England edge Australia in Sydney to take series 2-1

England sealed a memorable come-from-behind series victory over Australia after they won 21-17 at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.

After losing the opening Test in Perth, the English completed an impressive turnaround as they backed up last week’s win with a second in the decider.

Tries from Freddie Steward and Marcus Smith were added to by the boot of Owen Farrell, who slotted three penalties and a conversion on the night.

For Australia their tries were scored by Tom Wright and Folau Fainga’a with Noah Lolesio adding seven points in a loss that will sting the Wallabies.

There were shades of 2016 when veteran scrum-half Danny Care was hooked in the 37th minute as the price for an error-ridden display that included a charged-down kick, knock-on and missed tackle.

Eddie Jones had seen enough and removed Care in the same way he had withdrawn Luther Burrell and Teimana Harrison in the first and third Tests six years ago.  On this occasion the change was rewarded with another solid shift from Jack van Poortvliet.

It could be the last time Care is seen in an England jersey given he has only just returned following nearly four years in international exile, and the same fate could face Guy Porter after his defensive shortcomings were exposed.

Otherwise it was a pleasing day for England, whose scruffy end-of-season performance failed to take the shine off a significant achievement that takes the newly created Ella-Mobbs Cup to Twickenham.

Australia had promised to fly out of the blocks after conceding early leads in the first two Tests and they backed up their words with actions as they grabbed the lead through a Lolesio penalty before creating a half-chance down the right.

Both sides made errors freely throughout the first half and it was a mistake that cost them a certain try when Nick Frost split a tricky pass from Taniela Tupou as England’s defence began to shake.

By now Tommy Freeman was starting to cause the Wallabies problems and when Farrell found the posts England were off the mark.

Just as Jones’ men were starting hit their stride, however, they were picked apart by a mesmerising try that began when Porter failed to tackle Marika Koroibete in midfield, providing the space for Nic White and Wright to combine until the latter went over.

Porter missed a tackle on Reece Hodge and then Koroibete charged through Care as England waved opposition runners through, although a second Farrell penalty at least kept them in the chase.

Danny Care hauled off by Eddie Jones

Jones had run out of patience with Care’s error-ridden display and replaced him with Van Portvliet;  shortly afterwards Freeman began to run amok out wide until Steward pierced the home defence.

Freeman continued to cause problems in the third quarter and England were beginning to take control with a breakaway try from Smith strengthening their position.

Moments after sending Ollie Chessum into space with a short pass, Smith leapt on Lolesio’s fumble which was in part a result of interference from Luke Cowan-Dickie and showed his pace to sprint over.

Crucial tackles from Van Poortvliet and Steward kept Australia out but the line eventually cracked when replacement hooker Fainga’a burrowed over.

England’s lead was now 21-17 but despite the onslaught they were facing, they showed impressive resilience to sweep over the finishing line.

England withstand Australia comeback to level series

England’s first-half surge proved to be enough to level the series at 1-1 as they overcame Australia 25-17 in Brisbane on Saturday.

The Red Rose dominated the opening period, going 19-0 ahead through Billy Vunipola’s try and 14 points from the boot of Owen Farrell.

Dave Rennie’s men responded via Taniela Tupou just shy of the interval before Farrell moved the visitors 22-7 in front in the early stages of the second half.

This Wallabies side has plenty of spirit, however, and got back into the clash when Samu Kerevi touched down and Noah Lolesio added a three-pointer.

Australia were within a converted try at that stage but Farrell’s penalty proved to be enough as England set up a winner-takes-all clash in Sydney.

The build up to the clash in Sydney will be about patching together battered playing squads, but Eddie Jones will also have plenty of highlights to pour over next week as England started like a freight train.

In the opening five minutes there were wins across the field, most crucially a try for Vunipola from a slickly-worked line-out move.

The tone had been set by Ellis Genge in the opening seconds when he ran through Michael Hooper and full-back Jordan Petaia departed with concussion to escalate the Wallabies’ problems.

Farrell added two penalties to his conversion to extend England’s lead to 13-0 but there were tense moments when referee Andrew Brace examined replays of Genge roughing up Nic White on the floor before opting against a card.

Izaia Perese had come on as Petaia’s replacement but he was sent to the sin-bin for a deliberate knock-on and once more Farrell was on target, although Australia were lucky they did not concede a penalty try.

England continued to dominate, taking the Wallabies apart up-front and pouring through gaps, while their kicking game was far more evident than in the first Test.

It was hard to see a way back for Australia when Farrell rounded off another spell of total control with his fourth penalty, but a powerful scrum ignited their attack and a first visit to the 22 of the match ended with a try for Tupou.

A further setback came when Itoje departed following a heavy collision with Noah Lolesio and Perese was next to add to the body count when he left the pitch with a knee injury.

Australia’s response

Just as Farrell appeared to have settled England with three points, a dropped restart by Ollie Chessum allowed Australia to build pressure and once Tupou had almost gone over Kerevi arrived to finish the job.

Marcus Smith was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on, Lolesio was on target from the kicking tee and suddenly Jones’ side’s lead had been cut to 22-17.

England launched an attack but it lacked the conviction evident earlier and they were soon pinned back in their own 22 following brilliant counter play by wing Tom Wright.

Errors were costing the Wallabies and when Jack Nowell launched a tackle-busting run the tide turned, Farrell was on hand to finish the job.

14-man Wallabies end winless streak against England

The Wallabies had Darcy Swain sent off early on but still managed to seal a 30-28 triumph against England in their July international in Perth on Saturday.

Swain received his marching orders for headbutting Jonny Hill in the 34th minute but the Wallabies dug deep and secured the result, which is their first victory over Eddie Jones’ team in nine attempts.

Both sides scored three tries apiece with Jordan Petaia, Folau Fainga’a and Pete Samu dotting down for the hosts while Noah Lolesio added 15 points after succeeding with three penalties and as many conversions.

Ellis Genge, Henry Arundell and Jack van Poortvliet crossed the whitewash for England and their other points came via the boot of Owen Farrell, who slotted three penalties and two conversions.

It is England’s fourth successive defeat and the second match in a row that they have been unable to finish off 14-man opposition after being routed by the Barbarians at Twickenham in their most recent outing.

The story of the first half was the Wallabies’ dwindling body count as they lost Quade Cooper, Tom Banks and Allan Alaalatoa to injury before Swain was sent off.

Losing veteran fly-half Cooper to a calf injury during the warm-up was unfortunate, but Swain’s removal from play was entirely self-inflicted as he clearly struck Hill off the ball in the 34th minute, forcing referee James Doleman to act.

Hill was sin-binned for provoking his fellow lock, mainly by pulling his hair as the two tussled during and after a maul, and the Exeter man had been lucky to escape punishment for a shove in his rival’s face earlier in the half.

Perth was hosting the world’s fifth and sixth-ranked nations and both performed like the middling teams their positions suggested in a scrappy and chaotic match played out in front of a crowd of 47,668.

Genge crossed for England in the third quarter but Australia hit back through Petaia and when Cooper’s replacement Lolesio nailed a tricky conversion, the hosts were in front.

Hooker Fainga’a delivered the fatal blow in the 69th minute and there was no way back for England who by now were coming apart at the seams, at least until London Irish’s teenage sensation Arundell came on to tear the home defence to pieces.

In a worrying pattern, Jones’ men grew worse as the match went on because they started by showing several pleasing flourishes in attack with Joe Cokanasiga prominent.

Tom Curry ― who failed to reappear for the second half because of a failed HIA ― was sent charging into space and his long pass found Joe Marchant but the centre was brilliantly tackled by Marika Koroibete, whose defence had saved a certain try.

England’s lead built through Farrell’s boot and while still reeling from the loss of Cooper, Australia saw Banks leave the field on the medical cart after breaking his arm when falling awkwardly.

Alaalatoa was the next to exit as he rose unsteadily from the bottom of a ruck and the penalty count continued to rise, enabling Lolesio to land three points.

Early exit

And in the most dramatic departure yet, Swain was sent off after losing his cool amid ongoing provocation by Hill.

For all the setbacks, the Wallabies were clinging on and they entered half-time level through a second Lolesio penalty before taking the lead for the first time shortly after the interval.

It did not last long as Genge finished a line-out maul in the right corner and England pressed again in the same area of the field, but the Wallabies were rescued close to their line by the breakdown excellence of captain Michael Hooper.

Farrell had missed his last two shots at goal but he was on target in the 61st minute, although the Wallabies were back in front when Petaia dived over in the left corner to round off some smart build-up, with Samu Kerevi heavily involved.

Billy Vunipola was shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Hooper and Australia’s tails were up as Fainga’a found a path through the middle of a maul.

Samu completed the Wallabies’ scoring before replacements Arundell and Van Poortvliet touched down in the closing stages to give England something to celebrate.

England continue red hot streak against Wallabies

An early try from full-back Freddie Steward helped England see off Australia 32-15 in their Autumn Nations Series clash at Twickenham on Saturday.

For all the hosts’ possession and territory, England were only 16-12 in front at half-time, with Steward scoring their only try amid a high-octane start.

At least one more crossing should have been added against a resilient Wallabies side who were on the ropes yet managed to stay in the fight through a steady stream of James O’Connor penalties.

And as the Cook Cup clash staggered into its final quarter after a humdrum spell full of indiscipline, untidy play and fussy refereeing from Jaco Peyper, England’s attacking intent subsided and an arm-wrestle took over.

Five penalties from Owen Farrell and one from Marcus Smith ultimately propelled them to a second win of the autumn, with Jamie Blamire’s stoppage-time try distorting the final scoreline, but Jones has been left with plenty to work on ahead of South Africa’s visit to Twickenham next Saturday.

For the first half at least the experiment of pairing Smith and Farrell together in a creative axis was a success, although for most of the match they interchanged between fly-half and inside centre.

Frequently Farrell would appear at first receiver, creating time and space for Smith to orchestrate play with clever passes and miss moves, and the pair combined beautifully for Steward’s try.

