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:
England 0-0 Australia
3 mins
The ball is fumbled forward from the ruck and it’s the first scrum of the day, with the away side to put in. Australia win it and the kick goes for an England lineout near halfway.
In defence, Slade and Lawrence are once again swapping back, returning to ‘normal’ when in attack.
England 0-0 Australia
England suggested in the week that despite the swap of centre shirts, Henry Slade would continue to defend outside of Ollie Lawrence having done such a fine job leading the blitz this year. That has proved true, with Slade stationed in the vital 13 channel as England lined up defensively for the first time.
England 0-0 Australia
1 min
A clean take from the kick and it’s cleared, with England picking it up and having their first chance to run it through the hands.
Some early touches for Lawrence, Slade and Smith.
KICK-OFF! England 0-0 Australia
KICK-OFF! The hosts get us underway.
England v Australia
The anthems are underway after a moment of remembrance during the Last Post, so kick-off will follow.
Which side will end their losing streak today?
England v Australia
The two sides are emerging from the tunnel now, so we’ll be underway after making some time for the national anthems.
Is England v Australia on TV? Kick-off time, channel, team news and how to watch Autumn Nations Series
With 10 minutes to go until kick-off, here’s a reminder of how you can watch today’s match.
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on TNT Sports 1, with coverage on the channel from 2pm GMT. Subscribers can stream the action via discovery+.
TNT have coverage of all the Autumn Nations matches, including Wales v Fiji and Scotland v South Africa later this weekend.
Line-ups
Here’s a reminder of the starting 15s, and the replacements, for today’s match.
England XV: 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Jamie George (capt.), 3 Will Stuart; 4 Maro Itoje, 5 George Martin; 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 7 Tom Curry, 8 Ben Earl; 9 Ben Spencer, 10 Marcus Smith; 11 Tommy Freeman, 12 Henry Slade, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso; 15 George Furbank.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Alex Dombrandt; 21 Harry Randall, 22 George Ford, 23 Ollie Sleightholme.
Australia XV: 1 Angus Bell, 2 Matt Faessler, 3 Taniela Tupou; 4 Nick Frost, 5 Jeremy Williams; 6 Rob Valetini, 7 Fraser McReight, 8 Harry Wilson (capt.); 9 Jake Gordon, 10 Noah Lolesio; 11 Dylan Pietsch, 12 Len Ikitau, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 14 Andrew Kellaway; 15 Tom Wright.
Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 James Slipper, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 20 Langi Gleeson; 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Max Jorgensen.
The rivalry
England first faced Australia back in 1909, with various sources putting the total number of matches played between the two at around 55. Of these, Australia have won 26, England have won 28, and just one has ended as a draw.
The most famous meeting between the two of course came in the final of the World Cup in 2003, when England won 20-17 in Sydney thanks to Jonny Wilkinson’s extra-time drop goal.
The last time these two met was in June 2022 – England ran out 21-17 winners thanks to tries from Freddie Steward and Marcus Smith, and this victory wrapped up a 2-1 series win.
Jamie George urges England to be bold and brave in Australia clash
Jamie George has urged England to be bold when they face Australia at Allianz Stadium with the ambition of kick-starting their autumn campaign.
Steve Borthwick’s side are determined to bounce back from an agonising run of three consecutive narrow defeats to New Zealand, including the 24-22 last-gasp loss that opened the month’s programme of four Tests.
A victory over the Wallabies, who have given a debut to rugby league superstar Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, would ignite the Autumn Nations Series ahead of a grudge match against South Africa in seven days time.
Jamie George urges England to be bold and brave in Australia clash
George says he wants his side to ‘take teams on and never sit back’ after a series of close defeats
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments