ENGLAND MAKE IT EIGHT ON THE BOUNCE OVER THE AUSSIES
ENGLAND 32 AUSTRALIA 15
England extended their winning run against Australia under Eddie Jones to eight matches but they had to dig deep for a victory at Twickenham that was the first real test of the new era promised by their head coach,
writes DUNCAN BECH.
For the first half at least the experiment of pairing Marcus Smith and Owen 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.
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 fullback 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 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.
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 sinbin, 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 Jonny 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. 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 Jamie Blamire charged over.