England v Australia LIVE rugby: Result and reaction after Wallabies snatch victory in Twickenham thriller
England 37-42 Australia: Steve Borthwick’s side suffered another narrow defeat as their search for a win goes on
Australia secured a dramatic victory over England in a Twickenham thriller as Max Jorgensen’s final-minute try piled more pressure on Steve Borthwick.
After a narrow defeat to the All Blacks in their Autumn Nations Series opener continued a run of close losses, England raced out of the blocks, surging in front through two tries from Chandler Cunningham-South and a Marcus Smith penalty. But their control soon lapsed as Australia came to the party, showing off their entertaining attacking game to take the lead before half time. After the interval, the Wallabies widened the gap as Jeremy Williams powered into the corner, leaving the hosts staring down the barrel of a fourth successive defeat.
Some excellent play from Harlequins’ Marcus Smith and Alex Dombrandt set up Ollie Sleightholme for two tries in quick succession to edge England back in front, before Andrew Kellaway and Maro Itoje traded scores as the game swang back and forth. But Jorgensen’s scamper to the corner snatched victory at the last in another difficult day for Borthwick’s side.
Re-live all of the action from Allianz Stadium, Twickenham in our live blog below:
This weekend’s fixtures
A reminder of the other matches this weekend.
Italy v Argentina took place in Udine earlier, with France v Japan kicking off earlier at 8.10pm GMT too.
Tomorrow, Wales host Fiji at 1.40pm, before Scotland welcome South Africa at 4.10pm.
‘No sulking’ – Ireland’s players vow to bounce back from New Zealand defeat
Ireland’s players have vowed there will be “no sulking” during their efforts to bounce back from the disappointment of a first Dublin defeat in more than three years.
Andy Farrell’s men were seeking a 20th consecutive win at the Aviva Stadium before being beaten 23-13 by New Zealand in their biggest game of this month’s Autumn Nations Series.
Friday evening’s stop-start encounter failed to live up to its billing as the All Blacks deservedly triumphed thanks to six Damian McKenzie penalties and Will Jordan’s 37th try in 39 Tests.
‘No sulking’ – Ireland’s players vow to bounce back from New Zealand defeat
Ireland were seeking a 20th consecutive win at the Aviva Stadium before being beaten 23-13 by the All Blacks on Friday.
Andy Farrell tells Ireland to ‘fix mentality’ after ‘desperate’ New Zealand loss
Andy Farrell says Ireland must remedy the psychological shortcomings which caused them to become “desperate” during a disheartening Dublin defeat to the All Blacks.
The Six Nations champions slipped to a disappointing 23-13 loss in their Autumn Nations Series opener after being punished for a raft of errors and repeated infringements.
An inquest into Friday evening’s underwhelming display at an expectant Aviva Stadium is set to begin when players return to camp on Sunday.
Andy Farrell tells Ireland to ‘fix mentality’ after ‘desperate’ New Zealand loss
Ireland also host Argentina, Fiji and Australia this month.
Ireland made to pay for error-strewn performance as All Blacks end run of Dublin dominance
Ireland suffered further disappointment at the hands of New Zealand as their 19-match winning streak in Dublin was ended by a 23-13 defeat.
Andy Farrell’s side were facing the formidable All Blacks for the first time since last year’s agonising 28-24 World Cup quarter-final loss in France.
A 37th international try from full-back Will Jordan helped deny the hosts a modicum of revenge, adding to six penalties from fly-half Damian McKenzie as the Kiwis again came out on top.
Ireland made to pay for error-strewn performance as All Blacks end Dublin dominance
Ireland 13-23 New Zealand: Damian McKenzie kicked six penalties and produced a brilliant controlling performance as the All Blacks inflicted a first home defeat for Ireland since 2021
Next up
England will face South Africa at the Allianz Arena, Twickenham next Saturday, with kick-off at 5.40pm BST. They round off the autumn series with a match against Japan on 24 November.
Australia travel to Cardiff to face Wales at the Millennium Stadium on Sunday, 17 November, with kick-off at 4.10pm BST there.
Match facts
England have not lost four Test matches in a row since 2018, when they lost five Test matches in a row under Eddie Jones. They were beaten by Scotland, France and Ireland in the Six Nations and then twice by South Africa in their summer tour – a reminder that they face world champions South Africa next week, too.
England did lose four matches in a row in 2022 but one of those was against the Barbarians.
Danny Care: "It is a harsh learning curve”
On TNT, Danny Care adds that “it is a harsh learning curve and it has happened twice now in a row”.
“England have looked at their best in the last two weeks when they were down and threw caution to the wind, get the ball to Marcus Smith.
“They did that, scored two tries, and looked like they were going to break the hoodoo. But then [it] went into this box-kick battle.
“One ruck and they win that game. Maro Itoje will be gutted with that last restart,” he adds.
Ugo Monye: England “aren’t learning"
More from Ugo Monye on TNT: “This is an Australian team that two months ago had a record defeat against Argentina.
“this team with a new coach, young players, they are learning and not making the same mistakes.
“This England team is greater than Australia in terms of potential, but[they] just aren’t learning.”
FULL-TIME! England 37-42 Australia
Steve Borthwick is last to react to the game, and he calls it “tremendously disappointing”.
“Every England supporter will be gutted by that, as am I, as are the players.
“When you make that number of errors, seven handling errors and 20 turnovers in total, you give the opportunity to the opposition to run in space and score tries and they did.
“I think, in terms of the mindset we’ve been trying to develop, it is that the players go out and attack the opposition and I think you are seeing the team do that and seeing the team want to move the ball. England recently haven’t always had that mindset.
“On the flip side, you see the consequences of it, and they turn over the ball. These lads were good, they had the pace, and they had the power, they a saw a chance and they took it.”
“If you’re turning ball over, and the game is that loose, it’s very difficult to get the defence set. Tries were scored too quickly over turnover ball and loose ball. We’ve got to be better than that.
He adds that “there’ll be no shortage of motivation for the players to get back out there against South Africa”.
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii sparkles to give Wallabies fresh life in dramatic win over England
On 26 minutes came the glimpse of talent that Wallabies fans had been hoping to see. A step and a skip around Ollie Sleightholme, a deft drop over the top for Tom Wright to provide the finishing touches on Australia’s first try; Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii had arrived.
Australian rugby union fans have suffered for years of the nation’s top athletic talent being lured to rugby league or the AFL, tempted by the riches and ruder health of the competing codes. Now, though, union had pinched a princely talent of their own. The $5m man is Suaalii, a pretty penny paid for a player that Rugby Australia hope will sparkle in next summer’s British & Irish Lions series and at a home World Cup in 2027. His signature was a significant statement, and in search of a sprinkling of stardust, Joe Schmidt had wasted no time getting Suaalii in the starting side.
There are far more hospitable environments in which to make one’s senior bow in rugby union than an England against Australia clash, Suaalii thrown in at the deep end. It spoke to Schmidt’s faith in his new recruit – and a desire to see him succeed to inject a struggling team with new life.
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii sparkles to give Wallabies fresh life in dramatic win
England 37-42 Australia: The Wallabies secured a thrilling triumph at Twickenham with their new recruit from rugby league impressing on debut
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