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By Rob Hodgetts
29 mins: Almost half an hour gone and no England penalties yet. That will come as a welcome relief to Martin Johnson after the indiscipline of last year. But clearly, as soon as I write that, Matt Banahan gives one away when he is too slow retreating from a kick and finds himself offside.
25 mins: PENALTY England 9-5 Australia. Slow England ball from a ruck on Australia’s 22. They re-set and Wilkinson tries one of his high, hanging kicks for the lofty Matt Banahan into the left corner. England recycle and come right and Shane Geraghty feeds powerful prop David Wilson, who rumbles forward. From another ruck, Danny Care tries another high cross-kick to the right. Lewis Moody can’t make the touchdown but the referee brings them back for a penalty under the posts and Wilkinson takes the three points.
21 mins: TRY England 6-5 Australia Australia are gradually getting into the game and edging into the England 22. Quick hands and powerful surges take them to within yards of the line, and scrum-half Will Genia dummies prop Tim Payne at the side of a ruck and nips over the line. Matt Giteau drags his conversion right.
16 mins: England scrum-half Danny Care knocks-on at a scrum and the feed is given to Australia. Their number nine Will Genia snipes and Adam Ashley-Cooper tries to stick a little kick over the head of Matt Banahan. The move is still on and Matt Giteau changes the point of attack, but Australia’s first real attack ends in a penalty to England and Wilkinson clears his lines.11 mins: Australia are struggling to get a foothold at the moment and England win another penalty when the defensive line chases a clearance kick and forces the opposition into not releasing. Jonny Wilkinson steps up with the ball virtually on the centre spot but it hits the right post and bounces away.7 mins: PENALTY England 6-0 Australia England earn a penalty in midfield and Wilkinson bangs it deep into the Aussie 22. England move the ball smartly to the left and they earn another penalty when Ugo Monye is upended dangerously by Peter Hynes, who then grabs him without getting up. Jonny Wilkinson slots a smart penalty with his trusty left foot. 4 mins: Poor kicking from Australian Adam Ashley-Cooper gives Jordan Crane another chance to run at the opposition. From a scrum, a wayward Wilkinson pass gives Dan Hipkiss a bit of a hospital scenario but England have begun fairly brightly.3 mins: DROP-GOAL England 3-0 Australia It’s a case of ‘as you were’…with two minutes 44 secs gone, Jonny Wilkinson gets the ball standing deep and slots a drop-goal. 1 min: Early England line-out on the right. The ball moves left but it’s very slow coming from the ruck as England try to set up a platform. Eventually they probe the blind side and get another throw.1430: Land of Hope and Glory belts out as they ready for the off. Jonny Wilkinson kicks off, sporting England’s new kit with a fancy half collar thing.1428: England are greeted to a massive ovation as they bound onto the Twickenham turf. The teams line up on a giant red cross laid out on the pitch for the anthems, but first there is a minute’s silence for Remembrance Sunday.1425: Johnno’s record as England boss reads won five, lost six. He’s been massively hampered in his selection, of course, with a host of regulars out injured. Only four England players remain in the starting XV from last year’s clash between the two, with eight Aussies. But Johnson’s got JW back, along with World Cup veteran Steve Thompson and the rampaging Lewis Moody. And he’s got some promising young guns in Courtney Lawes, Matt Banahan and Shane Geraghty. Australia have lost six out of the last seven Tests, but those were all against either New Zealand or South Africa. With all the injuries can we read much into the eventual result, in terms of northern/southern hemisphere Who knows. First things first, get the win.
1420: Martin Johnson’s last thoughts from Twickers: “Australia are in an interesting place. They’ve got a very young team. It should make for a cracking Test match. We’ll need to play well, with a lot of intensity, a lot of speed and a lot of passion.” 1410: Here’s a reminder of the teams.
England: Ugo Monye; Mark Cueto, Dan Hipkiss, Shane Geraghty, Matt Banahan; Jonny Wilkinson, Danny Care; Jordan Crane, Lewis Moody, Tom Croft; Steve Borthwick (capt), Louis Deacon; David Wilson, Steve Thompson, Tim Payne. Replacements: Dylan Hartley, Duncan Bell, Courtney Lawes, James Haskell, Paul Hodgson, Andy Goode, Ayoola Erinle.
Australia: Adam Ashley-Cooper; Peter Hynes, Digby Ioane, Quade Cooper, Drew Mitchell; Matt Giteau, Will Genia; Wycliff Palu, George Smith, Rocky Elsom (capt); Mark Chisholm, James Horwill; Ben Alexander, Stephen Moore, Benn Robinson. Replacements: Tatafu Polota Nau, Matt Dunning, Dean Mumm, David Pocock, Luke Burgess, Ryan Cross, James O’Connor.
Referee: Bryce Lawrence (NZL).
1405: Let’s focus on England v Australia then. Fortress Twickenham is long gone and the Aussies won 28-14 here last year and triumphed in four of their last six meetings. England’s last win, of course, was the 12-10 victory in Marseille in the 2007 World Cup. But here’s a little stat for you - Jonny Wilkinson has played against Australia eight times, but he has been on the winning side in his last six meetings with the old foe. And another thing, England’s win percentage when Wilko is in the side is 78% and 47% when he’s not. Australia stand-off Matt Giteau is 63% and 80%. 1400: Our manTom Fordyceis down at Twickenham for us today. Here’s what he’sTwitteringon about: "England and Aussie players warming up on Twickenham pitch. Stands around them empty, bars behind rammed like they’re handing out free money."1355: I’ve nailed my colours to the mast (silly saying, that) on 606 and plumped for a narrow England defeat and a bigger Welsh one. Here’s whatOldGumbyhad to say: “The Wallabies and All Blacks have lost status in the South so will have the hunger to make amends. Can’t see Wales winning but England do have a chance. I like the look of this Wallaby backline though and if the pack rediscovers its mojo then England could be in for a torrid time.” 1350: Now then, let me make you aware of the highlights of England’s glorious victor sorry, England v Australia, on BBC Three at 1915 GMT tonight (Saturday), followed again at 1400 GMT on Sunday. Wales v New Zealand is live on BBC Two at 1715 GMT, with highlights on the website on Sunday. I’ll remind you again later in case the excitement has got too much. Remember, you can get in touch and add to the colour on606or text on 8111.1345: An enormous afternoon all to all you rugby union fans out there. What a day we’ve got in store - England v Australia followed by Wales v New Zealand. Life doesn’t get much better than this…in rugby terms anyway, other than a couple of favourable results, of course. On a clear, crisp autumnal day, this little cocktail of rugby-based excitement is rocking my oval-ball world. Anyone else Smashing. (I think we should all resurrect that word). Let’s rock.This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.