Cook Cup
The Cook Cup came about when the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) agreed to play each other on a home-and-away basis. The first Cook Cup match was played at Sydney's Aussie Stadium on 25 June 1997. Australia won the match by 25 points to 6. The series was however to be decided through two tests, and the second took place at Twickenham in London, this resulted in a 15-all draw. Since Australia won the first test, they were crowned champions.
In 1998 Australia ran out 76 to nil winners at Lang Park in Brisbane. The Wallabies were captained by John Eales, and in total, Australia scored 11 tries. The subsequent meeting at Twickenham saw England lose by just one point, the score being 12 to 11. The following year, the Cook Cup was decided through one match as opposed to the two Tests. The reason for the format change was due to the 1999 Rugby World Cup. Australia defeated England 22 points to 15 at Stadium Australia. The following year, the Cook Cup was again contested over the single match, due to the 2001 British Lions tour to Australia. The match was played at Twickenham, and England won 22 to 19 to win their first Cook Cup.
The single-test format remained for 2002, and England successfully defended their Cook Cup by beating Australia by just one point, 32 to 31 at Twickenham. For 2003, the Cook Cup was again decided over one match, due to the 2003 Rugby World Cup. The match was played at Melbourne's Telstra Dome, and England won 25 to 14. Also that year, the two nations met in what is arguably one of their most famous encounters ever, at the World Cup final. Jonny Wilkinson landed a drop goal in extra time that saw England win the Rugby World Cup by 20 points to 17.
The first post-World Cup match between England and Australia was played at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium, in 2004, which saw Australia win 51 to 15. The 2004 Cook Cup was contested over two matches and the second game was played at Twickenham, with Australia winning by 21 points to 19, which saw the Wallabies win the Cook Cup. The 2005 Cook Cup was decided by just the one test, and England won by 26 points to 16 at Twickenham. In 2006 both games were won by Australia.
Since 1909, England and Australia have played each other 41 times. England have won 16, Australia 24 with 1 draw as of 17 November 2012.
Read more about this topic: History Of Rugby Union Matches Between Australia And England
Famous quotes containing the words cook and/or cup:
“There’s terrific merit in having no sense of humour, no sense of irony, practically no sense of anything at all. If you’re born with these so-called defects you have a very good chance of getting to the top.”
—Peter Cook (b. 1937)
“The cup of Morgan Fay is shattered.
Life is a bitter sage,
And we are weary infants
In a palsied age.”
—Allen Tate (1899–1979)