Rugby: England beats Australia 12-10 to reach World Cup semifinal
Jonny Wilkinson kicked four penalties and England beat Australia 12-10 on Saturday to reach the semifinal of the Rugby World Cup. In a quarterfinal gripped with tension, Australia's Lote Tuqiri scored the only try. But it was England's powerful forwards who won the game for the defending champion at the Stade Velodrome as they bullied the Wallabies pack into mistakes. After Stirling Mortlock's sixth minute penalty had kicked the Wallabies ahead for an England offside, Wilkinson landed two for England and the 6-3 lead sparked a spell of well-organized and imaginative attacking play by the defending champion. But the flyhalf missed a kick which would have opened a 9-3 lead and was made to pay when the Australians broke through with their first impressive ball handling move of the game in the 32nd minute. Mortlock burst through and Tuqiri went over in the corner for his first try of the championship in his fifth game. Two more penalties by Wilkinson put England 12-10 ahead with 21 minutes to go but a drop goal attempt which would have opened up a five-point gap floated wide. Mortlock missed an enormous 47-meter kick four minutes from the end which would have won the game for the two-time champion but it was only narrowly wide.