GAMBLING EDDIE CAN BREATHE AGAIN
England new boys shine as they pound Wallabies to set up Sydney decider
Australia 17 England 25
AN HOUR and a half after the final whistle, at close to midnight on the Brisbane clock, Eddie Jones was still holding court in a cold conference room on the basement floor of Suncorp Stadium.
He was full of beans. A different man from the coach who snapped at questions earlier in the week. There were wise cracks with his old friends in the Australian media and jokes his mother can stop calling to ask if is he is getting the sack.
The smile was back on Jones’s face. In the city they call Brisvegas, he rolled the dice by fielding the kids, some of whom are still too young to go into actual casinos, and his selection gamble paid off. England levelled the series with a first-half power play to lift the weight off their coach’s shoulders.
As Jones entertained his audience in the media suite, Australian players hobbled past, battered and bruised. Some could barely walk up the stairs to the team bus, limping off the pitch after an onslaught of English muscle. They could not live with the intensity as Jones’s players stormed into a 19-0 lead which, just about, proved to be unsurpassable.
Ellis Genge stepped on to the pitch with Taniela Tupou’s words ringing in his ears. Tupou had created headlines about ‘smashing’ his opposite man and Genge arrived on a mission. England’s prop set the tone with his first carry, bouncing off Michael Hooper with a huge collision inside 30 seconds. Billy Vunipola roared in appreciation as the Wallaby skipper somersaulted backwards.
England delivered a blueprint in physicality in the first half. A perfect science. A reminder that momentum is the product of mass times velocity. The Marcus SmithOwen Farrell dynamic had a new look. Smith took control at first phase, playing the ball flat to the line and surrounding himself with running options. Farrell added a steady hand, kicking his goals as the tourists moved out of sight.
The local newspaper could not even spell Jack van Poortvliet’s name correctly in its preview. If he was an unknown on the international stage before last night, a few more will know who he is now. England’s rookie No9 knitted together the phases well, helped by improved ball presentation from the first Test defeat in Perth.
Spare a thought for the local hospital. Players dropped one by one. Wallaby full-back Jordan Petaia was the first to fall in just the fourth minute. He collapsed after a collision with Tommy Freeman and could barely stand. Australia head coach Dave Rennie had to dip deep into his back-three reserves and England took advantage. They peppered the backfield kicks, chasing hard and causing chaos.
Under pressure, the Australian discipline folded. England were gifted entries to the Wallaby 22 and turned their maul up to turbo level. England pulled out a special play after just five minutes. Hooper conceded a penalty for hands in the ruck and Farrell kicked for the lineout. Maro Itoje claimed the throw, transferring the ball to Vunipola who was driven over for the first try. If there wasn’t enough spice already, Genge could not resist a patronising pat of Hooper’s chest to rub it in.
Jack Nowell hounded every kick chase and Courtney Lawes went toe-to-toe at the breakdown, righting the wrongs of week one. Things almost boiled over. Genge was fortunate to avoid a sanction for pinning down Nic White’s throat with his forearm. Farrell kicked two quick penalties, before adding a third when Petaia’s replacement Izaia Perese was sinbinned for a deliberate knock on. Midway through the first half, the stadium announcer had to rally the crowd. There was stunned silence. England were relentless. Sam Underhill tracked Samu Kerevi around the pitch, smashing the dangerman centre before he had time to run down Smith’s channel.
A desperate tackle by Hunter Paisami prevented Nowell from scoring another, but Farrell extended the lead to 19 points after an infringement at the ruck. Everything was going England’s way.
But the mood started to change. The home crowd, fuelled up by pre-match beers on Caxton Street, found their voice when Tupou crashed over for a try. The Wallabies fired back a few shots of their own, with Itoje leaving the pitch with concussion after being clobbered by Paisami. Come next week’s decider, both teams will have to dip into their reserves. Perese, Scott Sio, Cadeyrn Neville and Underhill all followed Itoje into the medical room.
Farrell scored the first points of the second half but Itoje’s absence left a void. England took their foot off the throat, staring at the possibility of another second-half collapse as Kerevi chased down the scoreboard with another try.
Noah Lolesio closed the gap to five points from the boot and, with Smith in the sin-bin for a deliberate knock on, the Wallabies were on the brink of a stunning fightback.
They came close to snatching it but will fly to Sydney with a bag-full for regrets. They missed touch, threw a wonky lineout and kicked the ball out on the full. It could easily have been a different story.
England unloaded their bench, with Danny Care and Lewis Ludlam injecting some energy. Guy Porter made a busting break out of his own 22 and play moved from one end to the other. Farrell kicked another penalty to secure victory, ensuring Jones will have a happy homecoming when he lands in Sydney today.
SCORERS; Australia — Tries: Tupou, Kerevi. Cons:
Lolesio (2). Pen: Lolesio.
England — Try: B Vunipola. Con: Farrell. Pens: Farrell (6).