Why England are destined for the World Cup semi-finals

Crunch time is finally upon us.

The World Cup quarter-finals have arrived at long last, and opening the three-week circus of tense, knockout rugby in Japan is a clash between two of the sport's oldest rivals: England and Australia.

Historically, there is little to separate the English and Wallabies at rugby's showpiece event.

Six times they have faced off against one another since 1987, and both nations have come away with three wins apiece.

Their most famous meeting undoubtedly came 16 years ago at Telstra Stadium in Sydney, where Jonny Wilkinson etched his name into rugby folklore by slotting a last-minute drop goal in extra-time to secure England with their solitary World Cup crown against the then-reigning titleholders in front of their home crowd.

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Fast-forward over a decade-and-a-half later, and it's difficult to envisage Saturday's encounter in Oita being anywhere near as tightly-contested as that fateful night in 2003.

Eddie Jones, who coached the Wallabies to that ultimately unsuccessful bid for back-to-back World Cup titles, has jumped ship and moulded England into one of a handful genuine candidates capable of claiming the Webb Ellis Cup in two weeks' time.

Since his arrival in the United Kingdom following his breakthrough World Cup campaign with Japan four years ago, the 59-year-old has led England's recovery effort from their dismal showing at their home tournament in 2015 astonishingly well.

A pair of Six Nations titles and a record-equalling winning run of 18 consecutive test victories are two accolades that many critics use to measure Jones' success by during his tenure at the helm of England, but it's his unblemished record against his nation of birth which will be the main source of concern for Australia.

Six wins from six outings against the Wallabies since June 2016 have helped England's rise from World Cup busts to legitimate title contenders as much as it has cemented Australia's status as one of the falling powerhouses of the international game.

They may be two-time World Cup winners, but Michael Cheika's side have floundered in the test arena since finishing as finalists in 2015, and are a long way off from their world champion predecessors of 1991 and 1999.

That much has been encapsulated over the past 18 months, as the Australians registered just four wins from 13 tests in 2018, extended their Bledisloe Cup drought to 17 years and have failed to set a benchmark performance at this World Cup.

After being given a massive fright by Fiji in their opening match of the tournament, the surprise selection of Bernard Foley at flyhalf brought with it a poor first half against Wales, which significantly contributed to their eventual loss in Tokyo.