The video analysis has been done, the head to heads considered, the routes to the final examined along with a plethora of other statistics ahead of tonight’s Rugby World Cup 2003 finale at Telstra Stadium in Sydney.
However we at rugbyworldcup.com have delved a little deeper to bring you a few more statistics that make interesting reading, such as the difference in caps between the two teams and various key positions, not to mention the old age debate.
On paper England are the most experienced with their starting XV boasting 638 caps before the game, 208 more than Australia to mean both teams have an average number of caps of 42.53 and 28.66 respectively.
Interestingly when you add the Australia bench caps to the starting team the combined total is 693 compared to England’s 952, a figure swelled by the world record 112 caps Jason Leonard has amassed over the last 13 years.
New and old
The player with the least caps in the two starting line ups is Al Baxter with six, the prop coming into the Wallaby front row as a result of the neck injury suffered by Ben Darwin in last weekend’s semi final against New Zealand.
For England their lowest capped play is Trevor Woodman with 14. By comparison the most capped players of both starting line ups are the captains, George Gregan with 94 for Australia and Martin Johnson with 83 in England colours.
The statistics for the different positions also make interesting reading with Australia having the edge on England in only one category, the half back pairing with Gregan and Stephen Larkham having 158 caps to Matt Dawson and Jonny Wilkinson’s 107.
England have a significant cap advantage in the forwards with 375 compared to the 167 of Australia. Amazingly there is nothing between the backlines with each team's back division totalling 263 caps.
Front or back?
The England front row of Trevor Woodman, Steve Thompson and Phil Vickery contribute 74 of those forward caps, compared to the 53 accumulated by Bill Young, Brendan Cannon and Al Baxter.
The battle between the two back rows is set to be a key element in the final and Richard Hill, Neil Back and Lawrence Dallaglio have accumulated more than double the number of caps (191-74) of George Smith, Phil Waugh and David Lyons.
Johnson and Ben Kay have the edge in the second row with 110 caps compared to the 40 contributed by Justin Harrison and Nathan Sharpe, while Johnson in fact has only 10 fewer caps than the entire Australian front five put together.
Delving in the back division the statistics also fall in England’s favour with centre pairing Will Greenwood and Mike Tindall having won 78 caps to the 56 of Elton Flatley and Stirling Mortlock.
Likewise Ben Cohen, Jason Robinson and Josh Lewsey contribute 78 caps as England’s back three, 29 more than the Wallabies can muster between rugby league converts Lote Tuqiri, Wendell Sailor and Mat Rogers.
The age old theory
Much has been made of the ageing England pack with the ‘Dad’s Army’ tag being used regularly over the last couple of years, so how do the statistics compare when you take a closer look at the combined ages?
Well, England do have the older of the two packs with 234 years to the 208 of Australia, although there is less than four years difference in the average ages of the forwards with England at 29.25 years and Australia at 26 years.
The average age of the starting line ups are equally close with England the older at 28.33 years compared to the 26.6 of Australia with the total figures being 425 and 399 respectively.
England have 11 players aged 30 or over in their 22 man squad – the oldest being Dorian West at 36 years and 48 days old
There is a significant difference in the back row with Australia’s youthful loosies having an average age of 23.33 years – Smith (23), Waugh (24), Lyons (23) – 10 years exactly younger than the ageing trio of Hill (30), Back (34) and Dallaglio (31).
Long and short of it
However there is little difference when you consider the weights and heights of the packs with England having an 18 kg advantage in the weight division (890-872), which equates to an average of 111.25 to 109 per man.
In the height department the tallest player on the pitch will be lock Justin Harrison at 203cm, three centimetres taller than his Wallaby teammate Nathan Sharpe and England captain Johnson. The other lock on the park, Ben Kay, stands at 198cm.
By comparison the shortest players will be England full back Robinson and Wallaby scrum half Gregan, who both stand at 173cm in their socks. Four others in the starting XV’s – Back, Dawson, Wilkinson and Flatley – are only a little taller at 178cm.
Finally, a few statistics to do with point scoring at Rugby World Cup 2003. Australia have scored the most points of the two finalists (328-307), although still 33 points behind Tournament points scoring leaders New Zealand.
The Wallabies have scored seven more tries than England in their six matches en route to the final (42-35), while conceding only five tries in the process, one fewer than England, who have conceded four of their six tries in the knockout phase.