It was another heartbreaking loss for England in the Autumn Nations Series, as Australia snatched the win in the final play of the match. It was the last ditched efforts of rugby league newcomer and Player of the Match Joseph Suaallii that was the decisive action, as his offload unleashed Max Jorgensen along the touchline for the match sealing score at the Allianz Stadium.
The Wallabies would go for the proverbial ‘hail Mary’ in the final roll of the dice, as Jorgensen raced along the touch-line to snatch the win from the jaws of defeat for Joe Schmidt’s side. Once again England fell at the final hurdle, with the feeling of coming so close but so far becoming eerily familiar for Steve Borthwick’s men.
There was no denying the impressive attacking effort that England contributed to the match, with the likes of Marcus Smith and Ollie Sleightholme starring in their impacts against the Australians. However, England’s run of defeats now extends to four in a row, with question marks once again raised on England’s ability to see out a victory.
Chandler Cunningham-South took on the match by the scruff of its neck, as the back row battering ram continued upon his meteoric rise in the England team. The Harlequin was over to score the first try of the match after just five minutes, as Cunningham-South was found out wide after an excellent string of passes.
Marcus Smith started the move, as the halfback stubbed a grubber kick through the Australian defence, and the ball bounced perfectly for Ollie Lawrence to power on to. The Bath man was brought down, but the ball stayed alive, as the likes of Ellis Genge and Jamie George showcased their offloading ability. Possession shipped over to the right wing, as Ben Earl found Cunningham-South to score in the corner.
Cunningham-South channelled his inner Cole Palmer with the ‘cold’ celebration, in what was an homage to the Chelsea footballer. Cunningham-South’s performance continued to heat up the bitter November chill that swirled around the Allianz, as he crossed over for his brace just seven minutes later.
Extending England’s lead after Noah Lolesio’s penalty briefly narrowed down the deficit, Cunningham-South commanded a tap and go by running on to Ellis Genge’s offload. The dreadlocked juggernaught exploaded over the line, with the TMO review confirming his second score of the afternoon. Smith struck the target on the second time of asking, and edged England into a comfortable 12-3 lead.
Smith would add a further three points, after Ellis Genge won his first of two stunning scrum penalties. Tasked with the tall order of going head to head with Taniela Tupou, the Bristol Bears man puffed out his chest and sent the man known as the ‘Tongan Thor’ back to Asgard. Genge’s awesome scrummaging stint shocked the Pacific God of Thunder, with Smith happy to add the extras with thunderbolts over the uprights.
The physicality of the first half was not to be understated, with plenty of players withdrawn for head injury assesments and an outright early exit. Whilst Manny Feyi-Waboso passed his HIA, there was no doubt that Tom Curry had to spend the rest of the match watching from the substitutes bench, after he was knocked unconscious by Rob Valentini.
The Sale Shark was caught by the powerful knee of Valentini, with the Wallabies back rower admirably stopping his team’s attack to draw the referee’s attention to his felled opposite man. Australia would soon resume their impressive return of fire, and would cross over for their first try just before the half hour mark.
Joe Schmidt’s newest acquisition took the spotlight in the score, as the NRL code switching centre Joseph Suaalii provided the assist for Tom Wright’s run to the corner. The former Syndey Rooster sent a neat one-handed offload over the top of George Furbank, and sent his fullback on his way in to score.
There was a big cheer from Maro Itoje after an Australian knocked the ball on. England took plenty of slack after they celebrated the All Blacks handling errors last weekend, but are unchanged in how they celebrate the small victories, the ‘little big things’ as Henry Fraser would say. Ellis Genge continued to take Tupou to scrummaging school, with another big scrum penalty won by the loose-head. Smith opted to kick at goal, and added an extra three as Feyi-Waboso returned from his HIA.
The brutality of his match continued, as England captain Jamie George clattered into Jake Gordon at the ruck. The scrum half was left with the crimson mask pouring down his face, and was withdrawn to get cleaned up for a blood replacement, as Tate McDermott arrived earlier than expected. McDermott had an immediate impact upon the action, and sniped around the back of a breakdown to provide the assist to his skipper Harry Wilson’s try.
There was yet another head injury assessment, with Ollie Sleightholme back on the pitch as a yo-yoing replacement. Ollie Lawrence departed after a heavy collision, but was back after his assessment ran through the half-time break. After taking the lead at just five minutes into the match, England were behind by two points at half-time. Two England players were penalised by referee Ben O’Keefe, as Lolesio nailed the penalty for a 20-18 interval advantage.
