(Another) miracle in Brighton: Can Wallaroos shock world’s most dominant rugby team?

1 week ago 3

They don’t necessarily need another Miracle in Brighton. But the Wallaroos are aiming to emulate Japan in 2015 and create one anyway, as they prepare to negotiate a tense final weekend and qualify for the Women’s Rugby World Cup playoffs.

The Wallaroos meet hosts and world No. 1 England on Sunday morning (AEST) in Brighton in their final Pool A clash, and the result will likely determine whether Australia progresses to the World Cup quarter-finals a week later.

The Wallaroos had hoped to have already secured a playoff spot by beating the USA last weekend, but the fierce rivals drew 31-31 in York, leaving both teams with a path to finishing second in Pool A and qualifying.

Australia are five points ahead of the USA on the table - and way ahead on for-and-against - after smashing Samoa 73-0 a week earlier, and with the USA having lost in round one 69-7 to England.

The Wallaroos only need to secure one point against England to progress, and that could be earned with a losing bonus point, by scoring four tries, or by losing by less than seven.

But if they don’t get a point on the table, and the USA beat Samoa with a bonus-point win as expected, it will come down to for-and-against.

The Wallaroos score against the USA in York.

Australia’s for-and-against differential is 73, meaning the USA (-62) would have to put a cricket score on Samoa and hope England beat Australia by a big enough margin to see them pass the Aussies.

It may sound far-fetched, but it’s feasible enough for fans to brace for a nervous final day. USA-Samoa play first on Saturday night (AEST), and given Samoa have shipped 73 and 92 points so far, a substantial American win is likely.

A few hours later, the Wallaroos are up against the powerhouse England side, who not only have a claim to be the world’s most dominant rugby side, but the most dominant team in the world over the last five years.

Desi Miller scoring a try against Samoa.

England are currently on a 29-game winning streak - one shy of their own record set in 2022 - and have only lost once in their last 60 Test matches.

But even that loss made England stronger favourites for the 2025 Rugby World Cup: it came in the final of the last Rugby World Cup final, in 2022, against New Zealand. Many of the team stayed in the game to hunt redemption at this year’s World Cup.

Led by former All Blacks coach John Mitchell, the Red Roses contain four World Rugby players of the year and are the best-paid women’s players in the world. They have been the world No.1 side for 250 weeks and currently have the highest-ever ranking points tally, men or women.

Australia have never beaten England, and their last two clashes were 42-7 and 41-5 wins to the Red Roses, in 2022 and 2023 respectively. Bookies have given the Wallaroos a 42.5-point start.

If the Wallaroos keep the margin in this ballpark, it would mean the USA have to score 90-plus. But the Wallaroos aren’t interested in a mindset of damage limitation.

England have won a staggeringh 59 of their last 60 Test matches.

Australian co-captain Emily Chancellor said the team would enter the game with the goal of beating England.

“We’re not kicking stones about a result [against the USA], we’re on a positive mindset, and we’re looking forward to the opportunity we have to cause the upset of the competition. If we say that last game was the game of the tournament, let’s look for the upset of the tournament,” she said.

In front of a sold-out, 31,000-strong English crowd at Brighton Stadium - the home of Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion - the Wallaroos are considered massive outsiders.

But that sized-upset has happened before in World Cups - and at the very same venue.

Japan's Brave Blossoms celebrate their upset win over South Africa at the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Brighton Stadium is famous for being where world No.13 Japan beat South Africa in the pool stages of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, one of the greatest upsets in rugby history. It was later made into a movie ‘Miracle in Brighton’.

The Wallaroos beating England would rival Japan’s feat, if not better it.

“They’ve got threats in the forwards, threats in the backs, but ultimately, we’re looking at us and how we can play,” Chancellor said of England.

“That means we’ve got to dominate our tackles and be really positive in our attacking shapes, which we’ve shown, when we do have the ball in the right spaces of the field, how good we can be.

“Our number one goal is to get our own bonus-point win. Obviously, it becomes a bit more technical and tactical as the game goes on, but we’re leaving that to the coaches to do the maths. We’re there to play a game to win, and we’ll focus on that.”

Watch all the action from the 2025 Rugby Championship on Stan Sport.