It would be understandable if Benn Robinson had lamented missing out on a third World Cup as he watched the Wallabies beat England on Sunday morning (AEDT). But on the contrary, the Waratahs loosehead and veteran of 72 Tests was as excited as anyone who watched the game live, especially the performance of the Australian pack and that of fellow Waratahs prop Sekope Kepu.
Notwithstanding the superb game of Wallabies No.10 Bernard Foley, who scored 28 of Australia's points in the 33-13 win at Twickenham, Robinson believes Kepu was deserving of the man of the match award. Robinson, 31, rated Kepu's work in the scrum, support play and, of course, that magical off-load as he was tackled in the 20th minute to his right and into the hands of Foley, who went on to score the first of Australia's three tries. "The boys were exceptional," Robinson says. "Across the park everyone was good ... everyone who came off the bench played a role. But my man of the match was Sekope. 
"His was an absolute standout performance. You could see how hard he was working in the scrums and around the park and then there was his off load which created the gap for the first try for Bernard. Everyone sees Bernard score 28 points, which was remarkable, but there are also small things I see - such as 'Keps' working hard, coming out of a scrum, making a good carry and then making space out wide."
Robinson, like many, believes Kepu's development as a front-rower and that of the Australian scrum reflects the impact of former Argentinian hooker Mario Ledesma as their set piece coach. "Mario has spent a lot of time with all the players and you can see the result," Robinson says.
Robinson notices better public understanding of scrummaging, and credits overhead cameras for helping commentators explain set piece and exposing deficiencies such as English loosehead Joe Marler's angling in. "With all the chat around the scrum, I think people have become more educated on what works and what doesn't work and what's right and what's wrong," Robinson says. "The best thing is the overhead camera. You can see the way Mario wants to scrum - square and straight; and you see Marler coming in at a big angle."
Even in Afghanistan
The significance of beating England at Twickenham cannot be underestimated, believes Robinson, who says playing Australia's traditional foe there is as intense an experience as any Wallaby can face. "I think so. It's one of the hardest places to play," says Robinson, who has played at Twickenham six times for three wins and three losses. But Robinson says teams should ideally be able to play their best anywhere: "The field is only 100m long, 50m wide. Wherever you go ... as long as the team is strong, the boys are tight, which I am hearing they are ... they could play in the middle of Afghanistan and still put on a really good performance."
What's doing Wallabies?
Training, continue to shelve any celebration for beating England and re-focus on their last pool game against Wales at Twickenham on Sunday (2.45 AEDT).
Making news
"This is the end ..." - Clearly French sports newspaper L'Equipe (lequipe.fr) believed its readers would understand this headline on England's fate
"Stuart Lancaster WILL go as England rugby boss after World Cup dead rubber against Uruguay," - Tough week forecast by mirror.co.uk for the soon-to-be former England coach
They said it
"I turned around and said to my wife that what happens in the next 20 minutes changes peoples' lives, whether it's ours or people involved with England," - Wales coach Warren Gatland in m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk on watching Australia play England
What to Watch
Tuesday: No games scheduled
Wednesday: Canada v Romania - Leicester (2.45am AEST), Fiji v Uruguay - Milton Keynes (6am AEDT)