You could have been forgiven for thinking the second Rugby World Cup semi final had taken place at Twickenham, not 12,000 miles away at Telstra Stadium in Sydney, such was the mass of white shirts and vocal support for eventual winners England.
England’s Barmy Army have descended on Australia in their tens of thousands, a figure swelled significantly with those arriving for the serious business of the semi finals and final, and sung themselves nearly hoarse match after match.
This was certainly the case at Telstra Stadium with the rendition of the England national anthem and regular bursts of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot throughout the 24-7 defeat of fellow European heavyweights France last Sunday.
However this has not just been restricted to the England games with fans memorably breaking out into their unofficial anthem time and time again in the first semi final as Australia overcame their neighbours New Zealand.
The England players certainly appreciate the level of support, which was highlighted again yesterday with between 50 and 100 fans standing opposite the team’s Manly Pacific Hotel base hoping for a glimpse of their heroes.
For England full back Josh Lewsey the impact they were having on their army of supporters hit home when he recently met a terminally ill young man whose one wish was to see England at the Rugby World Cup.
Touching people
“Just being introduced to him out in the road, it just puts everything into perspective and ironically it does say we have got the ability to touch so many people,” revealed Lewsey, who scored five tries in England’s 111-13 defeat of Uruguay in Pool C.
“I think it [the level of support] was fantastic and hopefully just an indication of what is going on back at home, that last Sunday Stadium Australia [Telstra Stadium] was turned into the Royal Albert Hall for one evening.
“It was very nice and it is quite a nice change. Australia are obviously massively used to be phenomenally successful at many sports but, whether you are a rugby player or not, it is nice on a sporting arena for England to [have something] shout about.
“Hopefully we’ll still be shouting after the game at weekend … fingers crossed we can win at the weekend and make a lot of people happy.”
Hooker Steve Thompson, one of two England players – the other being star fly half Jonny Wilkinson – nominated for the IRB Player of the Year award, has also been touched by the level of support the team are receiving.
Sea of red and white
“Everywhere you go there is a sea of red and white. It’s the best sight ever,” Thompson enthused. “I looked up in the stadium before the anthem on Sunday and all I could see was white.
“The Barmy Army was awesome and the support just gets better and better. All the encouragement is brilliant.”
The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) are clearly bothered by the prospect of a sea of white at Telstra Stadium on Saturday night with tomorrow unofficially labelled “Gold Friday” and the Sydney Opera House to be bathed in gold light from tonight onwards.
In another attempt at mustering support the ARU have, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, persuaded radio stations across the nation to play Waltzing Matilda in unison three hours before the 20:00 local time kick off on Saturday.
Wallaby coach Eddie Jones is certainly hoping to see and hear the Australian contingent in the Telstra Stadium crowd.
An Australian challenge
“It will be a good challenge for the Australian crowd,” Jones said in the Australian press conference yesterday. “There will be plenty of England supporters, plenty of white and red jumpers.
“It’s a good challenge for the Australian crowd to get out there in gold and sing their songs. It was definitely a factor on Saturday night [for the semi final] and a very positive factor.
“This is one of the biggest advantages we’ve got as the home country – crowd support.”
Rob Andrew, a member of the England team beaten 12-6 by Australian in the 1991 Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham, believes fans of both finalists can look forward to “something very special” at Telstra Stadium.
“The atmosphere will be electric,” Andrew told rugbyworldcup.com “The atmosphere at the French game was phenomenal and with Australia being the host nation in the final, the atmosphere is just going to be something very special.”