Eddie Jones’ new-look England held firm amid a nail-biting finish under the lights at the Sydney Cricket Ground to clinch a 2-1 series victory over the Wallabies.
It was two tries a piece in a fluctuating contest, with full-back Freddie Steward and fly-half Marcus Smith crossing for the visitors, while winger Tom Wright and hooker Folau Fainga’a were the Aussies to touch down. But ultimately it was the boot of 11-point centre Owen Farrell that made the difference in this decider, with Jones’ team keeping their nerve to see the game out.
It’s a timely boost for England’s Aussie coach, on the back of successive Six Nations campaigns which brought just two wins. He had lost key forwards Maro Itoje, Tom Curry and Sam Underhill to injury during the series, while the likes of George Ford, Manu Tuilagi, Anthony Watson, Alex Dombrandt, Kyle Sinckler, Ben Youngs, Joe Marler, Henry Slade and Joe Launchbury were all absent from the tour.
It meant there were a number of rookies on duty in the final Test, including wing Tommy Freeman, lock Ollie Chessum, scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet, wing Henry Arundell and centres Guy Porter and Will Joseph. So Jones will take heart from the way his unfamiliar looking line-up delivered the goods as he aims to build depth and confidence a year out from the World Cup. Having lost the opener in Perth, it's been a real turnaround from them with back-to-back wins in Brisbane and now Sydney having brought them the series success.
They had to work hard for this decisive victory, mind you. It was the Wallabies, who had also been hit heavily by injuries, who claimed the opening try on 24 minutes and it was a well executed incision down the right, with winger Wright crossing after a neat one-two with scrum-half Nic White.
The hosts had the better of the first half overall, but England’s mounting pressure was rewarded in the final play before the break as Man of the Match Steward went over to give them an 11-10 interval lead. They extended their advantage on 54 minutes when No 10 Marcus Smith sprinted home from half-way after picking up a loose ball in midfield off a contested lineout.
Aussie replacement hooker Fainga’a powered over from close range on 65 minutes to cut the deficit to four points and set up a grandstand finish, but England’s defensive resolve and breakdown battling saw them through to a series triumph, with skipper Courtney Lawes leading by example.
Eddie Jones commented: “We weren’t at our very best, but we kept fighting and that got us the result. We stuck at it. There was a great effort by our leaders and our finishers were absolutely outstanding. This is a young inexperienced squad. It’s a phenomenal result for these guys. I think we are in a good position.”
England's victory came just hours after Ireland secured a first series win on New Zealand soil during a great day for northern hemisphere rugby so far. Next up, it's Wales.
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