- England beat Australia 41-5 in wet conditions to make semi-finals
- Win over Wallaroos is the Red Roses’ 29th consecutive Test victory
It may take several days for them to dry out but England are into the World Cup semi-finals. While monsoonal rain in Auckland initially made this more akin to a game of water polo, there was never any danger of the Red Roses letting victory slip and 29 Tests have now passed since they were beaten.
To say they made heavy weather of this one, though, would be the literal truth. Even allowing for the fact the first half might have been slightly drier for all involved had it taken place in a car wash, this was no classic. Fair play to the organisers for playing Rihanna’s Umbrella over the public address in the second half but there wasn’t much fun to be had otherwise.