The two adversaries in the 2003 Rugby World Cup final are no strangers to meeting in rugby’s showpiece.
England and Australia have played each other in three of the past four RWCs with the Wallabies winning two of the encounters, most notably the final in 1991.
Knocked out
In the 1995 Tournament in South Africa England knocked Australia out with a 25-22 victory in the quarter final at Newlands Stadium, before going on to lose to the All Blacks in the semi final made famous by Jonah Lomu’s four tries.
The two captains on Saturday, England’s Martin Johnson and Wallaby George Grregan both played in that game.
The world’s most durable prop Jason Leonard, fullback Mike Catt and Wallaby winger Joe Roff are also survivors.
A fresh faced Leonard was also there to take the field against Australia in the RWC final at Rugby Union headquarters in Twickenham in 1991.
He was on the losing team that day as Nick Farr Jones’ men ground out a 12-6 win to take the Webb Ellis Cup for the first time.
Wallaby legends David Campese and Simon Poidevin each scored tries in their team’s 19-6 win over England in their opening match of the inaugural RWC at Brisbane’s Concorde Oval in 1987.
Another legend, fly half Michael Lynagh, added the extras with a conversion and three penalties.
Beyond RWCs
The rivalry stretches way beyond RWC’s however. The teams first met in 1908 and have played one another a total of 28 times. Australia have the wood with 16 wins to England’s 11. One match has been drawn.
This number of matches played would have been a lot higher had England’s tours not been subsumed by tours of Australia by the British and Irish Lions over the years.
A number of players taking part on Saturday night were involved in the biggest loss inflicted on an England team when Australia overwhelmed them 76-0 on 6 June 1998 at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.
Prop Phil Vickery and superstar fly half Jonny Wilkinson will be out to exhume the ghosts of that defeat on world rugby’s biggest stage this Saturday.
Wallabies from that day still playing include Gregan, Matt Cockbain, Stephen Larkham, Joe Roff, Matt Burke, Chris Whitaker, Nathan Grey, Jason Little and Jeremy Paul.
But history goes out the window when the players stride out to on the lush turf of Sydney’s Telstra Stadium at 8pm this Saturday.
The match is being hailed by England’s coach Clive Woodward as the “dream final”. The former centre for the Manly club in Sydney for five years had backed Australia to reach the final before the start of the Tournament.