Gareth Thomas: England have a do-or-die match against Australia, I think they'll do it

What do I want to happen between Australia and England at Twickenham on Saturday night? Well, obviously as a Welshman I want Wales to go through above all else, and there's a part of me hoping that England lose on Saturday to make sure of it.

But only a part of me. My main feeling as a fan of great rugby, and as someone who's been swept up in what's been a fantastic World Cup, is that I really want the drama to continue. I really want England to get that narrow victory to keep the drama going; I want to wake up on Sunday morning thinking, "Wow! Not only was England v Australia do-or-die, but Wales v Australia next weekend will be as well! This is amazing!"

You know, before this World Cup people bemoaned the fact that the draw meant one of the world's top five sides would get knocked out - but now we're at that stage, it's electrified the tournament, and basically taken over the whole World Cup. Nobody's even mentioned New Zealand, because there's no excitement in that group; the Scotland and South Africa group is building nicely, but not on the same level as Pool A. You'd never think we were still in the pool stages right now, considering what's at stake with each match - every game there's so much to play for, it's so intense. And that's great for the tournament.

[PREVIEW: England v Australia: Everything you need to know about the World Cup clash]

- - -

This pool was always going to throw out an exciting finale.

As nervy as it is for the English camp, for everybody else it's really exciting. And there are so many permutations: England can still win, which means everything comes down to the match between Wales and Australia. It's a really, really exciting pool that's grasped the attention of everyone.

I think Wales winning against Fiji really eased the pressure on them - but the pressure has been going on and off different teams throughout. And it's all going to come down to who handles the pressure best in these do-or-die situations.

But for the players, that's all good. When you become a professional rugby player, these are the games you live for. That's why it's not just a hobby, it's a livelihood. And when the stakes are at their highest, the game brings out the greatness in great players.

[OPINION: Cipriani: Not one Australia player would get in tis England side]

As soon as the whistle goes, though, those thoughts go out of the window. It all comes down to remembering what your gameplan is, not focusing on yourself but making sure that everybody's pulling in the same direction.

I actually think that caught England out against Wales. Individuals started to do certain things, hoping they were for the good of the team maybe, but nonetheless things that were individually driven - and that broke up what the whole team was about, and undid all the training.

But that's a part of playing under such high pressure. You know, Jonny Wilkinson isn't an icon of the game because of luck, he's an icon of the game because he came through the very highest pressure situations and handled them perfectly.

And that's what sport at the top level is all about. How you perform under pressure is what separates good professionals from the greats of the game. It might be serving to win a Wimbledon final, it might be a putt to win the Ryder Cup, it often comes down to one moment. And on Saturday, this England team will have their 80-minute moment to prove themselves.

- - -

The question is whether this England side has that greatness in it. They came into the tournament as one of the favourites, and they were certainly going about things the right way. At the Six Nations everything built nicely for them, and they developed into a team that is kind of solid while simultaneously opening up a new way of playing, with a lot of flair and a back three that is one of the most exciting in the world. The days of England as a heavy, pack-dominated side relying on a number 10 to kick them into position are over.

The problem is that they just haven't played to their best in this World Cup - at least, not yet. The worry for England is that they actually peaked too early. People expected them to carry on, but it looks like they might have left their best rugby behind them earlier this year. It's not even as if they've plateaued - they actually look like they're declining.

By contrast Wales had a disappointing pre-tournament run, struggling against Italy and losing to Ireland at home - though they did beat them away. But now it feels like they've come into the tournament and have kicked on since it all began, whereas England haven't.

But we shouldn't write England off yet. They're a great World Cup team: just look at when they reached the final against South Africa in 2007, for example. I was talking to Jonny Wilkinson on Saturday about just this, actually: England were terrible in that pool stage. They got stuffed by South Africa and pushed close by the USA - yet they went on and reached the final.

