LONDON, 22 June 2003 — England secured a famous 25-14 victory over world champions Australia in Melbourne yesterday at the climax of an exhausting and ultimately unbeaten season.

It was the first Test win for England in 11 attempts on Australian soil and they will now start clear favorites for the World Cup opening in Sydney on Oct. 10.

In Hamilton, center Daniel Carter scored 20 points on his international debut as New Zealand defeated Wales 55-3, their biggest ever victory over the Welsh.

Ireland ended their brief southern hemisphere tour with a 40-14 win over Samoa in Apia. Flyhalf Ronan O’Gara scored 32 points for Ireland, including two tries.

England, who in March completed their first Six Nations grand slam since Clive Woodward took over as coach six years ago, lifted their game to another level after last weekend’s 15-13 win over New Zealand in Wellington. Three-quarters Will Greenwood, Mike Tindall and Ben Cohen scored tries for England with Wendell Sailor replying late in the second half for the Wallabies.

Tindall’s try was an effective riposte to antipodean critics who had accused England of playing a boring and sterile game with an emphasis on killing the ball.

Jonny Wilkinson passed the ball to Steve Thompson who showed unexpected dexterity for a hooker by flicking the ball with his fingertips to Greenwood who transferred it in similar fashion to Tindall.

“There was a lot of pressure today but that will be nothing compared to October,” said Woodward.

New Zealand cut loose in the second half after leading Wales 17-3 at halftime. Carter, who played flyhalf for the New Zealand Colts last year, fitted in to the All Black backline seamlessly with some intelligent touches at inside center. He scored one try himself in the first half and made another for fellow-center Tana Umaga after a half-break in the second Left wing Joe Rokocoko claimed his first two tries in test rugby as New Zealand took their points tally past the half-century mark. Wales have now lost their last nine games in a row and Saturday’s defeat will be a bitter disappointment after a heartening display against Australia last week.

“We had much more momentum than we were able to get last week and we had precision in our play,” said All Blacks coach John Mitchell. “That gave the players a lot of confidence and it showed with the way we were able to dominate.

“It was very pleasing but, as I keep on saying, there is still a long way to go.”