In sport, as in life, the temptation to look backwards rather than forwards can be immense. Within seconds of the final whistle at AAMI Park on a historic night for English rugby in Melbourne any number of “where does it rank?” conversations were duly kicking off. Suffice to say, in terms of stirring achievements in the southern hemisphere, only England’s all‑conquering 2003 team now stand ahead of Eddie Jones’s fast-maturing modern marauders.
In truth, though, the most significant aspect of England’s back-to-back wins against Australia is the exciting future possibilities this unprecedented series outcome has now opened up. Having already collected a Six Nations grand slam, Jones’s team have won eight Tests on the spin. Add the final World Cup pool victory against Uruguay under Stuart Lancaster and that figure rises to nine.
Next up once this tour concludes will be four autumn Tests at Twickenham against, respectively, South Africa, Fiji, Argentina and Australia, all sides below them in World Rugby’s rankings. Three of their first four games in the 2017 Six Nations Championship are also being played in south‑west London. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that Jones’s squad could set a world record of 18 successive Test wins in March next year should they wrap up a 3-0 series margin in Sydney this Saturday.
One game at a time and all that but even the blindest critic can see this England team is now a very different proposition from the one bundled prematurely from last year’s World Cup. While the Wallabies have not necessarily been undone by the visitors’ scintillating attacking brilliance, their opponents’ extra bristling edge has unnerved them. Where once English rugby turned up with a reliably soft underbelly there are now rippling six-packs, literally and metaphorically.
To what extent have Jones and his assistant coaches simply coaxed Lancaster’s same old group of players to greater heights? Look closely and two or three fundamental differences present themselves. Among them is the back-row balance, such a contentious issue under the previous regime, which has been transformed by the second-row impact of the relentless George Kruis and precocious Maro Itoje. The latter’s all-round influence, in particular, has freed up James Haskell, Chris Robshaw and Billy Vunipola to do what they each do best, while the return of Dylan Hartley has been similarly important in terms of leadership and tightening up the scrum. England are no longer being bullied, physically or verbally, and the difference at this level is as wide as the Nullarbor Plain.
Jones’s tactical acumen has clearly been crucial, too. There is never any confusion about what he wants and the gulf in decision-making between the Wallabies and England in Melbourne was glaring. If they had their time again the Australians would surely have opted for the posts rather than kicking to the corner in the third quarter, while the absence of a second midfield playmaker left a harassed Bernard Foley with too much on his plate. Michael Cheika and Stephen Moore spoke wearily afterwards about having the right plan but not executing it well enough.
Really? Jones preferred to use the old phrase “rope‑a‑dope” and it was hard to disagree. Like all good boxing promoters, his eyes are now swivelling towards the next opportunity. As an Australian he knows the effect a 3-0 whitewash would have on his homeland. In addition, he can sense it would give his young squad some serious self-belief. “It’s nice to win and to have the series done but we want to win 3-0,” Jones said. “You win a series 3-0 and people have got to say: ‘This team is conclusively better than the other team.’ That’s what we want to be.”
World domination, in other words, is firmly in Jones’s sights. Considering the second-string Saxons have just won both their tour games against South Africa A and the under-20 side have cruised into the junior World Cup semi-finals, the conveyor belt is running smoothly. Just as Owen Farrell and George Ford, both of whom were excellent in Melbourne, are looking higher-class Test players by the day, so Elliot Daly, Henry Slade, Ellis Genge, Jack Clifford and Teimana Harrison have the raw talent and energy to do likewise. Then there is the bounding Itoje, whose record of winning every game he has started this season for club and country says everything about his wide‑ranging contribution.
The abiding memory of the 23-7 win in Melbourne, though, was not Farrell’s late try, with help from Jamie George’s educated boot, nor even the abysmal state of the pitch, which is now threatening to undermine this fine sporting city’s ability to host future internationals. Instead, it was the warm inner satisfaction etched on the faces of the senior players such as Robshaw and Haskell – who hobbled from the stadium in a protective boot – and their captain, Hartley. “It doesn’t take a lot of skill to be defensively sound but it takes a lot of want,” the Northampton hooker said, reflecting on the remarkable defensive effort that ultimately broke the Wallabies. “We set the tone, there was a bit of niggle and we didn’t take a backwards step.”
The upshot is a convincing series outcome that will not go unnoticed across the Tasman. It is 12 years since England were as high as second in the world rankings and, by common consent, this youthful side are destined to get better. Finish the tour strongly and the British and Irish Lions expedition next year will also be teed up that bit higher. “The true challenge as a group is how we want to leave this tour,” Hartley said before his side decamped to a wet and windy Sydney. “We don’t want to leave with a sour taste. Do we want it to be 2-1 or 3-0? I want it to be 3-0. We need to flick the switch and go again.”
Neither England’s players nor their hard-nosed coach are minded to stare into the rear-view mirror when the future could be brighter still.
Australia Folau; Haylett-Petty (Morahan, 70), Kuridrani, Kerevi (Lealiifano, 60), Horne; Foley, Phipps (Frisby, 70); Slipper (Smith, 46), Moore (capt; Polota-Nau, 55), Kepu (Holmes, 46) Carter (Mumm, 50), Arnold, Fardy, Hooper, McMahon (McCalman, 50).
Try Moore. Con Foley.
England Brown; Watson (Daly, 77), Joseph, Farrell, Nowell; Ford, Youngs (Care, 65); M Vunipola (Mullan, 65) Hartley (capt; George, 72), Cole (Hill, 65), Kruis (Lawes, 56), Itoje, Robshaw (Launchbury, 72), Haskell (Clifford, 72), B Vunipola.
Tries Hartley, Farrell. Cons Farrell 2. Pens Farrell 3.
Referee C Joubert (SA). Att 29,871.
