Always fierce rivals in sport, Australia and England’s World Cup quarterfinal on Saturday should be a classic if it matches the same level of animosity that has dominated the build-up.
The two sides, who contested a memorable final in 2003 which England edged in a dramatic extra-time finale, have been drawn together earlier this time after the Wallabies topped their pool and the English finished second in theirs.
The players have stuck to the sportsman’s mantra that they respect their opponents and will have to be at their best to win.
But, for everyone else, the chance to engage in some good old sledging has taken centre stage.
Trading insults has almost become a sport in itself. The old jokes about Australia’s convict past and Britain’s lousy beaches still get a mention, but there is at least a hint of more sophistication, with internet blog sites, emails and text messages jam-packed with wisecrack exchanges about the match.
It’s almost always good fun, offence is rarely ever taken, and few can resist the temptation to get involved, whether they be politicians, former players, newspaper columnists or punters from as far away as Manchester or Melbourne.
The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) chief executive John O’Neill was one of the first to fire a shot this week when he said all Australians hated English teams, regardless of whether it was rugby, cricket, rugby league or any other pursuit.
Desired reaction
It was intended to draw a reaction and it had the desired effect, triggering an avalanche of responses and the inevitable war of words.
The media have focussed most of their attention on the Ashes cricket rivalry and the 2003 World Cup final in Sydney, when the Australian media were forced to eat their words after dubbing the English ”dad’s army”.
Revenge has been the common theme this week but players from both sides have been desperately keen not to attach any significance from the last final.
”We’re a vastly different team from 2003 and likewise are England,” the Australian captain Stirling Mortlock said.
”There’s obviously a few similarities obviously but I think individuals will use whatever they need to get themselves up for this game.”
Australia vice-captain Phil Waugh was also reluctant to place any great importance on history, doing his best to sound diplomatic.
”It’s not about revenge, it’s about 2007. I don’t think anything’s going to bring back what happened in 2003,” he said.
”Martin Johnson lifted the World Cup in 2003 and there’s nothing we can do about that now… you can go back as far as 1991 but it’s just not relevant any more.” – Reuters