I had predicted that Samoa and Tonga would knock England out of the tournament prior to the quarters, so it was with some disbelief and some strange pleasure that I sat back at the end of this morning's Rugby World Cup quarter final in which England shut out the Australian Wallabies.

Part of the problem with England, as I saw it, was that they just didn't seem to have the ability to score tries. Against Samoa and particularly Tonga, there were signs that England could, however. And I have to say that even if England hadn't upset Australia this morning, with the win over Tonga, England had already won back the respect they had lost in my eyes following the defeat to South Africa.

Of course, England didn't score a try this morning, and blew a couple of very good chances to - but they won, and that is what matters. So what did England do? They dominated the Australian scrum, bashed the Wallabies at the breakdown, attacked as best they could and defended their hearts-out. Andrew Sheridan, Simon Shaw, Lewis Moody, Mike Catt and Jonny Wilkinson all had blinders.

Andrew Sheridan, Simon Shaw, Lewis Moody, Mike Catt and Jonny Wilkinson all had blinders.


The fact that Sheridan was man of the match in a Rugby World Cup quarter final was also very significant as the IRB begins to experiment with new laws in the year to come that may see the big, bustling 'prop' an endangered species at the next World Cup.