England score historic win over Wallabies

England fought back from last year’s World Cup embarrassment with a historic defeat of the Wallabies .

Jack Nowell of England dives over for their third try against the Australian Wallabies at Suncorp Stadium. Picture: Getty

From the greatest Australian victory on English soil to the greatest English victory on Australian soil, Eddie Jones’ England set the Cook Cup series alight with a 39-28 win over the Wallabies in the First Test at Suncorp Stadium tonight.

Memories of Australia’s famous 33-20 win over England in the pool round at the World Cup were a distant and fading memory as the Red Rose XV rode the almost unerring boot of Owen Farrell – who scored 24 points with nine goals from 10 – to finish over the top of Michael Cheika’s Australians.

Indiscipline cost Australia dearly – the penalty count was 15-8 to England – and the TMO astonishinglyoverruled a try to Bernard Foley on the faintest sniff of obstruction, but there was no question that Jones had his side ready to play not only Bodyline physical rugby but smart rugby too.

Man of the match James Haskell and athletic lock Maro Itoke dominated the breakdown, as much in charge of the tackle as David Pocock and Michael Hooper at Twickenham last October, and the England props had marginally the better of the scrums, especially since Wallabies loosehead Scott Sio was sin-binned.

Man of the match James Haskell of England. Picture: David Rogers/Getty Images

Australia scored four tries to three and generally looked the more dangerous with ball in hand, but Jones had never lost a Test at Suncorp Stadium – winning five as Wallabies coach – and he never looked like dropping this one, even in the final minutes when Australia closed to within four points.

It was a worrying night for the Wallabies on the injury front as well, with lock Rob Simmons (back) and winger Rob Horne (concussion) both being forced off with injuries.

Cheika paid tribute to England for taking their chances when they occurred, but he was adamant that Foley’s try was legitimate. “There was no obstruction,” Cheika insisted. “The guy (Burrell) went to the wrong attacker.”

Jones laughed off the overruled try. “The last time I criticised a referee at Suncorp Stadium, it cost me $13,000,”said the England coach, referring to the incident in 2007 when he was fined for calling referee Matt Goddard’s handling of the scrums “ludicrous” and “disgraceful” in the match against the Brumbies when he was Queensland coach. A slight exaggeration since the fine was only $10,000 but then Jones could afford to be expansive after going 1-0 up in the best of three series.

“We didn’t play well today,” he said. “We were happy with the result but we didn’t play well.”

He indicated Australia would hit back hard in the Second Test in Melbourne next Saturday, insisting that a far tighter rein had to be placed on Israel Folau. “He kept Australia in the game. Once he gets going he’s like a big giraffe.”

Seven wins straight for Eddie Jones since taking over as England coach. Picture: David Rogers/Getty Images

It was seven wins straight for Jones since he has taken over from Stuart Lancaster. Those seven wins include a Six Nations title but it’s fair to say this was his most prized triumph of them all, against a southern hemisphere superpower at their fortress.

A 9-2 penalty count in favour of England completely negated Australia’s two early tries as England went to the halftime break 19-13 ahead.

The Wallabies looked in total control during the first 15 minutes of play as Michael Hooper and Israel Folau crossed for tries. Hooper had almost scored when Folau broke the line and passed wide in the ninth minute but the England defence just managed to shut him down. But one phase later, the ball was again in Hooper’s hands, courtesy of a neat transfer by Samu Kerevi, and this time there was no stopping the Australian vice-captain.

It only took another seven minutes for the Australians to score again, this time as Folau ran an excellent line onto a Bernard Foley short pass, completely wrong footing Owen Farrell as he strolled to the line. Again, Foley was astray with the conversion, his kick hitting the left-hand upright. It didn’t look like it would matter. But how quickly things would change.

Two Farrell penalties steadied the ship for England but Australia looked to be in again when Foley split the defence to run 40m but then the television match official intervened to find what look a marginal obstruction by lock Rory Arnold on England centre Luther Burrell. The try was disallowed by England coach Jones showed what he thought of Burrell’s defensive effort by whipping him straight from the field in a tactical change after only 28 minutes and replaced him with George Ford. It would prove an inspired substitution..

But just a minute later, David Pocock was penalised again for hands in the ruck and Farrell helped himself to another gift three points to draw England to within a point.

The pivotal, match-turning moment started innocuously enough when Folau took a high ball and looked to launch a counter-attack. But the England defence had rushed up all night on the Australians and they did so with a vengeance now as Foley fumbled Folau’s errant pass. Kerevi attempted to tidy up but the rugby ball can be perverse the way it bounces and it totally eluded him. Not so English centre Jonathan Joseph who toed it through and regathered to score.

Foley clawed back three points with his first success off the goalkicking tee but right on the stroke of fulltime Farrell extended England’s lead out to six points.

England were first onto the field at the start of the second half, a statement of intent if ever there was one. They matched their action to their intent when they struck first, Haskell bursting off a rolling maul to get to within a metres of the line. The ball was moved quickly to the right where substitute five-eighth Ford neatly summed up the situation by firing a long pass out to winger Marland Yarde and in the blink of an eye England were out to a lead of 26-13. Indeed, it was soon 29-13 after Farrell goaled yet again after Australian infringed to pull down a rolling maul, this just after Australian loosehead Sio had been yellow carded for collapsing at the scrum.

But then came the Australian fightback. It was Hooper who started the counter-attack, scoring his second try on the right wing after Foley and Folau has provided the familiar Waratahs build-up. Although Farrell goaled yet again for an off-side penalty, Australia kept coming, with centre Tevita Kuridrani crossing from a scrum to set up a storming final 10 minutes at 32-25.

Hooper made one of the gutsiest call of his career when he signalled for Foley to take a shot at goal with only three minutes of play remaining to reduce the score to 32-28, signalling a frenzied Wallabies attack in the dying moments.

The Australians threw caution to the wind and carried the ball to the halfway mark but then came the mistake, reserve halfback Danny Care’s breakout run, the grubber ahead by Ford and there was England winger Jack Nowell to gather the ball and score. Needless to say, Farrell converted from the touchline. It was that kind of night for England.