Stronger: Adam Ashley-Cooper
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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.
Comments
APV1 says...
@ lawynd - you're right, I know. I'm just frustrated and rambling. I think we have the players (Burns > 12trees > MT), but we don't use them. I know Billy's not the finished article, but let's get him involved now. And, let's be honest, not many of our squad are the finished article yet. I suspect even Dan Carter would say he's not, so it's no excuse not to get them involved. BT would be a helluvalot better then BB (in spite of his obvious improvements) and Farrell, imo.
I agree that MT's lack of off-load is an issue across the team, as he often doesn't have the support runners to off-load to.
It's not the being out-played that bothers me so much, as the being outsmarted. They're bloody Australians, for Goodness' sake! They've only ever invented the rotary washing line and the black-box recorder; we've invented everything else! Yet Barnes and Beale were a 1000 times more inventive on Saturday!
The next couple of weeks are looking tougher and tougher and the 6N is a worry for all but the French at the moment!
Posted 16:47 19th November 2012
lawynd says...
APV1 says... "12trees or Goode at 12. Barritt on the bench or at 13. Manu needs more dimensions to his game. Where's his kick or deft pass? He's been worked out and we don't need a (nother!) one-trick pony. We have others who can score tries."
I'm sorry but even for a Bath fan, that's crazy talk. ;) I'm all for a change at 12 (Barritt has never really convinced me and he barely gets a game for Sarries these days), but Manu is the best English 13 in the game. He's not in the side to be a second receiver or for his tactical kicking, and nor should he be - he's simply an excellent crash-ball player, something that every team needs somewhere. He's the only back we have at the moment to consistently break the line and has scored seven tries in fourteen caps...I'm not sure what else the lad can do to convince his detractors? I do think he could offload in the tackle more often but that's a criticism we can level at the entire team and often, it's simply because the support isn't there. Watch him play for Leicester more often - you'll see that it's definitely the change in environment.
Posted 15:37 19th November 2012
APV1 says...
Well that was disappointing. We had an absolutely storming 20 minutes between about 50 and 70. Otherwise, we were a little mediocre. Sloppy passing and missed opportunities.
Marler - not good enough in the scrum, bring back Corbs.
We need Hartley and Webber back. Youngs and Paice are too green.
Launchbury to start with Parling. Palmer on the bench until Lawes is back. Then Lawes & Launchbury to start, with Parling on the bench. Until SL notices Attwood. Then L&L to start, Attwood on the bench.
We need Armitage at 7. Waldrom needs to be dropped. Easter on form, or Morgan if future-focused.
9s - ok.
10 - Flood should insist on kicking for 3. He's meant to "steer the ship", so he must exert his influence on the direction. Who's his back-up? Burns. Where is he?
12trees or Goode at 12. Barritt on the bench or at 13. Manu needs more dimensions to his game. Where's his kick or deft pass? He's been worked out and we don't need a (nother!) one-trick pony. We have others who can score tries.
Wings were good.
Mr Angry to start.
Well done Australia. They won by outplaying us.
Hooper is excellent and Cummins is a great find.
All-in-all, not a great day at the office. The silver lining is that there were a lot of mistakes to learn from!
And jonesy2 is a wretched troll. Leave him to it. He does his countrymen a disservice, as he can't seem to get the difference between a joke and banter, and just plain stupidity.
Posted 10:55 19th November 2012
Trinats2 says...
Kiwilad:
"Can you Imagine the the ABs playing in those pj shirts?"
Not possible, there were to in the RWC final to play in their away outfit, but instead France had to wear theirs, even though France won the toss !!!
Different rules for NZ ?
Posted 07:08 19th November 2012
Eejbm says...
The Australian try was most certainly a try, he threw the pass backwards but because he was travelling at speed the ball travelled forward.
There is an excellent YouTube clip put up, I think, by the IRB, check it out.
Posted 23:11 18th November 2012
Toulousain says...
I am a middle-aged French woman, who has strayed off the France pages of this website, so what do I know about rugby, eh?
Well, the game was close, Aus wanted it more, Hooper was good, Alexander was better, Deans keeps his job, georgesmith doesn't like N.Sharpe, Eng made some poor decisions, the Lesinter fans still can't forgive Poite, Launchbury is a find, the tries were a bit dodgy, and jonesy2 is to be ignored.
@froggy73, I just posted a list of 50 odd French players on the Fickou article. Now that is depth!! (and remember, even if jonesy2 has never heard of half of them, it doesn't mean they're not quality players - i would put my mortgage on them thrashing an Aus 3rd or 4th team)
Posted 21:41 18th November 2012
Isograford says...
That pass Australia scored from was almost as forward as Michilaks against the All Blacks in 2007, what a shocker.
Almost as shocking as that awful purple strip England were wearing. Who would buy that??
Posted 19:53 18th November 2012
rohouk says...
Read all the comments and I say lets put it all in perspective. We are still in rebuild phase but it is now fine tuning more than wholesale change. For me the key areas are actually 2nd row and centre. 2nd Row - Launchbury yes then who else. Palmer has gone missing again and Parling is no enforcer or yardage player. Personally I would look at Croft once fit. Centres I have no issue with Barrit, its Tuilagi that is the problem. Lets have a look at Goode in the centre. Then Brown can play full back.