It was among the best displays seen from England’s captain at inside centre and a return to international form after a period when he has failed to make an impact, although his evening was cut short by injury.

Picking up where they left off last Saturday against Tonga, Jones’ team made an all-action start when Farrell and Smith united to weave Steward into space and the Leicester full-back made easy work of the finish past a diving Kurtley Beale.

Jonny Hill and Kyle Sinckler had taken early bangs but were soldiering on and when the attack was renewed with Sam Underhill carrying hard it looked ominous for Australia.

Hurtling infield off his wing, Manu Tuilagi made inroads into the heart of the visiting defence to win a penalty that was kicked by Farrell, but he then showed his discomfort in his new position by dropping the restart.

Australia scrambled effectively to keep out a second try when Henry Slade and Jonny May threatened and then Jamie George was sent bursting into space by a cute pass from Courtney Lawes.

George was stopped by a dangerous tackle from wing Tom Wright, who was sent to the sin-bin, and the Saracens hooker was then denied a try when Nic White dislodged the ball from his arms as he was about to touch down.

The second-half started with O’Connor’s fifth penalty and now the home lead read just 16-15, but two big carries from Hill including one where he was held up over the line placed England in control.

Angus Bell was sin-binned for a tip tackle on Lawes, and Alex Dombrandt and Tuilagi interchanged to great effect in the 54th minute, only for the ball to be turned over and Australia to launch a counter-attack.

It was the Wallabies’ most threatening moment of the game but it led to their captain Michael Hooper being replaced.

Farrell kicked a penalty before limping off in obvious pain and then Smith also landed three points to kill off the Australian challenge before Blamire charged over.

England ease past poor Australia

England ended their November international campaign on a positive note as they comfortably beat Australia 37-18 at Twickenham on Saturday.

Tries from Jonny May, Elliot Daly, Joe Cokanasiga and Owen Farrell saw England to victory, with Farrell also adding 17 points off the tee.

In reply for Australia their two tries came via Israel Folau as the pressure continues to mount on coach Michael Cheika after a poor 2018.

It was a first-half of two quarters at Twickenham as an impressive opening from England was overshadowed by the Wallabies' late onslaught.

Indeed the hosts started superbly and crossed through May after a solid scrum five metres out led to Ben Youngs putting the finisher over.  Farrell landed the touchline extras with ease but the seven-point lead was cut to four shortly after as Matt Toomua landed one from range.

England though were on top in all areas and Farrell added to his tally with a penalty coming after he'd hit the post with an earlier shot.

Full-back Daly was then short with a long-range penalty attempt that prompted the Wallabies into life, a nice interchange seeing tighthead prop Sekope Kepu and centre Samu Kerevi involved before Dane Haylett-Petty went over, only to be denied because of an earlier forward pass.

Australia, unperturbed by that chalked off try, pushed hard in the closing stages of the half and were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty try late on as Farrell's no arm tackle on Izack Rodda was overlooked by referee Jaco Peyper.  England survived by leaking just three points.

Coming out for the second-half at 13 points apiece the game was finely poised until Daly hit a fine line off Farrell to go in from halfway.  Farrell once again added the conversion to move England 20-13 in front and one sensed the hosts were growing in confidence at Twickenham.

So it proved as Cokanasiga scored on 56 minutes, bumping Haylett-Petty off en route to the line, and he almost had a double soon after but for superb scrambling work from Michael Hooper.  England knew they were still not out of sight as Farrell slotted a penalty a few minutes later.

With a 17-point cushion England had a nice lead as Australia attacked late on and turnover ball almost led to May grabbing a second try of the afternoon but for the ball touching the sideline.  While the try wasn't awarded it showed real footballing skill from the speedster May.

England weren't done though as George Ford announced his arrival onto the field on 76 minutes by laying on Farrell for their fourth try of the game before Australia had the final say, Haylett-Petty's impressive break leading to Folau collecting a grubber from the recycled ball and dotting down.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  May, Daly, Cokanasiga, Farrell
Cons:  Farrell 4
Pens:  Farrell 3

For Australia:
Tries:  Folau 2
Con:  Toomua
Pens:  Toomua 2

England:  15 Elliot Daly, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ben Te'o, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Mark Wilson, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Brad Shields, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Ben Moon
Replacements:  16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Nathan Hughes, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 George Ford, 23 Manu Tuilagi

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Samu Kerevi, 12 Bernard Foley, 11 Jack Maddocks, 10 Matt Toomua, 9 Will Genia, 8 Pete Samu, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Jack Dempsey, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tolu Latu, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Jermaine Ainsley, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Ned Hanigan, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Sefa Naivalu, 23 Marika Koroibete

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

England power past Wallabies

England ran out emphatic 30-6 victors over Australia in a November Test series clash in poor conditions at Twickenham on Saturday.

England showed great resilience on defence and an ability to counter-attack, forcing the opposition in to errors which they are good at capitalising on.

England's substitutes came to the fore late in the game with Danny Care in particular having a major impact.

Tries from Elliot Daly, Jonathan Joseph and Jonny May proved too much for Australia who were kept scoreless except for a penalty apiece from Reece Hodge and Bernard Foley.

Owen Farrell gave England an early 3-0 lead with a penalty.

The Wallabies looked the more threatening of the two sides on attack and were unlucky not to get themselves a try for their efforts when just as it looked if Michael Hooper had scored, it was ruled out by the TMO for offside.

Heavy rain persisted throughout and the wet conditions made handling difficult and halted both sides' momentum on attack resulting in a stop-start encounter.

Skipper Hooper was then yellow-carded with 32 minutes gone on the clock for repeated infringements.  England extended the lead to 6-0 from the resulting penalty courtesy of Farrell's right boot.

The Wallabies were then reduced to 13 men when Kurtley Beale saw yellow for his deliberate knockdown on the stroke of half-time.

Hodge's well-struck penalty from forty metres out eight minutes in to the second half saw the Wallabies cut the deficit to three at 6-3.

Daly was the first to get to George Ford's kick ahead after Tevita Kuridrani had spilt the ball on a Wallabies' attack.  Daly controlled the ball well keeping it in field and diving on top of it.  Farrell added the extras as England took a 13-3 lead on the 55-minute mark much to the delight of the home support.

Joseph got himself on the try column when he ran on to an expertly weighted box-kick from substitute scrum-half Care to slide over in the wet.  Farrell added the extras to give the hosts a 20-6 lead.

And May put the game beyond doubt when he chased down Care's deft grubber kick and cut inside to finish emphatically.

Having assisted two tries, Care got in on the act by getting himself on the try column in the closing stages after another kick through, this time from May to close out the match at 30-6.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Daly, Joseph, May, Care
Cons:  Farrell 2
Pens:  Farrell 2

For Australia:
Pens:  Hodge, Foley

England:  15 Anthony Watson, 14 Jonny May, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Maro Itoje, 20 Sam Simmonds, 21 Danny Care, 22 Henry Slade, 23 Semesa Rokoduguni

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Marika Koroibete, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Reece Hodge, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia, 8 Sean McMahon, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Ned Hanigan, 5 Blake Enever, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements:  16 Stephen Moore, 17 Tom Robertson, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Matt Philip, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Lopeti Timani, 22 Nick Phipps, 23 Karmichael Hunt

Referee:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa), George Clancy (Ireland)
TMO:  Simon McDowell (Ireland)

England down Australia for perfect season

England were able to keep their incredible winning run going after beating Australia 37-21 at Twickenham on Saturday.

It has been a sensational year for the English team after going 13 games unbeaten, claiming victories over all the Six Nations sides and three of the Rugby Championship teams.  It is England's first year since 1992 that they haven't lost a single game to make it a perfect season.

This was a poor end to Australia's season after losing to England three times in their own backyard and then embarking on their European tour with the hope of claiming a Grand Slam, only to be beaten by Ireland last weekend and now England.

The first half was indicative of the furious competition between these two sides finishing 16-13 to the Wallabies.  Australia looked as though they were going to run England ragged after spreading the home side with quick recycling and wide play, which was typified by winger Sefa Naivalu.

But England were not about to disappoint their fans, and their defensive pressure eventually translated into a Jonathan Joseph try, before they took control in the second half.

Australia were set to get an early lead in the first three minutes where they had a penalty right front of the posts but Bernard Foley managed to fluff the kick to the right.

The visitors looked as though they made for up their mistake immediately after Owen Farrell was tackled behind his line and outside centre Tevita Kuridrani would have scored the five-pointer, but the try was disallowed after it was found that David Pocock fumbled the ball forward on the line.  It was an England scrum, but after a massive Australian hit the Wallabies turned the set-piece over and swung the ball wide to Naivalu who scored in the corner.

The Wallabies were close to compounding their lead with the another try after Israel Folau made a searing break down the left wing before Sekope Kepu almost charged over but England managed to hold the ball up.

Australia were then given a five-metre scrum which they utilised efficiently before explosive Kuridrani busted through only to be held up once again.  Foley kicked over a penalty making the score 10-0 after 15 minutes.

England finally got onto the scoreboard after inside centre Farrell knocked over a penalty to close the gap to seven points.

The hosts seemed to gain a lot momentum after the sniff of points and drove right up the field and almost finished the movement with a Marland Yarde try.  England couldn't break the Australian line though and settled with three points from a penalty.

England then took the lead for the first time in the game after Australian prop Kepu fumbled the ball backwards and Farrell managed to get to it first and toed the ball through, with Joseph then outrunning half the Australian defence to score under the posts.

Australia regained the lead after slotting two penalties in a row at the end of the first half, making the score 16-13 to Australia at half time.

The Six Nations champions then got back into the lead after they put pressure on the Australian line before chipping a kick through for in-form wing Yarde to finally get his deserved try.  The Harlequins player still had lots of work to do though as he had to beat Israel Folau to the ball but managed the pressure well, the TMO confirming the score.

