Australia 20 // England 21
There is a corner of an Australian field that is, it seems, forever English. Seven years after his finest hour, England's Jonny Wilkinson showed why he still owns a rugby pitch in Homebush. The fly-half, whose final touch of the ball in the 2003 World Cup final won the Webb Ellis Trophy for England, was the match-winner at the ANZ Stadium again yesterday. Wilkinson has endured 13 injuries since that night, and is no longer the starting No 10 for his country. However, after emerging as a second-half replacement for Toby Flood, it was Wilkinson's kick that eventually proved decisive as England halved their two-Test series with the Wallabies.
Given their turgid display in defeat in Perth seven days earlier, England's performance marked quite a turnaround. The most obvious difference was in the ferocious physical play of their defence, led by Lewis Moody, their captain. In particular, the visiting team singled out Quade Cooper, the young fly-half who had run amok the previous week, for some rough treatment. After 20 minutes, Moody torpedoed himself at Cooper. The message may have been delivered, but it was the England captain who came off worse, as he knocked himself senseless.
Moody earned himself his nickname "Mad Dog" because of a reputation for having little regard for his own physical well-being. He staggered around groggily for some minutes, and recovered enough to lead his side to victory. "We let ourselves down in the first 40 minutes last week," Moody said in a post-match television interview. "We had to address that, and from No 1 to No 22, the whole squad were fantastic. Everyone has come together this week.
"We have some great talent - Chris Ashton, Ben Foden, Ben Youngs and Shontayne Hape - who can really run with the ball, and it was nice to give them the chance to show what they can do." Ashton, the wing, and Youngs, the scrum-half, reaped tangible rewards for their enterprise in the form of first-half tries. The two youngsters, in whom England have invested great hopes for the future, both went over in the same corner in which Jason Robinson, the former full-back, dotted down their lone score in that 2003 final.
The swaths of empty seats at the ANZ Stadium were a clue to the fact the stakes were a great deal less than seven years ago. An attendance of just over half that of the World Cup final was also a pointer of how far the two sides have fallen in the intervening time. England are not fancied by many to repeat their 2003 feat in New Zealand in 12 months time, while the optimism that built up for Australians after the win in the first Test was punctured here.
There were still some reasons for cheer for the home side. Matt Giteau, having ceded the Wallabies No 10 shirt to Cooper, made a fine return to the side following injury. His match haul of all 20 Australian points included two tries, but his display also contained one significant blemish. In the 70th minute, Giteau was right in front of the posts with a penalty that would have given the Wallabies a precious two-point lead. Inexplicably, he fired wide.
Wilkinson still had time to miss a similarly good chance to extend his side's lead from the kicking tee. In the end it counted for little as his side celebrated a morale-boosting success.
* Compiled by Paul Radley
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
Liverpool v Manchester United - 3.30pm
Burnley v West Ham United - 6pm
Crystal Palace v Chelsea - 6pm
Manchester City v Stoke City - 6pm
Swansea City v Huddersfield Town - 6pm
Tottenham Hotspur v Bournemouth - 6pm
Watford v Arsenal - 8.30pm
Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Everton - 4.30pm
Southampton v Newcastle United - 7pm
Monday
Leicester City v West Bromwich Albion - 11pm
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
RESULTS
2.30pm Jaguar I-Pace – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt)
1,600m
Winner Namrood, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Musabah Al Muhairi
(trainer)
3.05pm Land Rover Defender – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D)
1,400m
Winner Shadzadi, Tadhg O’Shea, Bhupat Seemar
3.40pm Jaguar F-Type – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner Tahdeed, Fernando Jara, Nicholas Bachalard
4.15pm New Range Rover – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
Winner Shanty Star, Richard Mullen, Rashed Bouresly
4.50pm Land Rover – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 2,400m
Winner Autumn Pride, Bernardo Pinheiro, Helal Al Alawi
5.25pm Al Tayer Motor – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 T) 1,000m
Winner Dahawi, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
6pm Jaguar F-Pace SVR – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,600m
Winner Scabbard, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The biog
Favourite food: Tabbouleh, greek salad and sushi
Favourite TV show: That 70s Show
Favourite animal: Ferrets, they are smart, sensitive, playful and loving
Favourite holiday destination: Seychelles, my resolution for 2020 is to visit as many spiritual retreats and animal shelters across the world as I can
Name of first pet: Eddy, a Persian cat that showed up at our home
Favourite dog breed: I love them all - if I had to pick Yorkshire terrier for small dogs and St Bernard's for big
The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
Two stars
