Bernard Foley gave England a masterclass in rugby this evening as he scored 28 on his own to seal the host nation's fate and give Australia a commanding 13-33 victory.
It was Foley who opened the scoring in the game on the eight minute mark as he slotted over a penalty from near the 22', but Owen Farrell struck back less than five minutes later to level matters.
That was to be England's only score of the half, but not so for Foley, who showed a level of class that was absent in the England ranks to give his team a commanding lead.
He went over in the 20th minute but the warning signs had been there from early on: a big tackle from Mike Brown and a knock on from Israel Folau as he went up for a high ball were the only reason Australia weren't already in the lead. Some brilliant running and a lovely fake of a handoff saw space open up for Foley, who touched down to set the tone for the rest of the half.
Lovely play from #AUS as they get in for a try. Silenced the crowd, putting pressure on #ENG http://t.co/kXCb6RaDwz pic.twitter.com/JDcAnepuVi
— Newstalk Sport (@NewstalkSport) October 3, 2015
He added to his personal tally and his side's tally in the 34th minute, and again added the conversion himself, giving Australia a lead of 3-17 as they went in at the break.
Things started just as badly in the second half for England as Foley got another penalty, bringing his total to 20 for the evening as things started to look very bleak for the home team.
Pocock was putting in a storming performance, killing England at every breakdown, and Dan Cole was getting destroyed in the scrum as Cheika's side began to look dominant in every department.
#ENG getting dominated all over the pitch at the moment and frustrations boiling over http://t.co/kXCb6RaDwz pic.twitter.com/pLdaY1wjwS
— Newstalk Sport (@NewstalkSport) October 3, 2015
At that point, England finally sprang to life as they went over the line through Anthony Watson in the 56th minute. From the look on his face as he touched down, it meant a lot to England, and the crowd finally had something to shout about.
HUGE moment as Watson goes over the line! #ENG back in this http://t.co/kXCb6Rseo7 pic.twitter.com/P5xftWQcZG
— Newstalk Sport (@NewstalkSport) October 3, 2015
They got behind their team from there, and the players on the field began to react as they drew even closer with an Owen Farrell penalty in the 64th minute.
That momentum was killed off however when a tackle off the ball from Farrell meant that he would spend the last ten minutes of the game in the sin bin, and with their opponents down to 14 men, Australia duly finished the job.
Foley once again slotted over the resulting penalty, and they added some gloss to the scoreline through Matt Giteau, who broke down the wing and headed straight for the line.
That man Foley slotted over the conversion to seal England's fate and record Australia's biggest ever winning margin at Twickenham by a score of 13-33, leaving the hosts out of the tournament and Stuart Lancaster looking like a broken man.
Earlier today, South Africa showed the physical strength and the resilience of their side as they ran out 34-16 winners over Scotland, while Japan's dream tournament continued as they recorded another win in commanding style, completely dominating their opponents Samoa by a score of 26-5.
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