Moments after England stretched their lead to 11 points Ben Youngs took a quick tap on the Australian five-metre line and left his opposite number for dead as he juked passed Nick Phipps and scored.

The game went quiet for awhile as both teams struggled to break through each other's line — until the evasive Folau cut through the English line and darted past three English players on the cover defence before being brought down.  Australia recycled quickly and the big number three Kepu scored in the corner after some confusion amongst England.

Australia's chances of claiming a late win however were dented after winger Dane Haylett-Petty was yellow carded for a late tackle on Mike Brown.

Their hopes were then finally stamped out by a late interception try from Joseph, who claimed his second try in the 75th minute to seal a perfect year for England and a fourth straight win over the Wallabies.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Joseph 2, Yarde, Youngs
Cons:  Farrell 3, Ford
Pens:  Farrell 3

For Australia:
Tries:  Naivalu, Kepu
Con:  Foley
Pens:  Foley 3
Yellow Card:  Haylett-Petty

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 George Kruis, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Teimana Harrison, 21 Danny Care, 22 Ben Te’o, 23 Henry Slade

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Reece Hodge, 11 Sefa Naivalu, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Lopeti Timani, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 David Pocock, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore (c), 1 Scott Sio
Replacements:  16 Tolu Latu, 17 James Slipper, 18 Tom Robertson, 19 Dean Mumm, 20 Sean McMahon, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Quade Cooper, 23 Henry Speight

Referee:  Jaco Peyper
Assistant Referees:  Craig Joubert (South Africa), Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
TMO:  Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)

England clinch Sydney battle for 3-0 series win

England completed an outstanding 3-0 series in Australia after coming out on top in a barnstormer of a third Test, winning 44-40 in Sydney.

A late score for Taqele Naiyaravoro meant the Wallabies edged the try-scoring battle five to four, after equally clinical attacking and some tired defending by both sides, but in the end it came down to the points off the boot of Owen Farrell, 24 overall as he knocked over six penalties and three conversions.  He finished with 23 kicks out of 26 attempts over the three Tests.

After the one-way demolition that New Zealand dished out in Dunedin this refreshingly was a proper Test match, both sides swinging blows at the other to tip the scoreboard back and forth.

A record crowd for Allianz Stadium of 44,063 were treated to some contest, and one which the Wallabies had to win after two confidence-sapping losses.  Instead they became only the fourth team in history to score 40 points in a Test match and lose.

England's defence wasn't the sensational force from seven days ago but they showed real tenacity to keep coming back at the Wallabies when in the past their heads might have dropped.

Australia hadn't been defeated 3-0 in a home series since South Africa in 1971.  Now England head home with their chests puffed out having changed that.

England's early approach was so controlled, directed excellently by Ben Youngs through a series of short pop passes which culminated with Dan Cole crashing over for his third try in 68 Tests.

Australia's response though was instant, Israel Folau breaking up the touchline before passes to Matt Toomua and then Bernard Foley saw the fly-half canter over.  A possible knock-on in the build-up was ruled out by the TMO, allowing Foley to convert to make it 7-7.

It was a decent response from Stephen Moore's side, forcing England to miss tackles which they made in Melbourne to get over the gain line.

The improvement in the width of their play thanks to Matt Toomua's return was obvious, stretching England far more than last week and subsequently rewarded with a second try.

Dane Haylett-Petty has enjoyed an outstanding series and now has a first Test try to his name, waiting patiently on the wing for Australia to send the ball wide until the overlap was found and Folau put his winger over in the corner.  Foley couldn't convert, leaving the Wallabies ahead 12-7.

England's scrum hit back by winning a penalty, knocked over by Farrell, only for the tourists to hold on at the restart for Foley to counter with three points of his own.

Big hits from the Australian defence were forcing handling errors out of England but a moment of skill from Anthony Watson unlocked the defence.

Chipping over the top of Haylett-Petty, it was Mike Brown who won the race to the ball following up to score and tie the game, Farrell's touchline coversion then putting England ahead 17-15.

Immediately after that happened the new face in England's XV, Teimana Harrison, was hauled off and replaced by Courtney Lawes on 31 minutes, with Maro Itoje moving to six, in a move similar to Luther Burrell's early substitution in the first Test.

Foley missed a penalty to restore the lead, after a late tackle from Cole, as a quality Test match headed towards half-time with Foley nudging the Wallabies back ahead after Maro Itoje went offside.  Adam Coleman was a half-time replacement for Will Skelton as he made his Wallabies debut.

A curious start to the second half followed, a high kick from George Ford hitting the spider-cam above but with play carrying on Youngs pinned Australia right back in their corner.

Stephen Moore overthrew from the subsequent lineout five metres out but Chris Robshaw couldn't ground the ball, held up and handing the tourists a close-range scrum, from which there was no stopping Billy Vunipola as England scored their third try.  Farrell couldn't convert, but England led 22-18.

There was nothing wrong his next effort, a superb long-range penalty by Farrell stretching England's lead to seven.

Typical of the contest Australia's response was almost instant, Coleman on debut bursting through the middle only to be hauled down short of the line.

Now it was the Wallabies' turn to have a five-metre scrum and they stretched England one way and then the next before Michael Hooper went through the tackle of Brown and reached out to try and ground the ball on the line.  Foley converted, levelling things up at 25-25.

England freshened up with the arrival of Danny Care and Jack Clifford off the bench to add some pace and the pack was still working away, James Slipper penalised for not binding square before Farrell landed his third penalty to restore the lead.

It didn't last long.  Toomua busted through a tired tackle attempt from Billy Vunipola and had Folau on his inside to score Australia's fourth try.

A penalty against Fardy for playing the ball on the floor helped Farrell to chip back again, cutting the gap to one point at 32-31, as England never gave up.

Jamie George, the super sub from Melbourne, came back off the bench and struck again with his golden boot, although this time luck played a huge part as a trickling ball ricocheted forward off his legs and the hooker pounced on it to score.  Farrell again converted, giving England a six-point lead.

A moment of madness from Nick Phipps loosely flicking the ball backwards started off the chain of events which led to that score and now Australia had to keep their heads, down by nearly a converted score with time ticking away.

Farrell had a shot at another penalty won from England's driving maul and typical of a series in which he's come so far he landed it from some way out, taking England over the 40-point barrier for a 41-32 lead.

Straight away Foley responded with three points from right out in front to bring the Wallabies back within a converted score but now the hosts were fighting against the clock as England noticeably took their time, bringing on Elliot Daly into the back row as the legs began to tire.

Farrell hammered home the result, his sixth penalty confirming not just the win, but a series whitewash against the team who dumped them out of their own Rugby World Cup last year.

Naiyaravoro had the final say with a try after the siren, but this was England's night.  They have completely deserved to win the series, and this will go right up near the top as one of their finest achievements.

Man of the Match:  Plenty of standout performers on both sides, Dane Haylett-Petty and Sean McMahon for Australia, but the composure of Owen Farrell decided both the Test and the series.

Moment of the Match:  He might have been a touch fortunate with the way the ball bounced his way but Jamie George's try gave England the margin they needed.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Foley, Haylett-Petty, Hooper, Folau, Naiyaravoro
Cons:  Foley 3
Pens:  Foley 3

For England:
Tries:  Cole, Brown, B Vunipola, George
Cons:  Farrell 3
Pens:  Farrell 6

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Sean McMahon, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Will Skelton, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore (c), 1 James Slipper
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Scott Sio, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Adam Coleman, 20 Wycliff Palu, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Christian Leali’ifano, 23 Taqele Naiyaravoro

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jack Nowell, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Teimana Harrison, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Joe Launchbury, 20 Courtney Lawes, 21 Jack Clifford, 22 Danny Care, 23 Elliot Daly

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees:  Craig Joubert (South Africa), Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

England clinch historial series in Australia

England clinched a first-ever series win in Australia with a remarkable defensive effort, scrapping their way to a 23-7 win in Melbourne.

The tourists led 13-7 for almost the entire second half thanks to a try from Dylan Hartley and two Owen Farrell penalties, before a breakaway try finished off by Farrell made sure that England would make history.

After the thrills and spills of Sydney this was more of a traditional Test slugfest, boiling over at times and leaving Dan Cole early on with his shirt ripped off his back.

Tries from the two captains Stephen Moore and Hartley were copycat efforts off rolling mauls and from then on it was all about desire.  Exhausting enough just watching, both sets of players left everything out there.

Australia had chances to take penalties but opted for the lineout instead – brave at first, but the longer they trailled the more foolish turning down those points seemed.

From renowned tacklers likes James Haskell and Maro Itoje to someone whose tackling has been doubted like George Ford, England defence's was remarkable, even when it looked like their legs might give way.

Chris Robshaw celebrated his 50th cap with an outstanding display.  Haskell finished with 21 tackles.  Australia will feel that Farrell's late try was burglary, but the truth is England had more than earned it for their work camped in their own 22.

Farrell, metronomic with his place kicking in Sydney, couldn't draw his first attempt around to keep the scores at 0-0.

The pre-match concerns about the AAMI Park struggling with Test level scrums proved to be more than valid, as the two packs churned up dead turf at an alarming rate following the first couple of engagements.  Frankly, it was an embarrassment.

If the scrums were a letdown then a scrap which blew up following Robshaw's apparent neck roll on Nick Phipps saw both sides steaming into one another, a lengthy TMO referral resulting in Moore being penalised for flying in off his feet.

Patience was the key to England's approach on attack and after a bomb from Ford went unclaimed by the Wallabies waiting underneath, allowing it to bounce, Joseph pounced to secure possession to set up an attack which resulted in England kicking to the corner from a penalty and eventually scoring.

Having set the maul England's second phase gave them the power required to drive forward with Hartley pouncing for the try.  Farrell converted to make it 7-0.

A superior kicking game and the outstanding work of Cole in the scrum was allowing England to control proceedings, Farrell adding a penalty to stretch the lead to ten.

