No affair the excellent destiny. No matter fine-line decisions, this was a result that cements England’s credentials as World Cup contenders. True, one TMO decision for Elliot Daly’s try in the 55 minute went their way while Marika Karoibete’s was ruled out for crossing 15 minutes later. Earlier a Michael Hooper try had been adjudged offside. And Australia at one stage just before half-time was down to 13 men.
On this terminal and But no blench.No more grumbling about sub-par performances. England may not even have been at their most assured or slickest but they are spurred by a raging inner belief that will take them to significant places. This is a result that resonates. It was no fluke, even if the scoreboard flattered them. They did the spade work that enabled them to take advantage with stand-out performances in particular from lock Joe Launchbury and the late-arriving, replacement scrum-half, Danny Care.
The late rattle of tries owed much to the arrival on the field of Care who brought an injection of pace and alertness that ripped apart what had been a stern and resilient Wallaby defense. The Harlequin rounded off a superb 11-minute cameo with a try himself at the death, taking advantage of Australia’s desperation to come away with something, Jonny May pouncing with Care on hand to finish off. May himself had done well to latch on to Care’s clever grubber moments earlier to touchdown, while Care’s eagle-eyed, over-the-shoulder hook-kick in the 72 minute opened up the field for Jonathan Joseph to touch down.
‘The Finishers’ is how Jones terms his late substitutes and they certainly were true to that soubriquet. But they can do little if there is nothing on which to build and the hefty figure of Launchbury had done so much to ensure that foundations had been laid. Launchbury was terrific in all elements, a rock. No wonder that Jones had the luxury of preferring him ahead of World Rugby Player of the Year nominee Maro Itoje.
There are, of course, still blemishes in England’s play. Their discipline was patchy, with some silly penalties among the 10 conceded, and their scrum engagement was also off-kilter. Handling was slipshod at times but conditions were filthy. These are fault lines that are easily repaired.
What cannot be denied is that England triumphed against blue-riband opponents. The Wallabies played to recent form, undefeated in seven, and were far from the raggle-taggle bunch that began their international season with a loss at home to Scotland and a shellacking from New Zealand.They were fitter, tougher and smarter, and had a monstrous presence in Koroibete, a handful all afternoon. Half-backs Will Genia and Bernard Foley were sharp and elusive while Kurtley Beale has been rejuvenated by his stint with Wasps, a full-back only in the sense that he wears the No 15 shirt, popping up all over the field to trigger attacks.
Beale was at the heart of everything, including, contentiously, his silly lunge for the ball on the stroke of half-time when May was trying to find Joseph on the inside. It was a one-handed contact and adjudged a yellow card by referee Ben O’Keeffe. He did pop up in midfield in the 27 minute to create an overlap on the left from where Tevita Kuridrani’s kick-through almost led to a try for Michael Hooper only for the TMO to rule that the flanker had been offside.
England rode their destiny. The bounce of a ball can make fools even of the expert. If Beale had his time again in the 55 minute he would not have dithered and assumed a rugby ball behaves logically. It looked as if Ben Youngs’ rushed clearance was rolling into touch only for the ball to hold up, causing Beale to look on in astonishment as his one-time Wasps’ teammate, Elliot Daly, came steaming through to toe-poke the ball downfield from where he was able to hack on and score. It was a borderline decision, as the countless TV replays indicated, but the try was awarded.
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