The second half commenced and Australia were over to score after 10 minutes, despite the best efforts of Ben Spencer and Manny Feyi-Waboso. The West Country duo put their bodies on the line to halt Jeremy Williams’ dive in the corner, yet the titanic lock outstretched one arm to add an impressive finish to his first Wallabies try. There was a lengthy debate with the TMO regarding whether Williams’ trailing foot hit touch, yet there was not enough evidence for the referee to overturn his on-field try.
Whilst Spencer got away unscathed from the clattering collision, the full weight of Williams crashed down on a prone Feyi-Waboso, with the Chiefs wing withdrawn for a tough injury, and Ollie Sleightholme had his third appearence off the bench, after Lolesio established a 10-point lead from the tee.
The Saints wing was immediately involved upon his third return to the pitch, and ran on to Smith’s grubber kick to grab a potentially momentum turning try. A missed Smith conversion kept the Aussies five points ahead, as play crept past the hour mark.
The Allianz faithful held their breath, and even rang out boos as George Ford and Harry Randall were shown to be getting ready for an appearence off the bench. Flashbacks of the thrown eight-point lead against the All Blacks went through the minds of the England fans, with many unhappy with Steve Borthwick’s decision to replace Marcus Smith at the hour mark against New Zealand. Those boos became cheers as Smith stayed on the pitch in a move to fullback, as Ford instead replaced George Furbank at the 60 minute mark.
Smith continued to shine under the floodlights, and was integral to England’s fourth trip over the Wallabies’ whitewash. Adapting instantly to his newfound fullback role, Smith collected a deep back-field kick, and returned the ball through a gap before sending Ollie Lawrence on a charging line.
The ball was then shipped out to Alex Dombrandt, and the back row sent a miss pass to Sleightholme for a finish in the corner. This drew the scores level, and Smith added the two point advantage off the tee. Yet there would be another score for the Wallabies, as Australia re-claimed the lead with just four minutes left on the clock.
What looked like a routine run of play through the hands proved costly, as Ollie Lawrence spilt the pass from George Ford. Andrew Kellaway would then race away and showed the English backpeddlers a clean pair of heels on his way to the try-line. Ben Donaldson stepped up for the conversion, in a cruel twist for the Twickenham crowd.
However, there would be another incredible turn of events, as England immediately returned fire and battered the way back over the Wallabies try-line. After a series of short picks at the line, it was vice-captain Maro Itoje who rose to the occasion, and pushed over for the crucial yards and found the grounding for a jubilant roar from the Allianz.
Smith’s conversion awarded England a 37-35 lead, however, they could not hold onto the win. Max Jorgensen’s try in the final play of the match was the Wallabies’ last resort, with the show-stealing score handing England fans the defeat alongside a dreading sense of deja vu.
ENGLAND: 37
Tries: 5 (Cunningham-South 6′, 13′, Sleightholme 57′, 68′, Itoje 79′)
Conversions: 3 (Smith 13′, 68′, 79′)
Penalties: 2 (Smith 19′, 30′,)
Drop Goals: 0
Yellow Cards: 0
Red Cards: 0
STARTING XV: 15. George Furbank 14. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso 13. Ollie Lawrence 12. Henry Slade 11. Tommy Freeman 10. Marcus Smith 9. Ben Spencer 1. Ellis Genge 2. Jamie George 3. Will Stuart 4. Maro Itoje 5. George Martin 6. Chandler Cunningham-South 7. Tom Curry 8. Ben Earl
REPLACEMENTS: 16. Luke Cowan-Dickie 17. Fin Baxter 18. Dan Cole 19. Nick Isiekwe 20. Alex Dombrandt 21. Harry Randall 22. George Ford 23. Ollie Sleightholme
AUSTRALIA: 42
Tries: 5 (Wright 27′, Wilson 35′, Williams 50′, Kellaway 76′, Jorgensen 80′)
Conversions: 5 (Lolesio 27′, 35′, 53′, Donaldson 76′, 80′)
Penalties: 2 (Lolesio 9′, 40′)
Drop Goals: 0
Yellow Cards: 0
Red Cards: 0
STARTING XV: 15. Tom Wright 14. Andrew Kellaway 13. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii 12. Len Ikitau 11. Dylan Pietsch 10. Noah Lolesio 9. Jake Gordon 1. Angus Bell 2. Matt Faessler 3. Taniela Tupou 4. Nick Frost 5. Jeremy Williams 6. Rob Valentini 7. Fraser McReight 8. Harry Wilson
REPLACEMENTS: 16. Brandon Paenga-Amosa 17. James Slipper 18. Allan Alaalatoa 19. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto 20. Langi Gleeson 21. Tate McDermott 22. Ben Donaldson 23. Max Jorgensen