Seemingly in a daze Australia desperately needed something to snap out of their lull, and it came from their own maul.

The loss of Rory Arnold to the blood bin didn't matter as the Wallaby pack set and then powered over with the captain Moore the scorer.  Foley put his Sydney kicking woes behind him by landing the conversion from out wide to make it 7-10.

Samu Kerevi repayed the faith shown in him by Michael Cheika with some punishing runs, threatening to split England open with the first half running down.

Australia though had a final chance to attack after Billy Vunipola kicked the ball out seemingly at the same time as the hooter.

The hosts instead cracked out an attack from the resulting lineout which went four minutes and over 20 phases into overtime, the Wallabies finishing it with absolutely no points whatsoever.  England led by the break, just, as both teams headed down the tunnel still scrapping.

It was the visitors who started the second half with more energy but they had been lucky to not lose a man to a yellow card in the first half after cynical penalties close to their own line.

A TMO referral for a block in the back by Farrell suggested that sin-binning would finally happen, except instead Australia were penalised for obstruction and Farrell obliged to make it 7-13.

Only an excellent turnover from Robshaw on his 50th cap could keep Australia out again but the Wallabies were starting to surge, a fresh front row turning the screw on the scrum to test England's defence again.  Foley's knock-on brought that to an end.

With England tiring the introduction of Christian Lealiifano to add some width to Australia's game looked like a masterstroke as the Wallabies enjoyed close to 70 percent possession in the second half.

Time and again England's defence five metres out from their line remained resolute, desperately kicking clear whenever they could.

Waiting for a vital mistake, England pounced.  Courtney Lawes burst up the middle was followed up by replacement hooker Jamie George, and it was his grubber kick which unlocked the Australia defence, Farrell racing up in support to get to the ball and score the series-winning score.

Another dominant scrum from England had Billy Vunipola roaring in celebration and Farrell lining up another penalty, stretching the score to 23-7.

Sunday will be a rough day for Australia as they try and recover for Sydney.  England meanwhile will savour the moment.  What a turnaround from their Rugby World Cup disaster.

Man of the Match:  A tie between England's two "six and a halves" – Chris Robshaw and James Haskell – whose defensive efforts will be remembered for some time.

Moment of the Match:  Finely poised for so long, Jamie George's support line and kick ahead suddenly have Australia scrambling as Farrell pounced for that winning score.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing overly nasty to report.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Try:  Moore
Con:  Foley

For England:
Tries:  Hartley, Farrell
Cons:  Farrell 2
Pens:  Farrell 3

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Sean McMahon, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore (c), 1 James Slipper
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Toby Smith, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Dean Mumm, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Christian Leali’ifano, 23 Luke Morahan

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jack Nowell, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 James Haskell, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Joe Launchbury, 20 Courtney Lawes, 21 Jack Clifford, 22 Danny Care, 23 Elliot Daly

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
TMO:  Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

Essential win for England

England's season finally came good as the hosts saw off a dynamic Wallaby side at Twickenham with a 26-17 win on Saturday.

A first-half try from Ben Morgan, brilliantly orchestrated by the impressive George Ford, was the difference between the sides at half-time, but England will rue the litany of handling errors that have plagued their outside backs all season as several chances went begging on the wings through basic skill errors.

However, this was a victory hewn from England's scrummaging power and the penetration of their driving maul, not an unfamiliar situation for followers of Australian rugby.

Nonetheless, as a victory it is significant for England;  anything less would have thrown their season in the depths of calamity, and Graham Rowntree can take a lot of credit for the impregnable lineout and scrum that has been a feature of English rugby this November.

Australia started well, with Bernard Foley making the first inroads as England transgressed at the ruck.  But the next penalty was a portent of things to come as Australia collapsed a powerful English scrum and George Ford slotted three points.

Time and time again the Wallaby eight struggled to cope with the pinching of the outstanding David Wilson and Joe Marler on the Australia tighthead and hooker, and as James Slipper was 'disconnected' the Aussie front row were forced either to stand up, collapse or detach as the wave of English power decimated the Australian tight five.

The scoreboard showed 12 points to the front row but frankly there were a number of occasions were Jerome Garces could quite have justifiably considered penalty tries.

Morgan's opening score after 28 minutes was a direct result of the immense forward pressure England exerted.  Chris Robshaw, a rock all afternoon, forced a turnover in his own half with Israel Folau fumbled the resulting low kick from the percussive Ben Youngs.

The resulting scrum was huge from England and as Brad Barritt made big inroads into the Wallaby defence, Youngs recycled quickly and flanker Tom Wood linked to send Morgan crashing over.

Australia are a side that relish a disparity of possession and retaliated with an exhilarating break from the outstanding Adam Ashley-Cooper down the right flank.

However, defensive systems count for a lot in modern international rugby and Anthony Watson's awareness to stay on Ashley-Cooper as the veteran offloaded to Rob Horne, allowed Courtney Lawes to snuff out the attack with a tackle of Herculean proportions on the Wallaby wing.

With Ford missing long-range penalties either side of the break, Australia hit back with intelligence and style.

Ford coughed up the ball as Twelvetrees was smashed in the tackle by Matt Toomba.  Five phases later and Foley and Horne combined to send the Wallaby fly-half under the posts, converting his own effort to bring Australia to within a penalty of England at 13-10.

Despite the very best efforts of Ashley-Cooper, who tore England's push defence apart time and time again with his direct running approach, Australia simply couldn't compete with England's forward power.

After 58 minutes Mike Brown, back to his rock-like self at full-back, sent a testing grubber deep into the Wallaby 22.  The ensuing line-out gave England a five-metre scrum and Australia capitulated, giving Morgan the opportunity to scamper over for his brace.

But Australia were not going down without a fight and a crucial missed tackle by Robshaw on his opposite number Michael Hooper allowed the Wallaby flanker to combine with replacement Quade Cooper and Toomua, popping up the ball for the giant Will Skelton to thunder over the whitewash.

With England fearing a deja-vu moment, another loss in the closing minutes of the game, the men in white turned to their forwards and, right on cue, they produced a rolling maul of some 25 metres.

Australia inevitably collapsed it and Ford took the chance to take England six points clear.

Another penalty moments later led the home team to the relative safely of an eight-point lead and England clung on for dear life as they finally got the big win they so sorely needed.

In the final analysis, England will be grateful for a win and Australia will leave Twickenham wondering how on earth they disintegrated against an England scrum yet again.

However, in analysing their victory, England need to take notice of the basic handling errors they produced yet again and the lack of penetration of their backs from phase possession.

It's a step forward for England, but when examined carefully, it's more of a shuffle in the right direction than a confident stride.

Man of the Match:  Adam Ashley-Cooper was a thorn in England's side all day, as was the dynamic running of Michael Hooper.  For England, Brad Barritt's leadership of the defence was outstanding, as was Courtney Lawes' physicality.  But in a season where England have struggled to score tries, Ben Morgan's brace wins him our award.

Moment of the Match:  This week has been a horrific one for sport in general and Australian sport in particular.  The ovation given to deceased cricketer Phil Hughes at the start of the game ensured there wasn't a dry eye in the house.  Astonishing, poignant and apt.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing to report at all here.  Played in wonderful spirit.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Morgan 2
Cons:  Ford 2
Pens:  Ford 4

For Australia:
Tries:  Foley, Skelton
Cons:  Foley, Cooper
Pen:  Foley

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Brad Barritt, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 David Wilson, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements:  16 Rob Webber, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 George Kruis, 20 James Haskell, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Marland Yarde.

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Sean McMahon, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Saia Fainga'a, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  tbc

Referee:  J

Fortunate England see off Wallabies

Two second-half tries from Chris Robshaw and Owen Farrell gave England a peculiar 20-13 victory over Australia at Twickenham.

Cagey in the first half, a combination of a powerful scrum and extreme fortune reversed the tide after the break thanks to England's two tries.

The optimist's view will highlight that England won whilst playing poorly, an eighth win in their last nine matches as Stuart Lancaster picked up his 13th win in 20 matches as England coach.  Yet Lancaster is England's harshest critic, and he will know that they have plenty to work on.

There were certainly positives.  Billy Twelvetrees effort on Matt Toomua aside, England defended well and their scrum was rampant.  Argentina will provide better competition in that area next weekend, but it means England have a platform for when their backline begins to click.

Australia's haphazard scrum and line-out meant they never enjoyed as much possession as their hosts.  Moments of execution — kicks to touch, discipline and Quade Cooper's goalkicking as the match went on — were way off the mark from their exciting performance against New Zealand in Dunedin.

The Wallabies looked to have made plenty of progress in their two most recent matches, but there was no consistency at Twickenham.  Three wins in the last four years have made England's home a happy hunting ground for the Wallabies, but when chasing the game their play at times was dire.

England's Rugby World Cup squad were in the stands to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of that famous night in Sydney, but there has been only one Six Nations title to celebrate in the time since.

To highlight the alarming contrast between that success and the decade since, England spluttered their way through a first half where they lacked the cutting edge required to win a Test match.  The parading of the Webb Ellis trophy by Sir Clive Woodward and the 2003 squad around the field felt almost cruel.

One fear before the match that England's dominant scrum would be blunted following the loss of Alex Corbisiero proved to be unfounded, as Mako Vunipola and Dan Cole were in charge throughout against their Wallaby counterparts.

Farrell's first attempt at goal sailed over but his next three were wayward, a couple of off-key moments turning into desperation from the normally reliable Saracens number ten.

Israel Folau shone everytime a high ball was sent his way — not exactly a rare occurance as kicking dominated the whole game — but scrum and lineout woes unraveled promising field position for the Wallabies over and over again.

With Australia's penalty count rapidly rising, Michael Hooper was fortunate to avoid yellow as England finally re-took the lead.  This time Farrell glanced the ball off the post the right way.

Folau continued to be at the heart of Australia's best efforts and he busted Chris Ashton's tackle — released by a blinding pass from Cooper — to create the first try for Toomua as barreled his way over a hapless Billy Twelvetrees.

