If the Wallabies put seeds of World Cup doubt in the minds of the All Blacks with their victory in Hong Kong, then England surely did the same to Australia at Twickenham on Saturday.

The emphatic 35-18 win has not only taken wind out of the Wallabies' recently billowing sails, it's what Australia will be left remembering if they come up against England at the World Cup next year.

That's a good chance in the semi-finals, and the two sides won't meet again before then.

In fact, England will take consecutive wins, in Sydney in June and in London on Saturday, into any World Cup encounter.

But it's the way improving England managed their latest win that should have Australia most concerned.

Not for this version of the Red Rose the 2007 World Cup-style scrum demolition, which the Wallabies can potentially counter if their backs have a good day.

At Twickenham the English played total rugby, dominating at the breakdown and using the width of the pitch with clever and repeated switches of direction to make frequent inroads.

The deadly boot of rising star Toby Flood did the rest.

To some degree, the English out-Wallabied the Wallabies, although their weight of possession probably boosts the figures a little.

Against all pre-game prediction, they kicked less times in general play (21 to Australia's 27), they passed more (146-129) and, although it was a negligible part of the game, their scrum success rate was actually lower than Australia's (83 per cent to 100).

The Wallabies' upward curve toward next year's World Cup had been more obvious in the lead-up to the Twickenham Test and, for the same reason, a crash landing was always going to be more spectacular.

The blowtorch was applied by a more physical and controlled outfit and the flipside of Australia's brilliance - their brittleness - was exposed.

Tackles were missed, turnovers conceded at crucial times and cute passes went to ground.

Coach Robbie Deans says the side is still adapting to how the breakdown is played in Europe, but that style will be there again when Australia play the northern hemisphere's sides at the World Cup.

Australia's players say they weren't getting ahead of themselves after breakthrough wins in South Africa and over the All Blacks.

"We all know as a team that we've got a long way to go still," star flanker David Pocock said.

"This week we're just going to have to continue doing what we've been doing.

"We came up short this time but we have another opportunity."

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