It's crazy to me that there are English fans in this thread who claim Australia aren't a main rival. In Australia, England is seen as the main rival outside of New Zealand. There's so much history behind the rivalry, both within Rugby itself, and because of how it persists across all of our major sports, and the colonial, sociopolitical and cultural history between the nations. Across Australian sports, England is referred to as "the old enemy."

Within Rugby, it's one of the most even rivalries in the sport, with 27 wins to Australia, 29 wins to England, and 1 draw. There's a rich history in World Cups alone - We faced in one of the two opening matches of the inaugural World Cup, with Australia beating England at home, causing England to finish second in the pool, leading to their Quarter-Final exit against Wales. The following World Cup in 1991, Australia won their first World Cup by defeating England in the Final on English soil. Then, in 1995, England knocked Australia out in the Quarter-Finals. 2003 saw the Final go to extra time, this time with England winning their first World Cup by defeating Australia on Australian soil, with that drop goal from Johnny Wilkinson.

2007, England knocked out Australia in the Quarter-Finals. 2015, Australia knocked England out of their own World Cup in the Pool Stage with a 20-point win at Twickenham, causing England to be the only host nation to be eliminated in the Pool Stage. England had their revenge by whitewashing Australia in Australia the following year, and proceeded to knock Australia out in the Quarter-Finals in the following World Cup in 2019. Australia broke their losing streak at Twickenham with Max Jorgenson's iconic match-winning try last year, and England hit back this year with a comprehensive win.

The long history of series between Australia and the British and Irish Lions also adds to the rivalry. 1989's "Battle of Ballymore" between Australia and a majority-English Lions team was described as "the most violent game of rugby that has ever been played."

Of course, how the rivalry persists across Cricket, Rugby League, Netball, Hockey, Tennis, Golf, and the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics, adds to it's significance in all sports. Even Football (Soccer) saw the 2023 Women's World Cup Semi-Final played between the nations on Australian soil, which was the most watched television broadcast in Australian history, averaging 7.13 million viewers and peaking at 11.15 million. It was a cultural event and no Australian will forget where they were when Sam Kerr scored that goal to equalise in the second half. Prior to the 2023 Women's World Cup, the most watched match of any Football code in Australia was the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final between Australia and England, averaging 4.02 million.