Foley inspired Wallabies kill off home hopes at the Rugby World Cup

A two-try, 28 point haul from the Wallaby stand off was the most conspicuous individual contribution to their win, but collectively they were ultimately the better side in every department as what had been the tournament organisers’ worst case scenario unfolded.

For the home team at the biggest competition in the sport’s history, one that has so far elevated the World Cup to a new level both in global competitiveness and the public consciousness to go into its knockout stages without the home team was almost unthinkable and yet few were thinking about anything else as this game got underway.

Where there had simply been excitement as the pre-match sound and light show took place a week earlier this time there was apprehension in the air, desperation having replaced expectation.

That grew as Foley opened the scoring with a penalty and while it was quickly cancelled out by an Owen Farrell strike the first truly telling moment saw the Aussies moved ahead again, this time more emphatically.

It was a hard earned score but thoroughly deserved, the precision of their handling and intelligence of the angles they were running initially meeting with thunderous resistance before eventually Foley saw the match up he was looking for 15 metres, stepping to Ben Youngs inside and showing the pace to outstrip the cover.

Clearly the better side they took complete control with a second and once as their stand off, just spotted a gap just outside the English 22, raced into it with support from Kurtley Beale – who had replaced early injury victim Rob Horne - exchanged a one-two with him then sailed over.

Resolute as they had sought to be in their support before and during the first half the Twickenham faithful were losing confidence and beginning to register their disquiet as a Farrell knock-on in a last attempt to keep an attack alive in first half injury time saw him knock the ball forward in the tackle to send the teams down the tunnel with Australia 17-3 ahead.

Before the game the most obvious question had been whether the brilliance of Michael Hooper and David Pocock at the breakdown or England’s set-piece power would have greater influence.

Australia’s twin opensides having caused their usual mayhem, the answer to the second of those arguably came soon after the break when a wildly squint English lineout put-in was followed by Australian captain and hooker Stephen Moore opting for a scrum when awarded a free kick 25 metres out which duly saw Australia march England back and win the penalty that let Foley take them three scores clear.

When a kickable penalty chance was turned down with 30 minutes remaining it already looked as if Chris Robshaw did not expect to have the dice in his hands too many more times and when the maul stalled, then last defender Adam Ashley-Cooper’s flailing hand prevented them from capitalising on a three man overlap soon after it looked as if the final one might have been cast.

It was to their credit, then, that with the hour mark approaching they created an overlap for Anthony Watson who still had much to do but bounced out of the initial challenge then maintained momentum as he was clung to in forcing his way over for a try which was converted by Farrell from much the same angle that England had turned down the potential match tying chance to kick at goal against Wales a week earlier.

Suddenly the Australians looked a little less sure of themselves and when a second pass in quick succession fell to no-one Richard Wigglesworth, their replacement scrum-half latched onto it, hacking downfield and forcing Adam Ashley-Cooper to concede a penalty as he refused tom let go of the ball which Farrell knocked over to bring his side within a score.

They still needed two more, however and the final decisive moment could hardly have been harder for the England management to take as play was stopped in an encouraging situation for them to go back and look at video evidence which showed that Farrell, their assistant coach’s son, had illegally shoulder-charged Matt Giteau, to be sent to the sin bin while opposite number Foley lined up the kick that would take his man-of-the match haul to 23 points.

Farrell’s challenge was severe, but Giteau was all right after treatment. None was available that could help the English cause and Foley took his tally to 26 after their pack, and their World Cup bid with it, was left in tatters by now dominant Australian scrummaging before Giteau proved he had fully recovered by providing the extra man on the right wing to finish off a flowing counter attack, Foley adding one more conversion.