Cooper's penalty immediately afterwards gave Australia a 13-6 advantage to take into the interval, as England plodded their way forward to suck up time and phases — but created no points.

Questionable decision-making hurt England early in the second half, when Marland Yarde was penalised for a late tackle, but Cooper's kick faded away to the left.

England needed a lucky break and after Brown clearly lost the ball into touch and Chris Ashton botched a quick penalty, Yarde was given a chance to test the Wallabies down the left wing.  He nearly made them pay with a bright burst down the touchline, but was expertly tackled by Adam Ashley-Cooper.

Luck then quite literally fell England's way, as Genia was charged down by Tom Wood for the captain Robshaw to pounce on the loose ball and level the scores.

They had an extra slice of fortune for Farrell's try shortly after.  Dylan Hartley was deemed to have not been obstructed Ben Mowen enough as the England fly-half strode through to score.

Cooper missed another crucial opportunity for points to keep England ahead by seven heading towards the final ten minutes, but the Wallabies threw caution to the wind.

A sharp counter-attack from Nick Cummins had England scrambling and with Cooper's radar misfiring, they kicked into the corner.  It looked threatening and Australia edged closer to the five-metre line, until Ben Alexander coughed up the ball and the Wallabies' hopes went with it.

Man of the Match:  He may have been lucky in the build-up to Robshaw's try, but Mike Brown:  was influential for England at the back.  Credit to Adam Ashley-Cooper.

Moment of the Match:  It has to be Owen Farrell's try, for putting the hosts into a lead that Australia couldn't chase down.

Villain of the Match:  The minor block from Dylan Hartley was clearly obstructive.  When has not enough obstruction been a thing?

For England:
Tries:  Robshaw, Farrell
Cons:  Farrell 2
Pens:  Farrell 2

For Australia:
Try:  Toomua
Con:  Cooper
Pens:  Cooper 2

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Joel Tomkins, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements:  16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Joe Marler, 18 David Wilson, 19 Dave Attwood, 20 Ben Morgan, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Toby Flood, 23 Ben Foden.

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben Mowen (c), 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 James Horwill, 4 Sitaleki Timani, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Saia Faingaa, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Sepoke Kepu, 19 Kane Douglas, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Nic White, 22 Christian Lealiifano, 23 Bernard Foley.

Referee:  George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Romain Poite (France), Dudley Phillips (Ireland)
TMO:  Marshall Kilgore (Ireland)

Australia bounce back at Twickenham

A powerful performance from Australia led to a 20-14 victory over England at Twickenham, with Berrick Barnes kicking 15 points.

In front of a packed crowd at Twickenham, England opened the scoring with a penalty from Toby Flood with two minutes gone, but it was Australia who held the edge early on in terms of territory and possession.

The Wallabies were on top in the opening scrums and it proved to be the foundation for Australia's first score of the afternoon as Michael Hooper burst through on the left hand side, Berrick Barnes eventually sending through a drop-goal from straight in front.

Australia continued to play with width, Nick Cummins giving the English defence cause for concern as he continued to find space down the right wing.

Flood put England back in front with a long-range penalty but Australia responded by putting the home side under pressure deep on their own try line, the TMO ruling out a score after looking at numerous replays.

A penalty at the resulting scrum however led to Barnes levelling the scores from straight in front, but Flood responded to take the score to 9-6.

Cummins then grabbed the first try of the afternoon after a poor box kick from Danny Care led to a break from Australian scrum-half Pat Phipps, who slipped through a gap in England's defence and fed an unmarked Cummins for the score.

It was England however who had grabbed the final points of the first half, a tapped penalty by Care putting Australia on the back foot before the ball went wide to Manu Tuilagi.

The Leicester centre dived and allegedly did enough to ground the ball on the line, putting England back in front and leaving the score at 14-11 at half-time.

Barnes drew both teams level at the start of the second half and then put the Wallabies in front after a perfectly weighted chip behind the defence from Beale was gathered by Hooper, leading to another penalty kick to give Australia a 14-17 lead.

The Wallabies regained possession from the restart and a break from Tapuai almost released Cummins on the outside again only for Sharples to intervene.  Australia's dominance at the breakdown resulted in England being penalised, with Barnes stretching the visitors lead to six points.

An English response was needed and it came with a powerful surge towards the Australian try-line, the hosts launching a series of driving mauls towards the Wallaby line, Thomas Waldrom going close but knocking on as he dived for the score.

The home crowd did their best to lift England's performance but the error count continued to rise as Australia controlled the breakdown and the scrum, winning yet another penalty which Barnes failed to convert from long-range.

A tapped penalty from replacement Ben Youngs brought the crowd to their feet as England persisted to go for the try rather than taking the points on offer, but Australia again turned over possession, stifling England's momentum.

It was a similar story for the rest of the second half as Australia dominated the breakdown, repelling a series of attacks from the home side deep into their own 22 but emerging on top on every occasion, to clinch an important victory for coach Robbie Deans.

Man of the match:  Who needs David Pocock?  Openside Michael Hooper had a fine afternoon.

Moment of the match:  After sustained pressure, Thomas Waldrom just couldn't get the ball down.

Villain of the match:  Not a memorable afternoon for Joe Marler at the scrum, the Harlequin struggling against Ben Alexander.

The scorers:

For England:
Try:  Tuilagi
Pens:  Flood 3

For Australia:
Try:  Cummins
Pens:  Barnes 4
Drop Goal:  Barnes

England:  15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Charlie Sharples, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Danny Care, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Johnson, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Tom Palmer, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements:  16 David Paice, 17 David Wilson, 18 Mako Vunipola, 19 Joe Launchbury, 20 Tom Wood, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Mike Brown.

Australia:  15 Berrick Barnes, 14 Digby Ioane, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Dave Dennis, 5 Nathan Sharpe (captain), 4 Sitaleki Timani, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Stephen Moore, 17 James Slipper, 18 Sekope Kepu, 19 Radike Samo, 20 Liam Gill, 21 Brett Sheehan, 22 Mike Harris, 23 Drew Mitchell.

England dominate the Wallabies

England finally put in the performance Martin Johnson had been longing for on Saturday with a ruthless 35-18 win against Australia at Twickenham.

It was an 80-minute effort that saw Lewis Moody lift the Cook Cup and the champagne sprayed.  The victory -- inspired by two tries from wing Chris Ashton and 25 points via the assured boot of Toby Flood -- has also sent out a warning shot to rivals ahead of next year's World Cup.

Moody had come out of the dressing rooms in a manner that summed up his ''Mad Dog'' nickname -- smiling yet scowling in a fired up fashion.  And it seemed that the captain's late pep talk before kick-off rubbed off on his team-mates, who took the fight to the Wallabies in the early stages.

England unsurprisingly had set about looking to take the heart out of their opponents, attacking Australia down the middle of the field through Courtney Lawes and Nick Easter.  However, the visitors weathered the early storm and were in fact the first to have an opportunity for posts.  Wing James O'Connor missed from the touchline though in what was a bad day from the tee in which he was unsuccessful with his first three.

The hosts soon capitalised in what quickly became the enterprising brand that Martin Johnson has been desperate for for some time now.  England were running the ball from all areas, had options and were backing themselves to claim successive wins against Oz.

It paid off too as a Shontayne Hape crash ball led to the impressive Mark Cueto carrying on the move before Tom Croft's offload found Ashton, who showed strength to cross close to the posts.  The score was 10-0 on 25 minutes with England enjoying all of the possession.

However, it probably should have been 10-9 after Force youngster hit the post with his third penalty attempt just after the half-hour.  Matters then got worse for Australia when England again showed their counter-attacking ability in a move that was started by the in-form Ben Youngs.  The number nine spotted something from his own 22 and the hosts ultimately motored downfield before centre Matt Giteau was blown for lying on the ball.

Flood accepted the three-point attempt, which he landed and then cancelled out O'Connor's second penalty shortly after the restart before Australia mounted their first real assault.

But when Will Genia darted himself he was swallowed up by a combination of Flood, Mike Tindall and Tom Palmer, England snatched the turnover and scored one of the great tries.

Youngs spotted the opening and sent Lawes away down the blindside.  The lock then slipped the pass to Ashton who roared clear to score from 85 metres and send HQ wild.

Ashton still had to beat Drew Mitchell but he stepped inside and out-stripped the Wallaby winger to score under the posts, leaving Flood a simple conversion, and England led 26-6.

Australia found a toe-hold in the game when Kurtley Beale scored a brilliant individual try, breaking England's line and then chipping over Ben Foden before touching down.

It did nothing to dampen England's confidence.  Cueto surged through two tackles straight from the restart and when Nathan Sharpe was penalised for holding on Flood slotted another penalty.

Australia struck again when Dylan Hartley missed his jumpers on halfway and Luke Burgess snatched possession and raced clear before off-loading to prop James Slipper.

Moody hauled the replacement prop down but Australia recycled the ball quickly and Beale crashed over.

But still England tore into the Wallabies, with Cueto scything through their defence, and Flood sealed a famous victory with two more penalties.

Man-of-the-match:  A tough call between Ben Youngs and Chris Ashton.  The former was so often the catalyst for England while Toby Flood and Courtney Lawes also put in good shifts, but Ashton's two tries see him take this one.

Moment-of-the-match:  It has to be Chris Ashton's memorable try that left Wallaby winger Drew Mitchell tasting dirt.  One of the great tries to ever be scored at Twickenham and it left Australia having it all to do.

Villain-of-the-match:  Slightly harsh to dish this award out so we have decided to share it out with the charcoal shirt subplot, James O'Connor missing those early kicks and Matt Giteau for getting yellow carded.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Ashton 2
Con:  Flood 2
Pen:  Flood 7

For Australia:
Tries:  Beale 2
Con:  O'Connor
Pen:  O'Connor 2

England:  15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Shontayne Hape, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody (capt), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements:  16 Steve Thompson, 17 David Wilson, 18 Simon Shaw, 19 Hendrie Fourie, 20 Danny Care, 21 Charlie Hodgson, 22 Delon Armitage.

