England vs Australia: Ashes to Netball World Cup - how old is sporting rivalry ahead of World Cup semi-final?

England and Australia will once again take centre stage this week as they face each other in the Women’s World Cup semi-final down under at Stadium Australia.

Australia are the only team to have beaten Sarina Wiegman’s England side and will seek to continue their run in the hope of reaching the grand finale in front of a home crowd on Sunday. England, meanwhile, will be yearning to extend their reign as European Champions and become World Champions as they seek to take revenge on their only blip in the records.

However, England facing Australia is so much more than one football match.The two countries have an undeniably fierce and fiery rivalry in the world of sport, arguably stemming back to 1868.

As the Lionesses and Matildas prepare for their upcoming semi-final clash, here is all you need to know about the England-Australia rivalry…

When did it begin?

While The Ashes cricket series is believed to have been the start of what has since become arguably the most ferocious rivalries in sport, it is actually thought that the initial trigger began when an insulting article was written in a local British newspaper in 1868, with the phrase containing colonial arrogance and paternal intrigue.

In what sports do we see the rivalry?

Football is not usually the hotspot for England and Australia’s sporting history. Cricket is most famously associated with the rivalry but it also creeps up in Rugby Union and Netball most commonly.

The upcoming Lionesses fixture against the Matildas comes after an incredibly tight and gripping Ashes series as well as the Netball World Cup which saw England’s Roses take on the Australian Diamonds in the final, with Australian winning 61-45 and securing their 12th title.

The Australian cricket team were also able to retain the mighty Ashes after the two sides drew 2-2 with rain affecting what could have been a deciding Test match. The Ashes 2023 series had everything - run-out controversies, dressing room spats and one of the closest ever battles we have seen in the competition’s history.

There have been 73 Ashes series over the years, first starting in 1882, with Australia winning 34 times, retaining six, and England winning on 32 occasions, retaining just once.

In the world of Rugby, the most famous incident which highlighted the historical and iconic rivalry came in the 2003 Rugby World Cup final. England were sitting at the top of the world rankings but Australia had not lost a World Cup match in eight years.

Despite the home advantage, Australia would go on to lose the final by three points in extra time as English icon Jonny Wilkinson nailed one of the most famous drop-goals ever played with only 26 seconds left on the clock.

What’s been said?

Ahead of the semi-final clash between the Lionesses and Matildas, players on both sides have been questioned about the rivalry with Australia’s Lydia Williams saying: “I think obviously you see it in a lot of men’s competition, especially in cricket and rugby.

“But for us we’ve had so many rivalries with other countries that we’ve played against. We’ve played against Brazil at every other World Cup [in the recent era]. You could say that about America, you could say that about so many other countries. So really for us it’s just a game.”

Similarly, Williams’ teammate Tameka Yallop said of the battle:  “I think the biggest international rivalry is probably New Zealand still.

“That’s always been our ‘we cannot lose to them and we will not lose to them’. Within the team right now our mindset is that to be the best you have to beat the best. For us England are right up there, so are the other teams in the semi-finals as well.

As for Sarina Weigman, the Lioness boss was seemingly unaware of the intensity of the rivalry stating she was going to have to “talk to my players and staff and see what the rivalry is.”

England and Australia will meet on Wednesday 16 August at 11am and the match will be available to watch on BBC.