Another week, another heartbreak for England and now serious questions must be asked about the direction of the Steve Borthwick project. A flawed Australian team exposed familiar failings and highlighted new ones for good measure in a messy thriller of an Autumn Nations Series test match.
While last week ended with George Ford missing a penalty and a dropped goal as the All Blacks celebrated, this clash ended with Max Jorgensen breaking free on the left wing, arm in air to snatch a 42-37 victory for the Wallabies in a match won by England. , then lost, then won again before finally losing.
The hosts scored 12 points early on at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham, found themselves trailing by 10 early in the second half and the lead then changed hands several times in the final 10 minutes. But, ultimately, Borthwick’s men wilted in the closing stages of a Test match, on a day when they simply could not afford another close defeat, but still fell to just one.
Perhaps this was always destined to come down to the wire, given that now only two of England’s last 14 Tests have been decided by more than one score, but by any objective measure they really should beat this version of Australia, especially on the home grounds.
The same flaw – an inability to see games out – continues to appear and now serious questions will also arise about a defense that has been continually breached by a relentless Australian attack. The defense has been one of the consistent positives over the past 12 months, but it was found wanting on a day that could prove very damaging for English rugby.
As well as concerns over their ability to finish matches, England have also been criticized for their attack’s inability to score enough runs to consistently win test matches. To their credit, they appeared to try a new approach at Twickenham – eschewing any semblance of a kicking game to control things and instead trusting their ball carriers.
This was rewarded by two tries from Chandler Cunningham-South to take an early 12-3 lead, but the frantic nature of the game also allowed an Australian team lacking cohesion and structure at the start of the Joe Schmidt era to stay in the game.
They may not be polished, but this version of the Wallabies proved they had the athletic and instinctive players to take advantage on the broken pitch and they opportunistically attacked both the breakdown and the gaping holes from the English line to keep pace in terms of tries.
Exciting 21-year-old Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii – the Australian Rugby Federation’s £2.4 million prize won by rugby league, remarkably playing his first ever professional rugby union match – led the way in as a blur jumping, unloading and running hard through the centers. He created a try and was constantly involved as the Wallabies fought back to take a 28-18 lead with 25 minutes remaining.
England had their own maestro, as Marcus Smith used the less structured game plan to showcase his individual genius, not only creating both Cunningham-South scores, but leading the comeback with another assist for the first of Ollie Sleightholme’s two crucial essays.
It was telling that when Steve Borthwick again called on George Ford from the bench with 18 minutes to go, this time it was full-back George Furbank who was sacrificed as Smith moved from the halfback role. opening to the role of 15th. Perhaps it was an acknowledgment that he had made a mistake a week ago against the All Blacks by withdrawing the Harlequins star for Ford, but even if it wasn’t, it sent a message clear on the importance of Smith. He also retained his kicking duties, making a tricky conversion to put the hosts back 30-28 early in the final 10 minutes.
Yet the drama was only beginning when Kellaway latched onto an errant pass from Ford on halfway to race in the try that put the Wallabies back on top before Maro Itoje buried himself to seemingly seal a victory for England, only thanks to Jorgensen’s effort with the clock. the red to crush the crowd at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham.
England were incredibly clinical from the start, with powerful back-rower Cunningham-South twice benefiting from Smith’s creativity in channel 10. First, Ollie Lawrence chased down England’s clever kick Smith before Ellis Genge, Jamie George and Tom Curry all showed deft hands to clear the ball for Cunningham-South to finish.
Smith’s dummy and arc through the defensive line then took England towards the Wallaby line once more and Genge’s quick penalty saw him feed Cunningham-South to charge forward again. His celebration, copying the ‘shiver’ pose made famous by Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, seemed appropriate given England’s sudden, icy attitude in attack.
But the Wallabies showed their own attacking verve to exploit England’s suddenly apparent defensive deficiencies. A lightning-quick, almost frantic ball through the hands, even at the expense of passing accuracy, repeatedly gave them space and they first crossed the whitewash when Suaalii produced a no-look offload to create a score for Tom Wright.
The intensity of the Australian pick-and-go at the base of the ruck was also causing problems and replacement scrum-half Tate McDermott faked and shot through a gap before handing off to his skipper Harry Wilson for a second try which helped the Wallabies to fight back. to lead 20-18 at the break.
That lead extended to 10 points thanks to a penalty and Jeremy Williams finished acrobatically in the corner after a short lineout routine, but substitute Sleightholme scored from a precise Smith Grubber kick to narrow the gap and the winger was then released by a pass from Alex Dombrandt before that of Smith. the extras put the hosts ahead by two.
Seven days after his All Blacks horror show, Ford was at fault again when a pass went behind Lawrence and Kellaway collected the loose ball halfway and showed just enough gas to reach the line.
Some hard work in the 22nd ended with Itoje finding a way over the line and Twickenham celebrated what appeared to be a narrow escape, but a final series of quick Australian hands, ending in an offload from Len Ikitau to send Jorgensen clear, drove a nail into England’s hopes. with the clock turning red.
It was an exciting Test match, but a combination of old and new issues raises the question of exactly where England go from here.