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BORDEAUX - Australia would have preferred to play South Africa rather than their old enemies England in the World Cup quarter-finals, coach John Connolly said.
South Africa thrashed England 36-0 in the pool stage but Connolly said the Australians believed the Springboks would have been easier opponents than the defending champions.
Australian teams have always struggled to contain England's giant forwards and while the English have not been at their best in this tournament, Connolly fears they are discovering their form at the right time since the return of injured first five-eighths Jonny Wilkinson.
"We're more comfortable against South Africa than England because we know them better," Connolly told reporters after Australia finished off their pool matches with a 37-6 win over Canada on Saturday.
"They're (England) dangerous. I said before the tournament started that they're a side that will be in the mix come the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and they'll keep improving."
Australia's vulnerability against England's forwards and Wilkinson's pin-point kicking game was exposed in the 2003 World Cup final when they lost in extra-time, and again at Twickenham in 2005, when the Wallaby pack crumbled.
There has never been any love lost between Australian and England sporting teams and Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O'Neill has already lit the fuse for an explosive build-up to the match in Marseille when he said all Australians hate the English.
The Wallabies captain Stirling Mortlock said the New Zealand All Blacks would always be Australia's greatest rivals in rugby but the rivalry with England transcended all sports.
"It's sort of ingrained in the Australian psyche, it's one of the rivalries Australia's always had," Mortlock said.
"The Ashes cricket has certainly been a big catalyst for it and rugby matches between Australia and England over the last six years have been pretty tough as well.
"Growing up as a young Aussie the rivalry between Australia and New Zealand has always been there and there's a similar rivalry with England as well."
Mortlock is among a handful of survivors from the Australian team desperate to avenge their agonising loss to England in Sydney four years ago but Connolly has played down revenge as a motivating factor.
"There has been quite a bit of talk about our defeat to them in the 2003 final but the topic hasn't got a mention in the Australian camp," Connolly wrote in his regular column for the Sun-Herald newspaper.
"That loss happened four years ago and there has been a lot of water under the bridge since then.
"We've played them many times since and the current English team bears little resemblance to the one that lifted the trophy. But, while revenge hasn't been discussed, I'm sure in the back of the minds of the players that loss will provide a little extra motivation when we run out against them."
- REUTERS