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (capt), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Mark Chisholm, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Huia Edmonds, 17 James Slipper, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 Richard Brown, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Lachie Turner.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Christophe Berdos (France), Simon Mcdowell (Ireland)
Television match official:  Jim Yuille (Scotland)

England break Aussie duck Down Under

It only took seven years, but England finally got the better of the Wallabies on Australian soil thanks to a thrilling 21-20 victory in Sydney on Saturday.

Both side's crossed the whitewash twice, but the difference came from the tee -- Matt Giteau missing on two occasions from an easy range to put his side in front that ultimately allowed the visitors to hang on for a memorable win.

It was a case of déjà vu for the hosts as 2003 World Cup hero Jonny Wilkinson's boot ruined Australia's weekend.

Wilkinson, who made his first appearance at the Sydney Olympic Stadium since slotting the famous late drop-goal all those years ago, converted a 55th minute three-pointer that was the significant difference in England's win.

England had taken a half-time lead with maiden Test tries from Ben Youngs and Chris Ashton but the Wallabies hit back with Giteau scoring twice in a 20-point haul.

Wilkinson replaced Toby Flood early in the second half -- and his first act was to land the penalty that pushed England ahead to seal only their third Test victory Down Under against the Wallabies.

England were barely recognisable from the team that was so soundly put in its place by the Wallabies in Perth last week.  In what was by far their finest performance under Martin Johnson, the tourists played with confidence, intelligence and inventiveness throughout the 80 minutes and no-one can argue that they thoroughly deserved the win.

While England's scrum was their dominant weapon in the first Test in Perth last weekend, it was barely used on Saturday as an improved defence and dominant field position secured the unlikely result.

England opened the match with much greater intensity compared to last week and pressured the Australian inside backs, forcing a host of early errors.  They were rewarded when the Wallabies gave away a defensive penalty in front of the posts and Toby Flood put England ahead 3-0 after just three minutes.

Five minutes later referee Romaine Poite penalised English prop Tim Payne for a punch in the scrum and Matt Giteau duly equalised with a simple kick at goal.

He made it 6-3 soon after with a penalty from 45 metres out, but the English were rewarded for their enterprise when Youngs scored a wonderful solo try, taking the ball from the back of the line-out, darting past the Australian forwards and outpacing Drew Mitchell to score.

In an entertaining first half the Wallabies struck back almost immediately, Giteau scoring after a superb break from winger Digby Ioane to put Australia ahead 13-10.

But England were soon in again as winger Ashton scored his first Test try, steaming onto an inside ball from lock Tom Palmer and breaking through the attempted tackle of James O'Connor.

Flood's conversion attempt went just wide and England went into the break with a well-deserved 15-13 lead.

The Wallabies backs had been well contained in the first half but they gave a show of their brilliance three minutes into the second as Quade Cooper and O'Connor broke away down the sideline before sending Giteau away for his second try and a 20-15 lead.

An Australian scrum collapse allowed Flood to narrow the gap to 20-18, almost his last act before being replaced by Wilkinson.  Another scrum collapse saw Wilkinson kick a penalty from in front and an England lead.

Giteau had three chances to put the Australians back in front but missed them all, including one from right in front of the posts with 10 minutes to go while Wilkinson had an opportunity to kick a 79th minute penalty but his attempt also went wide.

Nevertheless, England managed to hold on to possession in the dying seconds and cleared the ball into touch at the sound of the final hooter.

Man of the match:  Newcomers Ben Youngs at scrum-half and lock Courteney Lawes justified their selections, while the back three of Ben Foden, Mark Cueto and Chris Ashton, hardly seen in the first Test, looked dangerous every time they touched the ball.  However our vote was an unanimous one in the end -- Nick Easter played his best game in an England shirt and simply dominated from start to finish.  He was found everywhere on the pitch, never dropped a ball and put in big hits.

Moment of the match:  All the tries were eye-catching, but Ben Youngs' effort to put England back ahead thanks to a great individual run through the gap showed the visitors meant business.

Villain of the match:  Matt Giteau may have scored all the Wallabies' points, but memories of his blunder against Scotland came back to haunt him as he missed one, and another and then another from bang in front that would have put his side in front!

The scorers:

For Australa:
Tries:  Giteau 2
Cons:  Giteau 2
Pens:  Giteau 2

England:
Tries:  Youngs, Ashton
Cons:  Flood 2
Pens:  Flood 2, Wilkinson

Australia:  15 James O'Connor, 14 Digby Ioane, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (c), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Saia Faingaa, 1 Ben Daley.
Replacements:  16 Huia Edmonds, 17 James Slipper, 18 Mark Chisholm, 19 Matt Hodgson, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Adam Ashley-Cooper.

England:  15 Ben Foden, 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Shontayne Hape, 11 Chris Ashton, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody (c), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Steve Thompson, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements:  16 George Chuter, 17 David Wilson, 18 Simon Shaw, 19 James Haskell, 20 Danny Care, 21 Jonny Wilkinson, 22 Delon Armitage.

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)

Australia rise above the grind

Australia delivered a patchy performance, but had enough creativity to deny England a victory in Perth on Saturday, winning 27-17.

The Wallabies were guilty of making all the play, but still haven't quite found each other's rhythm.  That will come.  Of more concern will be the pasting meted out to Australia's emerging front-row resources which yielded both England's scores from a series of scrums.

That made the score look good for England, but frankly, they were rubbish.  The sterling forward effort in the tight notwithstanding, England were never in the game.  Each time Australia scored, the tries were well-crafted movements, full of running angles, width-of-the-pitch movements, miss passes and acceleration.  Each time England got the ball, it went either into the air or up the jumper.  Late in the first half, England had the ball in Australia's 22.  They went through eleven stodgy, slow and, ultimately, smothered phases for a gain of minus four metres, then spun the ball wide to the backs who could easily have been slumbering gently by this point.  The backs lost it.  Perhaps they just hadn't warmed up yet.

That both England's tries were penalty tries says a lot, both about the limits of England's attack and of Australia's scrum.

Australia's backs -- and a fair few forwards -- were trying all sorts early on and Australia were far superior in the first half as a result.  Quade Cooper proved so much of a nuisance that efforts made to mark him simply left gaps for others.  Drew Mitchell terrorised the England defence at any opportunity, as did Digby Ioane.  James O'Connor was assured at full-back and was also a threat, while the back-row and props were prominent for their ability to run hard at spaces.  Only a little more gelling and time between the players is required for this to become a formidable team.

Yet England were able to claw their way back from 14-0 down at half-time, as Australia just failed to make enough of the hard yards in the second half.  England proved adroit at targeting weaknesses -- scrums and line-outs from Australia need some work -- and Ben Foden also created a few problems from loose kicks.  England were far too restricted for most of the match, Australia just a little too carefree at times.

After 30 minutes, the Wallabies had made just nine tackles such was their control of the game and England were fortunate to only be 14-0 down.

Luke Burgess, Australia's second-choice scrum-half, was running England ragged and his blind-side break would have created the opening score but for a brilliant last-ditch tackle from Chris Ashton.

But it was finger-in-the-dam stuff from England and the inevitable try came when Drew Mitchell counter-attacked from Danny Care's clearance.

Mitchell beat Ashton to race into the England 22 and when the ball was whipped wide, Elsom galloped over for the opening try.

Referee Nigel Owens lectured Australia's disintegrating front row but Flood missed with a 48-metre penalty and England's attacking play was laboured and error-strewn.

Tom Croft finally got involved with his first carry of the day, but just when England thought they had put Mark Cueto through a gap, referee Owens called them back for a knock-on.

In contrast, the Wallabies were ruthless.  Elsom stole a lineout from Croft, and Burgess left Hape flailing in midfield before flicking the ball for Cooper to score under the posts.

England took the bold option of kicking a penalty for touch and spent the remainder of the half camped inside Wallaby territory, but came away empty handed.

Care was scragged as he tried a sniping run and Simon Shaw carried with intent but the Wallabies' aggressive defence drove England backwards.

England's attack simply could not ask enough questions, and when Hape did offload in the tackle for Tindall, referee Owens ruled it had drifted forward.

Lewis Moody scraped himself off the turf after catching Mitchell's elbow in a tackle early in the second half.

Flood put England on the scoreboard after another scrum penalty early and Ben Foden then atoned for a shocking clearance by launching a counter-attack from deep.

Ashton surged into the Australian half and Tindall burst 30 yards before being hauled down, but England were throwing the kitchen sink at the Wallabies.

Shaw and Steve Thompson were halted on the line and it took four men to stop Dan Cole's drive under the posts before Croft spun over the line but he was held up.

England had the Wallabies under immense pressure at the ensuing five-metre scrum and after two re-sets referee Owens awarded the penalty try.

Incredibly England were back within four points -- but not for long.

Cooper threw a beautiful cut-out pass to winger Digby Ioane, who was halted by Cueto's tackle but offloaded back inside where the Wallaby fly-half scored his second try of the game.

England sent on Ben Youngs for Care and the Leicester scrum-half brought some snap to their game while Courtney Lawes came on for Shaw.

Tindall tried to drive over before Youngs snared Burgess in possession as England won the turnover close to the Australian line.

Tom Palmer, Youngs and Cueto all had a go but Australia held firm and Tim Payne spilled the ball in a tackle from Barnes, allowing Cooper to clear his lines.

England came back at Australia again.

Ashton almost broke through under the posts but his offload went to ground.

James O'Connor tried to launch a 90-metre counter-attack but his pass drifted forward.  England once again cranked up the scrum pressure and Australian tighthead Ma'afu was sin-binned.

Daley, who had just been substituted, returned to the fray as England sent on David Wilson.  The scrum buckled again and referee Owens awarded a second penalty try.

