SYDNEY: Australians Sunday revelled in the Wallabies' "brilliant" win over England in the Rugby World Cup that saw their sporting arch-rivals booted out of the competition in the first round.
Praise flowed for fly-half Bernard Foley, who starred as Australia thrashed England 33-13 in Twickenham on Saturday, and coach Michael Cheika, who has only been in the top job for just under a year.
"This was a victory constructed not from solo heroics but comprehensive superiority," The Sydney Morning Herald's rugby columnist Paul Cully wrote as he hailed the victory as "brilliant".
"And that is why Wallabies fans will have their chests puffed out this week... the whole tournament would have sat up and taken notice."
Cheika was lauded for improving the Wallabies' scrummaging together with his scrum coach, the Argentine Mario Ledesma.
"For Australia to dominate the scrum against England as they did, demonstrates the superiority of us over them," Fairfax Media's Roy Masters told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
"It was a very disciplined performance as indeed we come to have expected from a Michael Cheika-coached team.
"Australia, you know, could go all the way through to the final."
Wallabies great David Campese, who played a key role in encouraging Cheika to take up coaching in the late 1990s, added on social media that he had "brought the fun factor back into the game".
"How easy was that. Can't get any better than that guys, it's great to see the Wallabies turn up," Campese said in videos posted on Twitter.
"The England side, four years you've had to prepare and the Wallabies have had one year under Michael Cheika and they're 33-13.
"I'm sorry guys but I have to gloat. Absolutely fantastic."
Also on social media, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull tweeted "well done" while former Wallaby-turned-writer Peter FitzSimons took a dig at England's coach Stuart Lancaster, who faces questions about his future after the defeat.
"Breaking: English Sports Minister, has switched funding from rugby to English swimming team.
"They, at least, know how to get out of a pool"," FitzSimons tweeted.
Comments
Comments are closed.