Barmy Army in Australia - England 35 - 22 Samoa

On a frenetic evening in Melbourne last night, England survived a Samoan onslaught to stumble into the last eight, leaving the relieved travelling contingent to steady their nerves well into the early hours.

While the pre-match talk in the pubs and bars of the city had been of a comfortable victory for the English, the team failed to match the confidence of their fans, and the nervy predictions of the Samoan support. And while many talked up a 40-point victory for England, there was one dissenting voice, from Melanie, a girl employed by the Imperial Pub to walk about topless with the England flag painted across her chest. And while few appeared interested in her knowledge of rugby, she saw the game as being a lot tighter than many others, predicting that the score would be "3-1, or can you even get that in rugby?" Those around her were too involved in their leering to contradict her bizarre forecast, while many more were concentrating on trying to convince her to prove her boast that she could "balance 7 CD's on my nipples on a cold night". A local tram driver also joined in on the frivolity by amusing his passengers by announcing that "the next stop is the Telstra Dome. Get off here if you want to see a game of paddock wrestling".

The jovial pre-match atmosphere was soon forgotten though, as Samoa raced out of the blocks, surprising many with the speed and ferocity of their rugby. Many people's champions-elect, England were cowed by the inspired performance by the South Pacific semi-professionals, with head coach Clive Woodward admitting, "it was a major scare", adding that he thought his side "did brilliantly well to come back". The muted performance of the team translated into the stands, with many of the supporters left stunned by the ruthlessly efficient display from their opponents. Even the "Swing low" calling card of the England supporters struggled to light up the stands until late on, when the superior strength and fitness of the tournament favourites shone through.

Samoa dominated the early exchanges, managing to take nearly 90% of the possession in the first ten, leaving England firmly on the back foot. The South Pacific islanders easily claimed the hearts of the neutrals form the very off, with the "Le Manu Samoa" ritual exciting the crowd in the same way as the New Zealand "Haka" has done on countless occasions. After an early Va'a penalty, the Samoans really opened up the game, resulting in a try in the corner for the captain Sititi after an incredible 10-phase move. A rattled looking English side struggled to get into the game, playing with little shape, and even less control.

The English support was left as quiet and frustrated as the team, but voices were soon found as Neil Back rolled over in the corner to get England back into the game after 24 minutes. With Wilkinson slotting over the conversion, followed by a penalty, the chants of "you're not singing any more" were soon resonating from all areas of the ground as England drew level. However, the Samoans refused to lie down, and Earl Va'a quietly went to work, nudging his team in front with two well struck penalties.

The pressure even got to the usually unflappable kicking machine that is Jonny Wilkinson, uncharacteristically hitting the post from a position that he would usually slot over in his sleep. Just before the half time whistle, he soon found his range again, and England went into the break trailing by three points. As the English support raced to the sanctuary of the bars around the Dome, the numerous Australians in the crowd found their voice with some renditions of "Waltzing Matilda" to cheer them up, to which the English reply was quick and efficient, unlike the team. Soon, hundreds of English voices united to inform the host nation that they had all slept with the aforementioned Matilda, and so had their mate. The 50,000 strong crowd mingled well throughout the game, with insults always accompanied by huge laughs, and great humour.

As the second half got under way, there was renewed hope for the travelling English support as the forwards again took the game by the scruff of its neck, and were rewarded with a penalty try. After a conversion by Wilkinson, England finally led for the first time in the game, and the crowd started to visibly relax with the 20-16 lead. However, Va'a had other ideas and put the Samoans back into the game with another well struck penalty, to peg the English lead back to a solitary point, which was soon a two point deficit as he struck again just after the hour mark.

This pulsating game had the crowd constantly on their feet, and three minutes later it was the English fans turn to gloat as Wilkinson dropped a goal to put them back in the lead, albeit unconvincingly. The crowd responded to the staccato like performance of the team, quickly raising the volume to greet the spurts of English quality that were becoming more and more prevalent as the game reached the last quarter. And with ten minutes remaining, England finally flexed their collective muscle, and thrilled their fans with a fine try in the corner by Balshaw, following a cross kick by "Our Jonny", to take a 28-22 lead. With the minutes ticking by, England finally just had too much in the tank for the spirited Samoans and in the 73rd minute replacement Vickery went over to send the relieved English crowd into raptures, ready to contemplate the post match celebrations once more.

The 35-22 result may have flattered to deceive, but the English crowd did the nation proud afterwards, filling the streets, pubs, bars and clubs of Melbourne, to drink away their nerves, and call into question the good name of Matilda once more.