England have endured another tough defeat in the Autumn Nations Series, as Australia triumphed with a try in the last play of the game. Wallabies flyer Max Jorgensen raced away to snatch the win from Steve Borthwick’s side in the final play of the match, with England once again left ‘gutted’ with the last-ditch loss.
This 37-42 defeat to the Wallabies only builds upon the previous heartache, that England suffered in the previous weekend’s defeat to the All Blacks. With emotions running high with the deflated sense of deja vu, England head coach Steve Borthwick and his captain Jamie George broke down the defeat in the post match press conference. Here are the top five talking points from their immediate reaction.
1. “We’re are gutted” – No hiding how England are feeling after dramatic defeat
The opening statements from Borthwick expressed how the whole England fanbase felt, after the Wallabies clinched the dramatic victory. It was a devastating defeat to take, as England went from leading with a minute remaining, to picking themselves up after conceding in the final play of the match.
STEVE BORTHWICK: “Every England supporter and every England player or anyone associated with the team is gutted right now. It’s a game we should have won. We were in a position to win multiple times.
“We put ourselves in a position to go and win the game and we didn’t. When you turn over that much ball and make the game that unstructured against a team with that much pace, you’re giving them opportunities and we gave them far too many opportunities.”
JAMIE GEORGE: “Fundamentally we’re all gutted with the result. I think there are certainly elements of the performance that we’re not very happy with either. That’s probably the thing that’s the most disappointing. But at the same time, no, like I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, it’s the easiest team that I’ve ever had to captain and when we say we’re going to go out and do something, we go and do it.
“The way that people have brushed themselves off this week to get themselves prepared and in a good way for the game today was impressive. And we’re going to have to do that again this week. So, yes, the message is that we’re very much believing in what we’re doing. We just need to make sure we keep pairing up the good bits and allowing ourselves to put pressure on pressure.”
2. Tom Curry injury update after back row was knocked unconscious
There was a scary looking injury to England back row Tom Curry, as the Sale man was left unconscious after a nasty collision with Rob Valentini. The flanker put his head on the wrong side of the tackle attempt, and was met square on my the charging knee of the Wallabies back row.
STEVE BORTHWICK: “If you lose a world-class player early in the game, it certainly has an impact. Alex Dombrandt came on and played really well, but clearly the balance of the back row changed at that point in time. We have to adapt to those things. We took a few knocks and bangs.
“I had to change things in that first half quite early and then that continued through the second half. I’ll be waiting for the full medical report and understand where everyone’s at, but I think everyone saw the way Tom was down and he will be unavailable next week.”
Also, England wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso was in the wars this afternoon. The Exeter flyer was initially withdrawn for a HIA, yet passed the assessment to return to action. Feyi-Waboso would be removed a second time after a rough collision with Jeremy Williams, as the Wallabies lock scored from a searching dive in the corner.
STEVE BORTHWICK: “I don’t have a report on Manny because he didn’t look good, but I don’t have an understanding of that. I’ll have that later tonight and an update tomorrow morning.”
3. “International class six” – Chandler Cunningham-South stars once again
A shining talent from England’s hard fought defeat against New Zealand, Chandler Cunningham-South was once again at the forefront of the positives for Steve Borthwick’s side. The Harlequin scored two tries within 12 minutes, as he hit his revered top gear in the high-octane first half.
STEVE BORTHWICK: “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.”
4. Ollie Sleightholme – Northampton wing steps up when England need him most
Coming into the match day 23 after missing out on the Test against the All Blacks, there was plenty of excitement to see Ollie Sleightholme back in the England shirt. The wing was rolled on and off a total of three times, but kept his momentum flowing throughout his on-field involvements. Sleightholme crossed over for a momentum-turning try, and was a genuine star of another difficult day for England.
STEVE BORTHWICK: “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, (George) 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. No one’s more disappointed than us about our result today and our England fans will be gutted, we are gutted. We’ll make sure we work exceptionally hard this week to put it right.”
5. Jamie George’s next challenge – How do you bounce back for South Africa?
After two excruciating defeats to New Zealand and Australia, there is no let up for England who now have all eyes on the Springboks. Steve Borthwick’s side host the back-to-back Rugby World Cup winners next Saturday, with Jamie George bestowed the challenge of gearing up his side to bounce back for the ‘Boks.
JAMIE GEORGE: “The bounce back message is how are we able to back up the good things with another good thing and another good thing. That’s what Test match rugby is about. We’ve got a fantastic opposition coming to the Allianz Stadium in South Africa, back to back world champions, I don’t see it as a better opportunity.
“We are going to get ourselves right and make sure we’re right physically. We’re going to have a training week and a brilliant plan going into the game and we’re going to believe in what we are doing. It if it is close in that game we are going to continue to play with endeavour, play big and play to win the game.”
“I think it’s my job but it’s also everyone else’s job in the squad, we’ve got a great group of senior players who are very good in these situations, I think what we do very well is we address things head on.
“Like I sort of reiterated earlier, it’s such an easy group, there is so much excitement around what we’re doing and belief in what we’re doing and of course there are frustrations and there are going to be some people who are very frustrated at the result tonight and parts of the performance. That’s almost fuel for us for next week and how we can get better and be in the best place we possibly can to take on South Africa.”
