divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/41367?ns=guardianpageName=Sport%3A+England%27s+inexperience+on+and+off+the+pitch+leads+to+South+African+maulingch=Sportc3=guardian.co.ukc4=England+rugby+union+team%2CSouth+Africa+rugby+team%2CAutumn+internationals%2CRugby+union%2CSportc5=Not+commercially+useful%2CRugby+Unionc6=Michael+Aylwinc7=2008_11_22c8=1122479c9=articlec10=GUc11=Sportc12=England+rugby+union+teamc13=c14=h2=GU%2FSport%2FEngland+rugby+union+team" width="1" height="1" //divpWhere to start? This was bad. Quite possibly the worst we have seen from an England side in recent times, which is saying something. Come back, Brian Ashton, all is forgiven./pp/ppThere are mitigating circumstances, of course. For a start, this is a young and inexperienced side, which is very unlike England, and we cannot suddenly complain about that when for years we were moaning that they were too old. But this is a second profoundly sobering defeat this autumn, with the All Blacks still to come, and so far there seems to be a distinct lack of positives being taken from them./pp/ppIf there is inexperience on the field, there is even more of it in the stands. At least everyone on the pitch has played rugby before. The man managing the outfit has never managed anything before. It seems ridiculous to look at the battered brow of Martin Johnson and call it inexperienced, but this is a new challenge for him – and not new as in a new degree of difficulty; new as in he has literally never had a go at it./pp/ppSo here is another scoreline to sit alongside the one of 36-0 that needs no introduction. We had all assumed South Africa's annihilation of England in the pool stages of the last World Cup had been a one-off, something we would not see again from a full-strength England side, let alone one at playing at Twickenham. Well, England managed to score six points here, but otherwise this scoreline is every bit as bad – indeed, worse as it incorporates the concession of five tries./pp/ppIf only we could say South Africa were laceratingly brilliant. They did score a couple of tries that might qualify as such, but the game had long since gone even by the time they scored the first of them, which was with half an hour to go, when Adi Jacobs cut through off some interplay between Ruan Pienaar and JP Pietersen. And the second came right at the end with the score at 37-6, when Bryan Habana rounded off a happier afternoon than any he has experienced lately, taking Pietersen's slipped pass for South Africa's fifth./pp/ppIt was illustrative that a player such as Habana, whose laboured form has increasingly been the subject of scrutiny, should suddenly look so fleet-footed again. Wales and Scotland have made the entire Springbok party take a mournful look at themselves lately. Pieter de Villiers, the equally scrutinised coach, had suggested that they were all just knackered and could not wait to go home to the beach./pp/ppBut they were not so good, even here. It needs to be qualified that South Africa never turn on the style until they know the opposition are beaten, and if they know it early enough the subsequent scoreline can get ugly. In the first-half they were content to sit and watch England's enthusiastic efforts, almost holding them at arm's length, like a schoolyard bully while the victim thrashes at the air, unable to reach his target./pp/ppThe mistakes were not long in coming. England were playing at a hundred miles an hour again, and having harried South Africa into mistakes of their own they won a five-metre scrum./pp/ppEngland swung the ball backwards and forwards across the South Africa defence, not even close to finding a way through. Within a few seconds, they had been forced back to the 22, still swinging it back and forth, and then the inevitable mistake, a hack down field by Ricky Januarie and a five-metre scrum at the other end for the Springboks. Inevitably they scored from it in a way England could not – nothing flash, but a big, fast back-row forward, Danie Rossouw (not even first choice), running through defenders weaker than he is./pp/ppThe next error came from Danny Cipriani. The young fly-half faces the same sort of challenge as his manager. Acclaimed as some kind of messiah before he had done a thing, his fickle public are now having to deal with the fact that he may not be that. Only a fool would write either Cipriani or Johnson off at this stage, but not as much of a fool as anyone who heralded either so hastily as the answer to England's prayers./pp/ppThere were no slashing breaks yesterday to smooth over the parts of Cipriani's game that are not working. The truth is he is a brilliant young talent, who is not ready to run an international Test match at this level. The fact that he is still probably the best option for his country at fly-half is neither here nor there. He received a slow, looping pass from Danny Care on his 10-metre line at the end of the first quarter and was almost as slow again in putting his boot to it. Pienaar charged down and cantered home for the free points – 17-3 and it was already looking horrible./pp/ppCipriani never recovered, despite landing a tricky penalty in the 28th minute, by which time Pienaar had landed another of his own. It was a dire first-half. Tom Palmer suffered the indignity of being tactically substituted after just over half an hour by the man he had probably hero-worshipped himself as a young lock forward. He was not playing well and was loose with his discipline, but others have played worse and not been so humiliated. It did not speak volumes for the equanimity of the coaching panel./pp/ppAll round, this was a horror show for any Englishman who longed for the days of Johnson's England (the one he was captain of), when everything seemed to be done on their terms and in total control. The home side chased the game right to the end, but at times there were players flinging the ball about, trying to find someone, anyone who felt they had something novel to do with it./pp/ppJacobs's try was a rare moment of coherence from South Africa, but Jaques Fourie's score with three minutes to go was a sickening farce. England spilled again off their latest frantic attempt to score, and Fourie chased down the bouncing ball and outdid Delon Armitage for the fourth try./pp/ppThere was still time for a fifth, though. And now South Africa can finally head home to those longed-for beaches. If only England could say the same. The All Blacks are next./pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/englandrugbyunionteam"England rugby union team/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/southafricarugbyteam"South Africa rugby team/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/autumn-internationals"Autumn internationals/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion"Rugby union/a/li/ul/divdiv class="guRssAdvert"a href="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/click.ng/richmedia=yessite=Sportcountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227399527413112300260553996"img src="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/image.ng/richmedia=yessite=Sportcountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227399527413112300260553996" border="0" //a/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a

