It was another gut-punch of a defeat for England this afternoon at the Allianz Stadium, as Steve Borthwick’s side had the win ripped away from them in the closing play of the match. Wallabies replacement wing Max Jorgensen had the honour of landing the hammer blow for England, who had battled valiantly to get back in front with just two minutes.
Here are the top five performers from England’s last-ditch defeat to Australia.
1. Joseph Suaalii (Australia)
There was plenty of expectation thrust upon the latest addition to Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies, yet Joseph Suaalii stepped up to the occasion. Named to start in the centres for his first professional match of rugby union, Suaalii shone in a Player of the Match performance, which saw him contribute two stunning try assists.
The former Sydney Rooster executed an impressive one-handed offload over the top of Ollie Sleightholme and George Furbank, to unleash Tom Wright for a try in the corner. Suaalii was excellent in the air, and underwent a personal battle for arial dominantion against Maro Itoje at the re-starts. Suaalii won the all-important final kick off after what many thought would be Itoje’s try of saving grace for England.
The ball went back into the Wallabies hands for the final play of the match, and Suaalii found himself with space to attack as the clock hit the red. He took the ball high to the line before sending in Max Jorgensen on an outside break, with the replacement wing carried across to the try-line on a rapid burst of adrenaline.
2. Chandler Cunningham-South (England)
England back row Chandler Cunningham-South continues to break new ground, and was once again a star performer for Steve Borthwick’s side. The dreadlocked juggernaut shone on the front foot, as he crossed over for two tries in the first 12 minutes. His head coach was delighted with the Harlequin’s performance, and spoke to the media after the match full of praise for Cunningham-South.
“I think he’s doing really well. He’s really developing, I think, into an international class six. I think he saw more improvements on the attacking side of the ball this week. I think last week he was excellent on the defensive side of the ball. I think he’s also seen improvements in his set-piece work.
“Somebody who 18 months ago wasn’t jumping, he’s now a good line-up jumper at an international level. And he’s player is determined to get better. And I’ll echo Jamie’s views about this player group, who are a fantastic player group and care so much, Chandler exemplifies that. He wants to really develop and develop fast.”
3. Ollie Sleightholme (England)
Another top operator for Borthwick’s side was Ollie Sleightholme, with England fans welcoming the flyer back into the squad after he missed out on the defeat to the All Blacks last weekend. The return to a 5-3 replacements bench opened the door for the Northampton man to return to the match day squad, and the Saint seized the opportunity upon his three involvements off the bench.
Sleightholme was unleashed upon the Wallabies early on, after Manny Feyi-Waboso exited for a HIA. Sleightholme then yo-yoed the replacements bench after Ollie Lawrence took a knock to the head for a HIA of his own, before the second shot to Feyi-Waboso saw no way back to action for the Exeter wing. Sleightholme scored shortly after his third unraveling off the bench, and was an ever present dangerous threat that kept the Wallabies on their toes.
Speaking on the impact of Ollie Sleightholme after the match, Borthwick said; “Yes, there was certainly a number of times that we had different disruptions that the players had to adapt to throughout the game. Ollie played really well, took the chances really well, I think we can see he’s a player adapting to Test rugby really quickly.
“I think what you’re seeing now is we’ve got pace and talent on the edges with Tommy Freeman, Ollie Sleightholme, Manny Feyi-Waboso, Furbank at 15, there’s not many caps between them but they’ll develop them. These guys are going to be in the England squad for a very, very long time and they’re the real top class players, I think they’re going to develop into really top class players. So, it pleases me as they’re eager to learn and we as a team are desperate to learn.”
4. Tom Wright (Australia)
Starring for the Wallabies in their back three was Tom Wright, who worked seamlessly alongside the spotlight securing Joseph Suaalii. Wright backed himself to explode along the touch-line at any given opportunity, with some neat interplay unfolding out wide to unravel the sturdiness of the England defence. Wright orchestrated the Wallabies outside backs, and tore apart Borthwick’s squad through interplay with Andrew Kellaway and Dylan Pietsch.
Whilst there was plenty to praise for Kellaway’s heads-up break down-field, as the wing capitalised on Ollie Lawrence’s spilled ball to score, Wright was ever present in the heart of the Australian attack. The fullback showed the England defenders a clean pair of heels as he broke free following Suaalii’s offload, and outpaced resident Premiership speedsters Ollie Sleightholme and George Furbank to score under the Allianz Stadium lights.
5. Ellis Genge (England)
Wrapping up this top five performers list from the Allianz, Ellis Genge put in a seismic effort to get the upper hand at scrum-time. Genge stepped up to the tall order of taking on the Australian powerhouse Taniela Tupou, with the Bristolian winning two scrum penalties against the beast nicknamed ‘The Tongan Thor’. Genge’s effort had such an impact upon Tupou’s performance, that Australia head coach Joe Schmidt decided that he’d seen enough and withdrew his tight-head just four minutes after half-time.
Genge set the tone of the match from kick-off, with the Baby Rhino back on the charge with a dominant carry two minutes into the game. Genge was involved in the build up to both of Chandler Cunningham-South’s tries, as he first provided a neat offload in the preluding quick-ball to find the Harlequin out wide for his opening score. Genge’s initiative to take a quick tap and go before popping the ball to the back row opened the door for Cunningham-South’s second try, just seven minutes later.
