When England beat Australia 30 years ago and kickstarted a rugby revival

England went into 1988 on a run of five wins in five years of the Five Nations. They ended the year dreaming of gloryBy Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports BlogEngland beat Australia in the Rugby World Cup final 15 years ago this week, but they were not in such great shape when the Wallabies arrived at Twickenham 30 years ago. England’s form in the mid-1980s was dire. In the five editions of the Five Nations between 1983 and 1987 they won just five matches out of 20, even picking up the wooden spoon twice in that run. Their poor showing at the 1987 World Cup was perhaps the nadir, the point where…