5 things we learned from England’s defeat to Australia in Twickenham thriller
Australia ran out 42-37 victors as England suffered another defeat.
England are reeling from a last-gasp 42-37 defeat by Australia at Allianz Stadium that has left them searching for a first win of the 2024 Autumn Nations Series.
Here the PA news agency looks at five things learned from a result suffered seven days after New Zealand stormed Twickenham.
Fly-half debate is over
Plug the leaks
Grenades in the jeep
Eddie Jones’ famous remark in 2019 that England’s jitters at clutch points in games were “like we have some hand grenades in the back of a jeep and sometimes they go off when there’s a lot of pressure” rang as true in a dramatic finish five years later. They had done enough to win the game three times over, yet still conspired to lose. When placed in the context of narrow defeats over the last 12 months to South Africa, thrice to New Zealand and France, the frailty described by Jones remains an Achilles heel.
Wallabies on the rise
Rugby administrators view an ageing demographic as an existential threat to the sport, but in Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies they have a team to lead the way in the fight for eyeballs. After the dourness of New Zealand’s victory over Ireland the previous evening, Australia were a joy to watch in a five-try romp that made attack look easy. The most impressive win of Schmidt’s 10 matches in charge has come in the nick of time due to previous concerns over the Wallabies’ competitiveness for next year’s visit of the British and Irish Lions. On this evidence, Andy Farrell’s tourists could be up against it.
Suaalii shines
A performance that harked back to Australia’s past as rugby’s great innovators had its poster boy in Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, the cross-code superstar who was making his union debut. If Suaalii’s £2.7million price tag for switching from NRL is a burden, the 21-year-old centre did not show it in a man of the match display. A 6ft 5in, 15st 6lbs frame points to a powerful physical presence, but it was the subtlety of his touches in attack, ability to stay upright and off-load out of the tackle and athleticism in the air – used effectively at restarts – that stood out.
