
- Nic Howell, Northampton

"First off, congratulations to Australia, who although probably not the best team in the world, surely must be the the smartest, most professional and most efficient team on the pitch on any given Saturday. Their commitment and sheer guts in each game makes them, in my opinion, the most consistent in recent history.
 
"And now would someone care to explain what is it about England, the English media and the English fans at Twickenham that makes them think the game of Rugby Union answers to them?

"Boos from the crowd at referee calls that go against them are now the order of the day, since they somehow think they know the game of Rugby Union. (I counted 6 forward passes and 2 off-the-ball incidents that went unpunished, yet loud booing at a single possible Wallaby forward-pass).

"A media who believes the same, and goes a step further by belittling everything in the game that in some way is not in line with English ideals or direction. One of these is the Super 12 and the fast, flowing style that it delivers. "Purists" from the North berate the running game in the South, due to a lack of upfront confrontation and set piece muscle.
 
"Great too, that this Twickenham invincibility nonsense be put to an end - something which started with the awarding of a non-try to Dan Luger in the final seconds a few years ago. (I hope they took out and shot that TMO.)
 
"I cannot help, and in fact don't care, that the weather on that miserable island is crappy, and hence promotes boring rugby. I cannot help that the self-proclaimed custodians of the game, the English fans, are sore losers, booing decisions and kickers alike (must be the weather). I cannot help that the English media are blinkered and miss the "cheating" that the English undertake on the field under the guise of gamesmanship and professionalism.
 
"But I do get a wry grin and great sense of satisfaction when the "angels" in white have their wings sliced off by dark visitors from below...."
- Glenn and Maggie

"Excellent game! Good wide attacking rugby when possible (from both teams), but built on strong forward play; just as entertaining as back play.
 
"As an England supporter, obviously it could have been better; the forwards didn't quite come up to speed in the first half  (the second was a different story) and as for the backs, the last pass wasn't quite there.
 
"The Australian forwards faced up and showed that they can play a decent ruck and maul game when needed, and supplied good ball to Giteau, who definitely knows how deliver the final pass.
 
"Lets hope Andy Robinson's substitution of Henry Paul puts an end to it. The guy might be a good premiership player but under the sort of pressure Australia, NZ, France or Ireland ( to name only a few) can bring to bear; good doesn't cut it!
 
"Hodgson had a decent game at ten, distribution of the ball was good, but the kicking was dire!! However, it would be disappointing to see the media crucify a player who was lauded as the heir apparent to the Wilkinson throne, only 7 days ago!
 
"Given a fit Wilkinson, an interesting combination would be Hodgson at ten with Wilkinson outside him at inside centre. Defensively Wilkinson tackles way above his weight and the Hodgson/Wilkinson pairing gives the England attack a unpredictability which should cause most international teams serious problems and once again delivers a solid international kicker!!
 
"At the end of the day, some you win some you lose, well done Australia!!"
- Alan & Lisa Sturgess
 
"The England revival looks complete. Since world cup. Played 11, won 5 (including Canada and Italy), lost 6, World Ranking 3, Fortress What? chariots where? Grand game, Australia worthy winners."
- Jerry Kiwi in UK

"As I've said before on this site, normal service has indeed been resumed.
 
"Gutsy? Maybe. Rubbish, definitely.
 
"Where now for England? A good thrashing in the Six Nations is on the cards - certainly from France.
 
"And I hope I never see Hodgson in an England jersey again."
- Graham Mitchell, Perth, Australia