So there could be a lot still to come from this England team - the trouble is, they haven't got a length of time now to show what they can do. They just have to do it on Saturday, or it's all irrelevant: all the build-up, all the hype, all the training… it's all totally irrelevant if they don't produce the goods on Saturday night. It's funny - 80 minutes is such a small amount of time in a rugby player's life, but on Saturday it will mean everything.

- - -

There's been a lot of talk about England's decision to go for a try at the end of the Wales match last week, but I don't blame Chris Robshaw for trying it, even if a draw would have been a good result for England in the context of the group.

You just don't think about draws in rugby in the same way you do in football - it's a win or lose game, and the mentality of players, and indeed fans, just doesn't take in thinking about draws. Sure, you can say England might have kicked that penalty and got a draw, but there's every chance it wouldn't have gone over, and if it had missed then there's no guarantee that England would have collected the ball from the drop-out.

Okay, maybe going for the corner wasn't the brightest decision - but it wasn’t the decision that cost England against Wales. The real error was in the line-out: throwing a front ball to try and drive it up the line was a very poor call. It was just too easy to defend: a middle ball is perfect for a driving line-out, or a back ball if you can, but that's obviously riskier. But to throw short, and poorly at that? That's why England lost the ball.

England will have spent a lot of this week playing through different scenarios: if we're up by five points with 20 minutes left, what's our strategy? How about if we're trailing by 10 with 10 minutes to go? All those things will be scrutinised.

But at least for England the basic plan will be simple: keep the scoreboard ticking over. Keep the crowd involved, and on their side. Keep the pressure on Australia. It's all about England, since they have to win. While they have to worry to an extent about what Australia might do, that's secondary - they have to go all-out, and that makes their tactics more straightforward. Even if it doesn't make the match easier!

- - -

For the Australians, it's a fascinating challenge. Believe me, they won't be thinking twice about knocking England out, and their coach Michael Cheika has said as much. They'll be totally focused on qualifying for the quarter-finals as quickly as possible, and staying on track to top the group.

In their preparations they'll take into account that it's do-or-die for England and they'll know that the hosts will be a different animal on Saturday - but their focus will be absolutely on them and their own game plan. Cheika's absolutely right: all Australia must think about is their own prospects.

It'll be a very difficult atmosphere for the Wallabies to play in, however, coming up against a desperate team. You never want to play against top players when they're wounded, and when they know that this is their last chance to achieve greatness.

- - -

It's so, so hard to call this match. But I actually think, and trying to remain completely neutral - which I admit is almost impossible for me as such a proud Welshman! - that England will bounce back.

If I was an Englishman lining up against Australia on Saturday I'd have an extraordinary feeling about the match because the England-Australia rivalry is huge, just like the England-Wales rivalry. There's a real extra spice for the English players against Australia, just as there is for the Welsh when they run out against England. They'll bring a real fire onto the pitch - and I see England pulling off a really narrow victory.

Part of that will be the England players knowing they simply have to do it. If I was in that team I'd not be thinking I have to play well - I'd be thinking I need to play well, I need to avoid giving away penalties, I need to be first at the breakdown, I need to be first into the rucks. And you'd be surprised how powerful that extra imperative is, even for good players.

And that will really spice up the group, which would all come down to Wales v Australia next week. England's bonus point against Fiji will then be crucial, meaning that it'll be an all-or-nothing match next week. There are so many permutations.

After Saturday, it gets simpler for England. If they pull off a narrow win over Australia they'll almost certainly rack up a cricket score against Uruguay. The Uruguay boys will be tired - they only have four days rest between Fiji and England, which is tough enough at the best of times - and will have nothing to play for against an England side who know they'll have to rack up huge points. That would then make Wales-Australia a straight knockout game.

England still at least are in control of their own destiny, not having to worry about who gets bonus points or who doesn't, and that's a good thing for them. But then so do Wales and Australia as it stands. All three sides know that If you win, you deserved to go through; if you don't, you didn't.

Ultimately whoever wins over these next two weekends, whoever tops the group, and whoever goes through to the quarter-finals will really, really have earned it.

- - -