Rugby League World Cup winners.

I don't think anyone saw that coming at all. Massive upset.

Apart from England's woeful contribution it has been a very good tournament.

Hard luck Australia. I feel really sorry for you after hearing for so long it was a competition only one team could win. :)

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/29502?ns=guardianpageName=Sport%3A+New+Zealand+stun+Australia+to+secure+World+Cup+glorych=Sportc3=guardian.co.ukc4=New+Zealand+rugby+league+team%2CAustralia+rugby+league+team%2CRugby+league+World+Cup+2008%2CRugby+league%2CSportc5=Not+commercially+useful%2CRugby+Leaguec6=Andy+Wilsonc7=2008_11_22c8=1122300c9=articlec10=GUc11=Sportc12=New+Zealand+rugby+leaguec13=c14=h2=GU%2FSport%2FNew+Zealand+rugby+league" width="1" height="1" //divpNew Zealand produced the most significant upset in the history of international rugby league to secure their first World Cup in the 54-year-old competition's most dramatic final, although it seems destined to be remembered for just as long in Australia for the contribution of Steve Ganson, a video referee from St Helens./ppGanson stunned a 50,000 crowd at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium by awarding a penalty try to the Kiwis' full-back Lance Hohaia in the 70th minute which effectively sealed the result, as it extended New Zealand's lead from a precarious 22-20 to a far more comfortable eight points./ppIt was a decision that might euphemistically be described as brave, the sort that Ganson has become renowned for in the Super League over the last decade. He then had the formality of awarding a scrappy try to the Kiwis' prop Adam Blair to complete a result that nobody had been expecting - which denied Australia the seventh consecutive World Cup that most had thought a formality./ppThey had romped through their four previous games in the tournament without receiving a real test, including a 30-6 cruise against the Kiwis in each team's first match. But after a stirring haka that was faced head on by the Aussies, New Zealand produced a performance that combined inspirational physical courage with meticulous and brilliantly executed planning./ppMeanwhile the mighty green and golds imploded, with their performance best summed up by an astonishing mistake by Billy Slater, the Melbourne Storm fullback who was this week voted the best player in the world. With the Kiwis leading 18-16 with 19 minutes remaining, Slater flirted unnecessarily with the touchline near his own tryline, and when that backfired he simply hurled the ball inside allowing Benji Marshall to score the simplest try of his life./ppAustralia still had plenty of time to respond and cut the deficit to two points when Darren Lockyer, who had already scored two tries, floated a perfect long pass for Greg Inglis to cross on the left. But Johnathan Thurston was unable to add what would have been an equalising conversion, setting the scene for Ganson's dramatic contribution./pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/newzealandrugbyleague"New Zealand rugby league/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/australiarugbyleague"Australia Rugby League/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/rugbyleagueworldcup2008"Rugby league World Cup 2008/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/rugbyleague"Rugby league/a/li/ul/divdiv class="guRssAdvert"a href="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/click.ng/richmedia=yessite=Sportcountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227354408308112212000533185"img src="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/image.ng/richmedia=yessite=Sportcountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227354408308112212000533185" border="0" //a/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a

Holders Australia take on New Zealand in the final of the Rugby League World Cup in Brisbane.

Holders Australia take on New Zealand in the final of the Rugby League World Cup in Brisbane.

