Rugby, Australian Football: Woodward throws down gauntlet

Sir Clive Woodward threw down the gauntlet to Wallabies coach Eddie Jones on Tuesday, by declaring: "Australia won't have a better chance of beating England for a long, long time."

The traditional pre-match mind games are up and running between two of world rugby's fiercest rivals.

England have returned Down Under for the first time since their World Cup final victory over Jones' Wallabies last November.

They are also protecting a five-game winning run against Australia, stretching back to the 1999 Centenary Test in Sydney.

England though, could end up fielding only three of their World Cup final starting XV at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday - Josh Lewsey, Ben Cohen and Lawrence Dallaglio - especially if injuries rule out centre Mike Tindall, prop Trevor Woodman and flanker Richard Hill.

It is against such a back-drop that Woodward made his assumption during an upbeat press conference, containing plenty of banter with assembled Australian journalists.

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