Posted 17:38 18th November 2012
carpelone says...
Kiwilad.
Now we laugh, but I do not know how long we can resist to marketing sirens.
Posted 17:25 18th November 2012
Westwest says...
Sounds like everyone thinks the england team should put more time into drills. They seem to be spending alot of time in the changing rooms coming up with new jerseys. Any team that cant decide what colour they play in can't be expected to make good decisions on the field!!! Sort it out!! I am starting to lose faith!
Posted 16:36 18th November 2012
Westwest says...
A
Posted 16:30 18th November 2012
LondonWasp says...
*game
Posted 15:25 18th November 2012
leinster_goy says...
@Honestpom
we'll just have to differ on that! ask almost any Leinster fan and you'll get the opposite view. for instance:
2011 Heino final: poite was (like many other refs) totally oblivious to the northampton front row's illegal "stand up and push" scrummaging technique. luckily it did not cost us in the end but it did put us 16 points down at halftime
2012 pro12 final: poite employed the admittedly unorthodox approach of witnessing one team's props repeatedly fail to get their bind, yet then proceeding to sinbin the props of the other team. this time, poite's ineptitude cost Leinster a glorious double
Posted 15:20 18th November 2012
LondonWasp says...
@trader2
its called looking at the positives.... You know.. silver lining stuff...
the gae could have been a lot worse.
Posted 15:16 18th November 2012
Patagon says...
@MacTavish
Very funny :)
Posted 13:57 18th November 2012
Jediboy says...
jonesy2 is a troll and best ignored.
Wallaroo talks more sense.
We are al rugby fans here so let's talk rugby and forget the nonsense. It's not a football site after all!!
Posted 11:51 18th November 2012
Heathy says...
Guys, ignore jonesy2. He's one eyed and actually not that well informed. He just makes stupid remarks and that is all he's really got.
We lost today and deserved to do so. Our decision making was below par and we didn't manage the game well enough. Even being second best for most of the game, we could still have matched the Aussies on the scoreboard. Our scrubs were poor and unfortunately Marler had a shocker. I didn't think either of the twontries were tries (forward pass by a meter or so and I didn't think Tuilagi grounded the ball but the cancelled each other out). Beale and Barnes had good games and I agree that we need a true 7 to sort out the breakdown for us. Scrums overall were even and we didn't dominate like we thought we would. Credit to the Aussies who changed personnel in that area after the French debacle. In short the Aussies are a very good side even with some injuries (2nd, 3rd, 4th string are just silly comments as this was the best they had at the time - England also have a string of injuries). yes, we are a brand new side but if we are to develop, we need to win these type of games. We didn't and we have to learn. Right now we are not good enough but if we can learn fast we will be better. We are capable of beating the Boks but need to step it up next week. Well done Ausies, still a class side despite a blip. Heads up England as if we can sort out silly things that come with experience, we'll get there.
Posted 11:37 18th November 2012
jehosophat says...
I'm not going to get too upset about that, especially after watching the game again, knowing the result. Very close in the second half and I don't think either try was strictly a try.
Yes, it's a shambles than the NH struggles to beat even developmental SH sides at home, but that is how it is and has been for some years, the SH is stronger, end of. Silly press build-ups and whinging are not going to change that, only hard work is.
That game was lost in the front row and back row. The front row is easily solved - Hartley and Corbisiero are much stronger scrummagers and there are plenty in English clubs who are stronger right now in the set piece than the green pairing of Youngs and Marler - who with Vunipola are clearly being tried out. I'm not sure Marler is making much progress.
The back row is England's main issue. Post-Back we tried out Rees (who would probably have assumed the mantle, injury free), Lund, and others, but then during the 2007 WC started playing 6's at openside, and have mostly done so since. We need a genuine openside, and may as well play Robshaw at 6 since with Croft out there is no stand-out there either. At 8 I would prefer trying out Morgan and Haskell and settling on one.
The centre partnership is fine by me, the back three are really missing the penetration of Foden, who has made or scored a lot of our tries in the last couple of years, especially in tight matches (often vs France, for example).
Robshaw has to make better decisions. He opted not to kick two easy penalties in the SH when it had been ages since we'd scored, and it was not exactly a match of many tries. Johnson would have kicked them both...
Posted 10:47 18th November 2012
kybone says...
Very disappointed with England yesterday. I thought the forwards got caught napping, and some of the decision making in the second half was abismal. Against Fiji we took the points when about 30 points up, yet we turned them down at 6 points behind yesterday?? As it happens i thought the oz try came from a forward pass, but thats the way things go sometimes and it was only marginally forward. Im hoping for a really good performance next week otherwise questions will start to be asked. Are we really making the progress that we hoped for because, for me, these are the games that we should be winning now. No disrespect to australia but i just think that any team hoping to become the best in the world should be winning at home. Lets face it, if we don't win next week we certainly won't win against NZ, and that'll be 3 defeats from 4 games! Or 1 win in 7, with that win coming against a very poor team which got whacked by Irelands 2nd string yesterday. Actually if we'd played Samoa or Argentina instead of Fiji we may have been facing a whitewash! We need to be better in all areas!!
Posted 10:09 18th November 2012
rugbylover says...
@ ferdie
Hmm. They may as well. Purple didn't do it. Nor black.
sigh.
Posted 09:42 18th November 2012