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/37918?ns=guardianpageName=Sport%3A+South+Africa+got+lucky+in+final%2C+says+Vickerych=Sportc3=The+Guardianc4=Autumn+internationals%2CEngland+rugby+union+team%2CSouth+Africa+rugby+team%2CRugby+union%2CSportc5=Not+commercially+useful%2CRugby+Unionc6=Robert+Kitsonc7=2008_11_22c8=1122154c9=articlec10=GUc11=Sportc12=Autumn+internationalsc13=c14=h2=GU%2FSport%2FAutumn+internationals" width="1" height="1" //divpa href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/englandrugbyunionteam"England's/a two surviving forwards from last year's World Cup final defeat by a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/southafricarugbyteam"South Africa/a are both promising to redress the balance when the countries meet again at Twickenham this afternoon. To say Phil Vickery and Nick Easter are keen to atone for England's 15-6 defeat in Paris would be a massive understatement, with Vickery still insistent that the Springboks were somewhat fortunate to walk away with the Webb Ellis Cup./ppIt is Vickery's enduring belief that England might have upset their opponents on the night had they not been forced to battle so hard en route to the final after their heavy early pool loss to the Boks. "I think it could have been won but we'd probably played too many 'finals' already," said Vickery, looking forward with visible enthusiasm to today's Investec Challenge Series match. "It was similar to what happened in 2003 ... we'd probably have lost our next game if we'd had to play again after that final in Sydney./pp"In fairness to South Africa they stuck to their game plan and, at times, produced some pretty good rugby. But we just made too many mistakes." Vickery, who also reveals in today's Twickenham match programme that he enjoyed the 2007 World Cup experience more than the 2003 tournament, had already secured a winners' medal four years earlier but his team-mate Easter acknowledged yesterday his own frustration had yet to fade. "There is a sense of regret. As Rob Andrew told us afterwards, you never get over it. We've now got a chance to play the world champions in our backyard and put one over on them. They only really come over for one game and it's us."/ppThe World Cup head coach, Brian Ashton, may have gone but his successor, Martin Johnson, has made a point of sitting his team down this week to watch clips from the final which underline the importance of discipline. "We highlighted a few areas from that game," said Johnson, "and one of them was penalties. A few indisciplined penalties early in that game really cost that England team. They gave South Africa nine points which proved to be the difference in the end."/ppAside from Vickery and Easter, the only other member of the England XV from the 2007 final in today's starting line-up is the winger Paul Sackey, one of eight Wasps on the team-sheet with another colleague - Simon Shaw - among the replacements. If Shaw comes on, he will win his 50th cap and ensure the domestic champions equal Leicester's all-time record of nine players from one club winning England caps on the same day. /ppIn particular, Johnson is challenging Danny Cipriani to prove he can run a Test match and put last week's 28-14 defeat by Australia behind him. "He's 21 years old and he has to deal with these situations. It's the first time he's been in a series of this intensity, with people speculating about him. People want instant superstars and results, and there's a massive expectation on him."/ppCipriani, who has raised eyebrows by continuing to seek goalkicking tuition at squad sessions from England's erstwhile kicking guru Dave Alred rather than the official kicking coach, Jon Callard, will need to be on-song with the boot in what should be a tight, heavy-duty encounter. /ppBarring a big win for Argentina over Ireland, victory would assure England of a top-four place in the IRB world rankings and preferential seeding at next month's World Cup pool draw. South Africa's outstanding locks, not to mention their powerful loose-forward trio, will have other ideas, but England are the fresher side and do not lack for motivation./pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/autumn-internationals"Autumn internationals/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/englandrugbyunionteam"England rugby union team/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/southafricarugbyteam"South Africa rugby team/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion"Rugby union/a/li/ul/divdiv class="guRssAdvert"a href="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/click.ng/richmedia=yessite=Sportcountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227317660364112201400459684"img src="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/image.ng/richmedia=yessite=Sportcountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227317660364112201400459684" border="0" //a/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a

Australia are red-hot favourites to be crowned world champions for the 10th time in Saturday's World Cup final against New Zealand.

Australia are red-hot favourites to be crowned world champions for the 10th time in Saturday's World Cup final against New Zealand.

Will South Africa 2010 be hit by a downturn?

Will South Africa's 2010 World Cup be hit by a downturn?

img src="http://i.eurosport.fr/2008/03/31/429034-2847382-458-238.jpg" alt=" "Un groupe vivant""/br/ Quinze jours avant le début de l'Euro en Macédoine, les Françaises, 3e de la World Cup, se rassemblent au stade Pierre de Coubertin à Paris jusqu'à dimanche pour le Tournoi international d'Ile de France. Face à la Suède, le Portugal et l'Espagne, Olivier Krumbholz attend surtout de la continuité.