O'Connor extended the Wallabies' lead to 24-17 and Cooper sealed Australia's victory.

Man of the match:  Helped no doubt by the attention afforded to marking Quade Cooper, Luke Burgess delivered an accomplished performance from the base of the scrum, under some pressure from the England pack.

Moment of the match:  The floated long pass and loop in support by Cooper that led to his second try.  Great vision and energy.

Villain of the match:  Simon Shaw was lucky to get away with a late shoulder charge on Berrick Barnes ... but it wasn't quite nasty enough to be real villainy either.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Elsom, Cooper 2
Cons:  O'Connor 3
Pens:  O'Connor, Cooper

For England:
Tries:  Penalty tries 2
Cons:  Flood 2
Pen:  Flood

Australia:  15 James O'Connor, 14 Digby Ioane, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (c), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Saia Faingaa, 1 Ben Daley.
Replacements:  16 Huia Edmonds, 17 James Slipper, 18 Mark Chisholm, 19 Matt Hodgson, 20 Will Genia, 21 Peter Hynes, 22 Kurtley Beale.

England:  15 Ben Foden, 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Shontayne Hape, 11 Chris Ashton, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody (c), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Steve Thompson, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements:  16 George Chuter, 17 David Wilson, 18 Courtney Lawes, 19 James Haskell, 20 Ben Youngs, 21 Jonny Wilkinson, 22 Mathew Tait.

Referee:  Nigel Owens

Australia display new-found resolve

More accustomed to throwing leads away, Australia bounced back from a 9-5 half-time deficit to beat England 18-9 at Twickenham on Saturday.

The win is just the tonic Australia need at the end of a year in which they have so often flattered to deceive.  England were limited, but the manner in which Australia came out in the second half and took the game by the cobblers will have had Robbie Deans glowing inside.

It's England's limitations that will be the prime subject of focus after this game, not so much in terms of personnel but certainly in tactical thinking.  At the end of an opening quarter which England utterly dominated, they should have held far more than a 6-0 lead.  A minute later, after Australia's first meaningful spell of pressure, it was only 6-5.  Will Genia, and later in the game, Adam Ashley-Cooper, found something that England never did.

More meaningful than the scoreline ought to be a sober reflection on the number of scoring opportunities Australia butchered as well.  Matt Giteau was twice denied by thumping tackles from Jonny Wilkinson and Rocky Elsom suffered an untimely case of tunnel vision, while a wrong option to chip by Drew Mitchell and a butter-fingered moment from Digby Ioane by the line also meant points went a-begging.

But it is the first twenty minutes that England must focus on, perhaps even the entire first half.  They had nine penalties to Australia's two.  Steve Borthwick and Tom Croft were creating all sorts of problems for Australia's line-out -- they stole three out of seven.  It took Australia 16 minutes to have, and claim, a phase of set-piece possession.  Stats like that should mean a lead of at least ten points.

England did lead 6-0 at the end of the first twenty, courtesy of a majestic drop goal from Wilkinson and a penalty but they had to kick on and press the advantage home.  Instead, outside of an effervescent Wilkinson whose absorption of French rugby culture appears to have stretched to his becoming almost maverick with his steps and chips, there was little beyond the crash, bash and thunder of archetypal English club rugby.  Straight running, lots of contact, lots of rucking, lots of basics ... in the end, quite a lot of nothing at all.  More imagination is needed.

Instead it was Genia who showed the way, sparking a wave of attacks and then slipping through a gap at the base of a ruck to put the Wallabies on the scoreboard.

England continued to dominate, but the question had been posed.  'We can do that,' said Australia.  'What can you do?'

Well, Wilkinson kicked another penalty.  England's defence stood resolute late on -- again, Wilkinson showed his importance -- as Australia came again.  England's pack continued to rumble.  But it was Giteau who looked the most likely to score as half-time neared, with Wilkinson putting in a terrific tackle on him.

At 9-5, England sat pretty at the break.  This is Australia, after all, the team that always fades.  Except this time, Australia's forwards came out and got into English faces.  Giteau nailed a penalty for an offside, after a movement where both he and Elsom could have released the ball for tries.  A dubious scrum penalty on the hour mark meant Giteau gave his side the lead.  Now England had to respond.  Wilkinson tried his hardest with a sublime chip, regather and offload, but nobody else had the fluency or imagination to carry the move on.  Eventually, the men in white resorted to type, trying to grind it out.  It won't cut the mustard against the more sophisticated teams.

But the killer blow will have had Martin Johnson's forehead dropping deep with rage.  Out the ball came left to Adam Ashley-Cooper, who was taken too high and too upright by both Mark Cueto and Ugo Monye.  The Wallaby full-back renowned for his strength on his feet, powered forward and dragged the two Englishmen over the line with him from 15m out.  Giteau converted to send Australia two scores ahead with ten to go -- two scores England were never going to get.

Man of the match:  Will Genia takes this one, with Quade Cooper and Jonny Wilkinson a close second.  Cooper in particular looked as close to coming of age as he ever has, while Wilkinson looked as fresh as a spring day.  But Genia's pace, intelligence and threatening running posed continual questions that England found too much to cope with.

Moment of the match:  Adam Ashley-Cooper's try killed the game off -- and what a score it was!

Villain of the match:  We're almost tempted to castigate the players for being too clean!  Where's the edge?  No award.

The scorers:

For England:
Pens:  Wilkinson 2
Drop goal:  Wilkinson

For Australia:
Tries:  Genia, Ashley-Cooper
Con:  Giteau
Pens:  Giteau 2

England:  15 Ugo Monye, 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Dan Hipkiss, 12 Shane Geraghty, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Danny Care, 8 Jordan Crane, 7 Lewis Moody, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Steve Borthwick (Captain), 4 Louis Deacon, 3 Dave Wilson, 2 Steve Thompson, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements:  16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Duncan Bell, 18 Courtney Lawes, 19 James Haskell, 20 Paul Hodgson, 21 Andy Goode, 22 Ayoola Erinle.

Australia:  15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Peter Hynes, 13 Digby Ioane, 12 Quade Cooper, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Will Genia, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 George Smith, 6 Rocky Elsom, (captain), 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 James Horwill, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota Nau, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 David Pocock, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Ryan Cross, 22 James O'Connor.

Referee:  Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  George Clancy (Ireland), Tim Hayes (Wales)
Television match officials:  Jim Yuille (Scotland)
Assessor:  Michel Lamoulie (France)

England pay the penalty against Australia

Australia brought England crashing back to earth with a humbling 28-14 victory at Twickenham on Saturday.

In the end Australia had to do little more than apply pressure on England, knowing that sooner or later the English would concede a penalty.  The rest was down to Matt Giteau's boot, as he slotted six penalties and a conversion to ensure England left HQ with little more than they arrived with.

Coming into the game on the back of a promising victory over the Pacific Islands, there was a real hope that England could build on that foundation;  sadly it was not to be.  If it wasn't penalties it was turnovers, and if it wasn't turnovers it was poor kicking.  But when England look back on this they will rue a missed chance.

Until Australia scored their only try, after seventy minutes, the game was there for the taking.  The only problem was that England lacked the composure to take it for themselves, and instead did everything in their power to gift it to Australia.

Prior to Ashley-Cooper going over out wide England had marshalled the Australian attack with something approaching comfort.  Yet when it really mattered, when the game was poised on the proverbial knife-edge, England came up horribly short.

The game started in a bizarre fashion, two early Giteau penalties thrown in amongst some helter-skelter rugby.  Both sides threw caution to the wind and threw the ball around, giving the impression this was something of a celebration game.  Australia soon knuckled down and began to ask questions of England's defence.

Answers were readily available as England looked hungry in defence, repelling the likes of Stirling Mortlock and Ryan Cross with relative ease.  And then, as if by magic, England began to construct passages of play that displayed plenty of intent.  But, as was the case throughout, an error of some kind always cost them.

In fact it was Delon Armitage who opened England's account, sending over a hesitant drop-goal after twenty minutes.  Again Australia reverted to their tried and trusted method of forcing England into mistakes, and soon enough Giteau had clipped over two more penalties and Australia suddenly had a platform from which to build.

Credit to England for ensuring their guests didn't pull away, at least not yet anyway, as they hit back with a telling strike of their own.  A series of five yard scrums eventually saw Nick Easter driven over by his fellow forwards.  Inexplicably Cipriani missed the easiest of conversions, but at least England were back in the game at half-time.

The second half started brightly for England.  Twice they went through ten phases but, ultimately, twice they came away with nothing.  The first was due to a rather harsh penalty, but the second can only be blamed on Cipriani's foolish decision to go for a drop kick.  With numbers outside of him the erratic fly-half fluffed the simplest of kicks.

Cipriani did manage to gather himself to send over a timely penalty, giving England the lead for the first time, albeit fleetingly.  No sooner had they put their noses in front than Andrew Sheridan coughed up a poor penalty at a scrum, which Giteau sent over.  By the time Giteau kicked his sixth penalty, two minutes later, you got the impression England were fading.

England continued to give away penalties, allowing Mortlock to have a long range effort -- no surprise to see it sail through with yards to spare.  The ghost or#f Marseille laid to rest?

From there England were chasing the game and Australia were able to wait patiently for their chance to kill it off.

It came, with ten minutes to go, and Ashley-Cooper's try wrapped up what turned into a comfortable win for Robbie Deans' men.  He will want to see them attack a little more next week, but it's another win and another step in the right direction.

England?  Well one thing is for sure, there is a lot of work to be done before South Africa arrive next week.  The problem today seemed to be mental rather then physical, for time and again they bossed the contact area, only to see all the hard work wasted with needless penalties.

We must accept the fact their side is in it's early stages, and given time they will begin to resemble something more like a team.  There were some fine individual displays, but as a whole England were well below par here.

