Classic Clashes: England vs. Australia

England and Australia have had a fierce rivalry over the years and with neither side currently playing particularly well, this weekend could turn into a real dogfight. Here three classic matches between the two nations at Twickenham.

England 22-19 Australia – 2000

In 2000, England welcomed the then reigning world champions Australia, from the 1999 World Cup to jam-packed Twickenham and managed to pip them right at the end.

The game, which saw the Wallabies receive three yellow cards, proved to be a kicking duel between Jonny Wilkinson and Matt Burke for the most part.

Australia went into the break with a 19-12 lead, but Wilkinson cut the gap to 19-15 early into the second half and minutes before the final whistle England saw Dan Luger score a last-gasp try in dramatic fashion.

England 32-31 Australia – 2002

Two years later, England completed their first ever hat-trick of victories over Australia and it came straight after beating New Zealand a week before.

The match in 2002 was a tightly contested test which saw the English have to come from behind and beat the Wallabies by one point.

Two tries from Ben Cohen and the boot of Jonny Wilkinson ensured England won the game after trailing Australia 16-13 at half-time.

England 13-33 Australia – 2015

This fixture was not a part of any November series, but it will go down as a classic match at Twickenham.

 The Australian’s dumped the English out of the 2015 Rugby World Cup after a sensational display.

The atmosphere at Twickenham was electric that day but it was Australian fly-half Bernard Foley stole the show with his remarkable 28-point performance in the crucial Pool A clash.