The 5 best England v Australia rivalries

Captain Chris Robshaw of England intervenes as Tom Wood of England clashes with Luke Jones. Photo / Getty Images.

England and Australia's World Cup rivalry has provided some of the best drama in the tournament's history. Chris Rattue looks at five of the best.

1987 - Pool match: Australia 19, England 6. Sydney.

The World Cup was in short pants in 1987, as were many of the players. Australia went into the match as strong favourites, and boasting a very big pack for those times. Kiwi referee Keith Lawrence bashed England 18-6 in the penalty count and missed a David Campese knock-on, awarding the great Aussie wing a crucial try. The scoreline was an absolute blowout compared to what was to follow in far more memorable contests between these two sides at the World Cup.

1991 - Final: Australia 12, England 6. Twickenham.

Oh no, another controversial Campese knock-on. This time, it was deliberate, preventing a possible English try. Campo was the star of the tournament and was accused of or lauded for goading England into playing an unfamiliar running game in the final with his pre-match comments.

In reality, England feared Australia's back three and decided to keep the ball in hand. Campo was still running, at the mouth, years later saying: "I think [English wing] Rory Underwood got more ball than he'd had for the whole year, so I don't know if he knew what to do with it." England lock Paul Ackford, who became a rugby writer, put it bluntly. "We started to get on top of the big Aussie forwards. We should have thrown the running option of out the window. We didn't, the rest is history."

1995 - Quarter-final: England 25, Australia 22. Cape Town.

Campese was among nine Australian survivors from the 1991 meeting, and England had six who would enjoy revenge thanks to a marvellous, injury-time drop goal from Rob Andrew. It was no gimme either, coming from a fair way out on the angle. The ball sailed over the crossbar, as Andrew whirled his arms in celebration. A truly great World Cup moment.

2003 - Final: England 20, Australia 17. Stadium Australia.

Echoes of 1995, with even more on the line. England delivered on their tournament favouritism, and another drop goal did the trick. Jonny Wilkinson landed the winner with his weaker right foot near the end of extra time. He has described the experience as "surreal, dream-like" and has shunned watching any replays for fear of tainting the memory. "I've tried to preserve the quality of the memories I have which are wrapped up in the feel, the senses, the smell, noises and atmosphere. I want to keep it exactly as I remember it, which was one hell of an experience," he told The Independent.

2007 - Quarter-final: England 12, Australia 10. Marseille.

There are themes to the clashes between these two: David Campese, drop goals, Jonny Wilkinson. The little man was at it again, landing four penalties to sink a Wallabies team heavily favoured to beat shaky England, whose coach Brian Ashton was a Hail Mary appointment in late 2006. For Australia, current captain Stephen Moore, Adam Ashley-Cooper and Giteau are the 2015 World Cup survivors. England have one - Nick Easter starred in a pack which crushed Australia especially at scrum-time. The 37-year-old has just been called up as a replacement by Stuart Lancaster, and a desperate, under-pressure England could view this as a lucky charm.