Man of the match:  For England Danny Cipriani showed moments of magic, but for each there was something equally as bad, and Danny Care was full of running as always.  A mention too for man-of-the-moment Delon Armitage, who didn't set the world on fire but did enough to warrant a third run out next week.  However, the award goes to Matt Giteau, who not only kicked six penalties, but kept Australia going forward throughout.  All the talk was of his opposite number but in the end Giteau was the one who won the day.

Moment of the match:  This has to go to Adam Ashley-Cooper's try as it ended this game as a contest.  Rightly or wrongly England were still in with a sniff at 21-14, but when the Wallaby full-back sauntered over, complete with a grin that would make a Cheshire cat proud, it was curtains for Martin Johnson's men.

Villain of the match:  Nothing to report.

The Scorers:

For England:
Try:  Easter
Pens:  Cipriani 2
Drop goal:  Armitage

For Australia:
Try:  Ashley-Cooper
Con:  Giteau
Pens:  Giteau 6, Mortlock

The Teams:

England:  15 Delon Armitage, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Jamie Noon, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Tom Rees, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Steve Borthwick, 3 Phil Vickery, 2 Lee Mears, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements:  16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Simon Shaw, 19 James Haskell, 20 Michael Lipman, 21 Harry Ellis, 22 Toby Flood.

Australia:  15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Peter Hynes, 13 Ryan Cross, 12 Stirling Mortlock, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Richard Brown, 7 George Smith, 6 Hugh McMeniman, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Mark Chisholm, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 Wycliff Palu, 20 Sam Cordingley, 21 Quade Cooper, 22 Digby Ioane.

Referee:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Touch judges:  Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand), Tim Hayes (Wales)
Television match official:  Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
Assessor:  Brian Stirling

England sink to new low in Melbourne

Wallabies put England's season out of its misery

Australia gave England nightmares to last the whole of the European close-season by punctuated the tourists' year with a crushing 43-18 defeat at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne on Saturday.

The result wraps up a very one-sided two-Test series and sees the Wallabies reclaim the Cook Cup after its short stay in Twickenham.

England have suffered a poor run of form since they crowned their annus mirabilis by clinching the Rugby World Cup in 2003.

But despite the heavy losses and surprise results that have peppered the last two years, they are now at their lowest ebb since 1984 -- that was the last time England suffered five successive Test matches losses.  Big Ben is striking thirteen.

It was another chastening experience for England coach Andy Robinson, who has lost 10 of his 18 Tests in charge since replacing Sir Clive Woodward.

The Wallabies followed up last weekend's 34-3 stroll in Sydney by putting England out of sight before half-time through tries from George Smith, Mark Gerrard and Lote Tuqiri.

And when both England props Graham Rowntree and Julian White departed at the break through injuries, the tourists' misery was complete, engaging in uncontested scrums with Wasps flank Joe Worsley packing down in the front-row alongside Tim Payne and George Chuter.

Australia flank Mark Chisholm claimed a fourth Wallabies touchdown before Gerrard crossed again and fly-half Stephen Larkham completed the rout, with skipper Stirling Mortlock booting five conversions and a penalty.

England mustered a consolation tries by Chuter and wing Tom Varndell, plus a penalty and drop-goal from fly-half Andy Goode.

England, without a win since mid-February, are next in action against red-hot World Cup favourites New Zealand on November 5, and the All Blacks are likely to run them ragged, so low are English confidence levels, a sorry situation illustrated by Varndell's nightmare experience in attack and defence.

England have players such as Martin Corry, Charlie Hodgson, Josh Lewsey, Mark Cueto and Steve Thompson to return, but it seems England's ambition to be the first country to defend the Webb Ellis trophy are now resembles a large pie in the sky.

England suffered a late injury blow when Leicester Tigers flank Lewis Moody withdrew at the eleventh hour after having failed to recover from a calf muscle strain.

Robinson opted to look beyond the bench-warming Magnus Lund and drafted in London-born former Australia U21 international Michael Lipman for his first Test start.

Despite the setback, and as in Sydney, England began brightly and monopolised early possession.

It brought a reward when Goode slotted a fourth-minute drop-goal, but the lead lasted barely 100 seconds as Australia scored from their first attack.

Larkham's kick into space caused little initial danger, but it bounced off Goode and Smith hacked clear, capitalising on another kind bounce -- this time off Varndell -- for a clear run to the posts.

England did not lack ambition, yet their basic skills were sub-standard, and Australia gained an attacking five-metre scrum as fullback Iain Balshaw was forced over his own line.

Australia's attacking aggression reaped its reward when, from the ensuing scrum, Larkham's high kick to the corner saw Gerrard clutch possession ahead of a challenging Mathew Tait to touch down.

England, with their forwards battling hard, still enjoyed plenty of possession, but they could make little headway opposite a physical Wallabies back division.

Tuqiri, especially, enjoyed the close-quarter combat, dumping Varndell with relish, yet England cut the deficit to six points when Goode landed a 40-metre penalty after Wallabies lock Nathan Sharpe infringed at a line-out.

Australia lost prop Rodney Blake to injury in the 27th minutes, and he was replaced by Al Baxter, whose first contribution was to concede a penalty that Goode booted into touch just outside Australia's 22.

England could not maintain territory though, and a raking Chris Latham clearance sent the visitors back-pedalling 50 metres.

Both sides continued to make errors, but England almost worked Varndell away, only to be denied by a superb Latham tackle.

Australia then lost No.8 Rocky Elsom through injury, handing New South Wales Waratahs flanker Wycliff Palu a Test debut.

But Australia struck a killer blow on the stroke of half-time when Latham smashed through four attempted tackles in midfield, brushing aside Worsley, Rowntree, Chuter and Lipman before delivering a superb inside pass that enabled Tuqiri to crash over.

Mortlock converted, and England trooped off at the break 19-6 adrift, facing little more than another demoralising damage-limitation exercise.

Uncontested scrums made for a totally unsatisfactory situation, and England conceded a fourth try on 45 minutes when Chisholm was sent through a huge defensive hole.

Mortlock slotted the conversion, putting England 20 points behind, although Chuter at least gave visiting supporters something to cheer as he sprinted over for his team's first try on tour.

The Leicester hooker's score in his first Test start gave England a glimmer of hope, although Australia looked to maintain a high tempo by spreading possession wide at every opportunity.

Indeed, Australia had the remainder of the game under control and kept their guests under the kosh, a dominance that was only broken by Varndell's try in the last move of the game.

As if the joy of crushing the English was not enough for the crowd of 56,000, Australia coach John Connolly ordered George Gregan into action in the 56th minute as a replacement for Sam Cordingley.

The Wallaby skipper duly collected his 120th Test cap to eclipse the mark of 119 set by England and Lions prop Jason Leonard.  England's nightmare was complete.

Man of the match:  Iain Balshaw and Peter Richards had some good moments, but this award is going nowhere near the England camp.  There were good performance from all the gold-jerseyed brigade with the likes of Lote Tuqiri and Stirling Mortlock to the fore.  Stephen Larkham conducted affairs superbly but it is the consistently outstanding Chris Latham who gets the gong.  He looked like an over-enthusiastic dad taking on his young son's touch-rugby team.

Moment of the match:  Latham's break that lead to Tuqiri's try was a moment that exemplified Australia's dominance over the English -- strong running and intelligent support from the locals, four miss-tackles and confusion from the tourists.  But how can we overlook the moment that George Gregan joined the fray to win his 120th Test cap and become the most capped player of all time -- a moment that ensured that England's misery was extended to a former member of the red rose club, Jason Leonard.  But the "Fun Bus" will be the first man to buy the Wallaby talisman a well-deserved beer.  On a more comical note (and England fans might need a moment of levity), many have long suspected referee Steve Walsh of being a frustrated player and he added kindling to the fire by collecting a reverse pass from England fly-half Andy Goode before realising he was wearing neither white nor gold.

Villain of the match:  England (and Tom Varndell in particular) are lucky on this score -- we're leaving villainous lack of basic skills out of the equation.  The pace of the game was not conducive to fisty-cuffs, but there was a few arms swung towards the end of the game.  We drag Pat Sanderson and Lote Tuqiri from that minor skirmish and award them the honours, the Englishman for pulling the Australian's hair, and the Australian for reacting like a bit of a schoolgirl.  And we thought rugby had reached its nadir with the "handbags at dawn" episode ...

The scorers:

For Australia
Tries:  Gerrard 2, Tuqiri, Chisholm, Smith, Larkham
Cons:  Mortlock 5
Pen:  Mortlock

For England:
Tries:  Chuter, Varndell
Con:  Goode
Pen:  Goode
Drop:  Goode

The teams:

Australia:  15 Chris Latham, 14 Mark Gerrard, 13 Stirling Mortlock (captain), 12 Mat Rogers, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Stephen Larkham, 9 Sam Cordingley, 8 Rocky Elsom, 7 George Smith, 6 Mark Chisholm, 5 Dan Vickerman, 4 Nathan Sharpe, 3 Rodney Blake, 2 Adam Freier, 1 Greg Holmes.
Replacements:  16 Jeremy Paul, 17 Al Baxter, 18 Wycliff Palu, 19 Phil Waugh, 20 George Gregan, 21 Clyde Rathbone, 22 Cameron Shepherd.

England:  15 Iain Balshaw, 14 Tom Varndell, 13 Jamie Noon, 12 Mike Catt, 11 Mathew Tait, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Peter Richards, 8 Pat Sanderson (captain), 7 Michael Lipman, 6 Joe Worsley, 5 Ben Kay, 4 Chris Jones, 3 Julian White, 2 George Chuter, 1 Graham Rowntree.
Replacements:  16 Lee Mears, 17 Tim Payne, 18 Louis Deacon, 19 Magnus Lund, 20 Nick Walshe, 21 Olly Barkley, 22 Stuart Abbott.

Referee:  Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
Touch judges:  Kelvin Deaker, Lyndon Bray (both New Zealand)
Television match official:  Gary Wise (New Zealand)
Assessor:  Sandy MacNeill (Australia)