Australia given a fright

England National Divisions 22 Australia 34

England National Divisions exceeded all expectations to produce a wonderfully vibrant and committed performance which, though not quite good enough to defeat the world champions, certainly rattled them by the manner in which Dave Sims and his assortment of part-timers and semi-professionals refused to accept the inevitable.

It would have hardly been a surprise if Leicester had been the scene of a bloody revenge for the humiliation heaped on Western Australia by the Lions at Perth – when they won 116-10 – or on a Queensland President's XV at Townsville, won 83-6 by the Lions. Both were appalling mismatches and ought not to have been played. Here, it seemed, was another in the making.

With only England-qualified players eligible the Divisions' task was made no easier by the late withdrawal of Chris Johnson, Jim Thorp and Charlie Harrison. Once Daniel Herbert swept in for the first try after only four minutes, the Divisions side must have feared the worst. However, the hosts were never overawed.

It is often the case in matches between teams of different standards that it only becomes really painful as the weaker team tires. But the Divisions waxed stronger as the game wore on and when Simon Binns slid through a smart grubber for his Otley colleague Phil Greaves to run on to and score, the cheer could have been heard in Wharfedale. Binns had a marvellous game and scored all the Divisions' other points with four penalties, a conversion and a towering dropped-goal.

Not that this was a one-man show. Rich Baxter took the ball forward to great effect, Harvey Thorneycroft gave a barnstorming impression of his best days at Northampton, while Duncan Roke and James Shanahan policed Herbert and Elton Flatley to the limits of Wallaby frustration. Even so the tourists turned round 20-6 ahead, Chris Latham getting their second try, with Flatley converting both and kicking two penalties. When Ben Tune crossed soon after the restart, we waited for the deluge. It never arrived.

Nine points from Binns in five minutes brought the Divisions to within 12 points. They were never to get any closer, with David Lyons stretching the Wallabies' lead to 19, before Greaves struck gold.

The Australia coach, Eddie Jones, was mightily relieved: "I never expected this to be an unopposed training run. There are too many good players in England, and these guys exposed our rustiness."

England National Divisions: Try Greaves. Conversion Binns. Penalties Binns 4. Drop goal Binns.

Australia: Tries Herbert, Latham, Tune, Lyons. Conversions Flatley 4 Penalties Flatley 2.

ENGLAND NATIONAL DIVISIONS: P Massey (Rotherham); G Truelove (Coventry), D Roke (Worcester), J Shanahan (Bedford), H Thorneycroft (Esher); S Binns (Otley), A Birkby; S Pope (Both London Welsh), C Ritchie (London Welsh), P Sluman (Exeter), D Sims (Worcester, capt), Rob Baxter (Exeter), R Earnshaw, N Spence (Both Rotherham), Richard Baxter (Exeter). Replacements: P Greaves (Otley) for Roke, 49-59 and for Shanahan, 69; L Hinton (Moseley) for Massey, 69; B Ayres (Henley) for Birkby, 75; N Lloyd (Wakefield) for Pope, 73; S Blythe (Wakefield) for Ritchie, 73; J Hyde (Birmingham & Solihull) for Sims, 73

AUSTRALIA: C Latham; B Tune, D Herbert, E Flatley, G Bond; S Larkham, G Gregan (capt); B Young, M Foley, R Moore, J Harrison, D Giffin, M Cockbain, P Waugh, T Kefu. Replacements: J Roff for Tune, 55; Tune for Herbert, 59; B Darwin for Moore, h-t; M Connors for Harrison, 27-39,68; D Lyons for Waugh, 61; N Grey for Larkham, 68; C Whitaker for Gregan, 72; B Cannon for Foley, 72.

Referee: N Williams (Wales).