Rugby World Cup: England to play Australia in quarter-finals
Written by News on 13/10/2019
England will play Australia in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals after the Wallabies were confirmed as runners-up in Pool D.
Wales’ win over Uruguay on Sunday morning pushed Michael Cheika’s side into second place, meaning they will play England – who topped Pool C – in Oita on Saturday.
Eddie Jones’ side have won their last six meetings with the Wallabies, including all three Tests during their 2016 tour of Australia.
The last time Australia beat England was in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup – their 33-13 win at Twickenham embarrassingly knocked the hosts out of their home tournament at the first stage.
Jamie George has a 100 per cent win record from his five Tests against Australia, and he told Sky Sports News: “We’ve taken a lot of confidence from the way we’ve played against Australia.
“We know how to beat them which is a big psychological advantage. At the same time we’ve got to be aware that they are a different team now.
“Take their set-piece, for example – they’ve taken massive strides in that. That’s something that’s going to be a big factor in winning the game.
“They’re an improved side, we’re an improved side – it’s going to be a massive Test on Saturday.”
England will go into their quarter-final having not played for two weeks after their final pool match against France was cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis.
Eddie Jones warned before the tournament that extreme weather could result in matches being cancelled, but George says he and his team-mates took the head coach’s warnings with a pinch of salt.
“It’s been carnage really,” said George. “When we first met up and were speaking about Japan, Eddie warned us of the potential of typhoons, but we didn’t really believe him. But here we are.
“The most impressive thing for me has been how our logistics team have managed the whole thing. They had a contingency plan in place and within a few hours we were on a plane. We’re very lucky in that respect.”
(c) Sky Sports 2019: Rugby World Cup: England to play Australia in quarter-finals
