England's autumn campaign drifted further off track as
Australia stunned Allianz Stadium by landing the decisive blow in a 42-37
barnstormer.
England had led by 12 points and then trailed by 10 in a
see-sawing encounter, but Maro Itoje's 78th-minute try seemed to have settled
matters by moving the hosts 37-35 ahead.
But, in the final play of the match, four minutes into the
red, Len Ikitau found space and fed replacement wing Max Jorgensen, who
scampered in, launching into a celebratory dive in front of the stunned stands.
After last weekend's loss to the All Blacks, England have
lost six of their 10 matches this season, including each of their past four. It
is their worst run of results since 2018.
Jorgensen's try and Australia’s wild celebrations brought to
mind Matt Giteau racing in when the Wallabies sent England spiralling out of
their own home World Cup on this stage nine years ago.
England had won 10 of the 11 meetings since and went into
this one as favourites, but, once again, they finished on the losing side of a
narrow scoreline.
Their inability to find the end game to back up promising
performances and hard graft with results has become a worrying trend. Their
past five losses have all been by a converted score or less.
For an Australia side who will welcome the British and Irish
Lions next summer, this was a landmark win under coach Joe Schmidt, with
debutant Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii's athleticism and rugby nous translating
seamlessly from rugby league.
England's early lead evaporates
It had all started so well for England.
Marcus Smith, who put in another clever, commanding display
despite defeat, sparked into life for the opening try.
His well-weighted grubber put Ollie Lawrence in behind the
Australia defence, which was still in disarray as Ellis Genge, Jamie George,
Tom Curry, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Ben Earl combined in a slick passing move
to put Chandler Cunningham-South in at the corner.
The same combination produced the second try with a Smith
line break wrenching Australia out of shape and Cunningham-South plunging over
from a tap penalty.
Smith's boot added a penalty and, with 18 minutes gone,
England seemed to be coasting at 15-3 up.
However, their rhythm was broken as Feyi-Waboso was
temporarily forced off for a head injury and Curry, who has missed part of the
early season with a concussion on club duty, trudged off permanently after a
bad head knock.
Then Suaalii arrived.
The much-hyped new recruit, playing his first union game
since his schooldays, had been on the periphery of the action in the opening
stages, but left Ollie Sleightholme groping at air before flipping a pass over
the top of Henry Slade for Tom Wright to slide in.
Suaalii then showed off his prodigious vertical leap and 6ft
5in frame as he disrupted Itoje's kick-off reception to put England under more
pressure.
Australia, buoyed and making gainline metres, were back
within a point after 35 minutes as lively replacement scrum-half Tate McDermott
swerved outside George Martin and fed the supporting Wilson for their second
try.
Twickenham, which had been settling in an England
exhibition, was stunned to near silence by the contest emerging in front of
them.
When Australia's Noah Lolesio, excellent off the tee, landed
a penalty in the final act of the first half his team hit the front for the
first time in the match.
Jorgensen has final say in pulsating second half
Suaalii chased down another kick-off as Australia got the
second half under way and England were drawn into a game of open spaces, long
passages and frequent turnovers.
Australia thrived in the chaos.
Second row Jeremy Williams dived into the corner like a wing
after 50 minutes to move his side 25-18 clear.
From the kick-off, Wright slit England open down the middle
with a swerving run, and the scrambling hosts gave away a soft penalty as they
tried to stem the attack.
Lolesio slotted to put Australia 10 points clear and, with
little over 25 minutes left, England were staring down the barrel.
With a recent history of dismal final quarters, the prospect
of an England comeback was not supported by the stats.
But the home crowd, as against Ireland in March, relished
the chase and raised the volume.
Smith was the conductor at the centre of the maelstrom.
Sleightholme ate into the Wallabies' lead, latching on to
Smith’s smart kick to make it 28-23, before the Harlequins man, moved to
full-back by the introduction of George Ford, dropped a shoulder and darted
deep into Australia territory 10 minutes later.
Fast ball was fed to Alex Dombrandt, whose floated pass
allowed Sleightholme a clear canter into the corner.
Smith landed the touchline conversion and, with 10 minutes
to go, England led once more at 30-28.
They could not contain the Wallabies, though, with home
errors breathing life into the opposition.
Andrew Kellaway streaked clear to score after the ball went
to ground in a mess of an England midfield move.
Itoje's score seemed to have salvaged victory, but England
gave away possession off the kick-off and, with tired legs unable to cover
ground, Jorgensen raced away for a gut-punch game-winning score.
Line-ups & match officials
England: Furbank; Feyi-Waboso, Lawrence, Slade,
Freeman; M Smith, Spencer; Genge, George (capt), Stuart, Itoje, Martin,
Cunningham-South, T Curry, Earl.
