It has taken far too long but the lost souls of English rugby are back on the radar. Genuine anticipation will now greet next month's 32-man Elite Player Squad announcement and knockout-stage supporter packages for the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand might even be worth the investment. If England's management absorb the lessons of a remarkable night in Sydney, a brave new world could yet open up for them.
No one, least of all Martin Johnson, is claiming England are all-conquering legends again after this victory at the scene of their greatest triumph, the 2003 World Cup final. As with the Six Nations, the Cook Cup trophy was gone by the time Johnson's team began to stir. But therein, surely, lies the key. When England abandon their blinkered obsession with pragmatism and play the game without fear, they are capable of troubling anyone.
If this boldness can be extended to selection, so much the better. Ben Youngs is only 20 but he has been the best scrum-half in the country for much of the season. Johnson should have blooded him sooner, not to mention Courtney Lawes, who marked his first Test start with a forceful effort in the second row. The management have wasted a year because of their conservatism and, hopefully, will be big enough to acknowledge it. If Johnson can find room in the elite squad for Alex Goode and Andy Saull, the outstanding young Saracens who helped England Saxons to win the Churchill Cup in New Jersey, it will be proof that a corner has been turned.
Should the coaches start to waver they need only watch again the tape of England's first Test win in the southern hemisphere for seven years. The tourists' positive attitude made the difference, their willingness to play in wider channels complemented by greater intensity around the fringes. Tom Croft, at last, was invited to play as he has done for Leicester and the Lions, and Youngs's slick pass and calm authority, and his jack-rabbit try, made an equal impression. Australia, perhaps lulled into slight complacency by their win in the first Test in Perth, were made to look ordinary, the dangerous Quade Cooper reduced to bit-part status.
The 1-1 series result will, naturally, galvanise the Wallabies. By the time England next bump into them, at Twickenham this autumn, their first-choice front-rowers will be back and Will Genia, sluggish here, will be fizzing again. There is little prospect of Matt Giteau missing another 20‑metre kick from bang in front of the posts. Giteau missed four shots in total, spoiling a performance in which he scored two fine tries and all his side's 20 points.
Ireland, the Wallabies' opponents this weekend, may cop the backlash and the Tri Nations will be fascinating. But as England dispersed yesterday – 28 players flew across the Tasman for the game against the New Zealand Maori in Napier on Wednesday, the rest limped away to their sun-loungers – it was impossible to ignore their renewed optimism.
"There was just a completely different feel," said the wing Chris Ashton, dedicating his sharp first-half try to his father, who passed away last month. "We just said we were going to run it if we could. You do get sick of hearing the same old things when you're losing but we knew it would click at some point."
The World Cup-winning hooker Steve Thompson, who is about to embark on an Easy Rider-style motorbike odyssey across the US, believes that a lasting revival has been started. "It's massive for us," he said. "We've had so many near misses and you can only go on for so long saying: 'We should have won that.' Certain people had totally written us off but we went out and showed we're not totally one-paced. When your back's against the wall you either come out fighting or you bend over. We came out fighting."
Quiet satisfaction was also written across Jonny Wilkinson's face, his 45‑metre penalty after 53 minutes having secured England their slender lead. Suddenly the 2003 final no longer seemed a lifetime ago, even to Ashton – "I think I flicked it over, I was still watching league then" – and his fellow young guns. While Wilkinson will never be Australia's favourite Pom, the boos when he appeared as a replacement betrayed a grudging respect. The fly-half is still hazy about the geography of the ANZ Stadium – "You take away memories of the game, not so much the metal and concrete" – but his place in Anglo-Australian sporting history is guaranteed.
So is Johnson's. There was no Webb Ellis Cup to lift but his satisfaction was clear. "There's a lot of stuff spoken about flair and imagination and all those romantic things you guys like to talk about but it's about pressure," he said.
Yes and no. If England stay positive, mix youth with experience and dare to continue expressing themselves, there could be more thunderous days down under in the not-too-distant future.
Australia: O'Connor (Force); Ioane (Reds; Ashley-Cooper, Brumbies, 63), Horne (Waratahs), Giteau (Brumbies), Mitchell (Waratahs); Cooper, Genia; Daley (all Reds), Faingaa (Reds; Edmonds, Brumbies, 72), Ma'afu (Brumbies; Slipper, Reds, 72), Mumm (Waratahs; Chisholm, Brumbies, 54), Sharpe (Force), Elsom (Brumbies, capt), Pocock, Brown (both Force).
Tries Giteau 2 Cons Giteau 2 Pens Giteau 2.
England: Foden (Northampton); Cueto (Sale), Tindall (Gloucester; D Armitage, London Irish, 68), Hape (Bath), Ashton (Northampton); Flood (Leicester; Wilkinson, Toulon, 51), Youngs (Leicester; Care, Harlequins, 66); Payne (Wasps), Thompson (Brive; Chuter, Leicester, 71), Cole (Leicester; Wilson, Bath, 71), Lawes (Northampton; Shaw, Wasps, 59), Palmer (Stade Français), Croft (Leicester), Moody (Leicester, capt), Easter (Harlequins).
Tries Youngs, Ashton Con Flood Pens Flood 2, Wilkinson.
Referee R Poite (France) Attendance 48,392.
