- England fell to first-half deficit despite Chandler Cunningham-South double
- Maro Itoje try in the 78th minute had home fans daring to dream of a great win
- But Max Jorgensen leapt over the line in the 83rd minute to break England hearts
England skipper Jamie George described the national team’s defeat by the Wallabies as ‘unacceptable’ as an autumn of discontent loomed over Twickenham.
Steve Borthwick thumped his desk in frustration as England’s defence was blown wide open, conceding 42 points against their unfancied opponents in a last-minute defeat.
Having already lost to the All Blacks, England are now staring down the barrel of five straight defeats as they prepare for a daunting challenge against the world champion Springboks.
After watching his side lose an early 15-3 lead, George said: ‘Sometimes in a Test match like that you think the job is done. We took our foot off the gas. Credit to Australia they were very good tonight but we cannot keep doing that, it will be a tough one to watch back.
‘It is a fine balance between closing up shop and trying to see out the win rather than attacking. We talk about being brave and courageous. The system and the principal all works. We know it works but we didn’t quite get what we wanted out if it.
England skipper Jamie George says the team’s defeat by the Wallabies was ‘unacceptable’
England conceding 42 points against their unfancied opponents in a last-minute defeat
‘Tonight, it was the collisions. Leaking 42 points at home is unacceptable. They got front foot ball and then have some pretty good runners outside.’
England lost both Tom Curry and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso to head injuries, meaning they are likely to miss next week’s pressure-cooker Test against South Africa.
As the Wallabies ran riot, England missed 35 tackles and made 24 handling errors, once again suffering more late heartbreak.
Borthwick said: ‘Every England supporter and every England player or anyone associated with the team is gutted right now. It’s a game we should have won. We were in a position to win multiple times.
‘We put ourselves in a position to go and win the game and we didn’t. When you turn over that much ball and make the game that unstructured against a team with that much pace, you’re giving them opportunities and we gave them far too many opportunities.
‘No one’s more disappointed than us about our result today and our England fans will be gutted, we are gutted. We’ll make sure we work exceptionally hard this week to put it right.’
Australia’s victory means England are staring down the barrel of five straight defeats
Just to rub it in, Joseph Suaalii, Australia’s 21-year-old who was playing his very first match of rugby union, was named man-of-the-match.
Wallaby coach Joe Schmidt praised the debutant, saying: ‘He played in school and he came through the rugby union pathway. He certainly has a rugby pedigree, albiet having played a few years of pro rugby league. At 21 years old, he is incredibly diligent around his prep. That diligence pays off in his performance.
‘I thought he was strong, really well supported by Len Ikitau. They dove-tailed really well. Joseph got a few kick offs back for us. He’s a bit of an aerial freak. There were some doubts about him being selected and the risk but I think people now see the opportunity.
‘He’s still finding his feet, there are subtleties that are very different, but with that diligence and athleticism I thought it was a real confidence-boosting debut.’
