Player ratings.
Marcus Smith is ruddy good.
More wins is the plan for Jones.
Here’s the full match report
Eddie Jones is offering his thoughts:
“Pleased that we stuck at it, we’ve had a tough week with the COVID cases. Farrell and Smith are only just beginning, they’ll improve every time they play together and the first try was great. We knew today if we played with enough consistency and intensity that we’d have the edge in the last twenty minutes.
“We’re delighted to be playing Springboks next, we want to go into the Six Nations with a South African scalp”
“Not a great weekend for the trans Tasman teams, Lee” says Thomas Callaghan.
You’re bang on, Thomas. However, at least NZ looked like a functioning rugby team earlier today, unlike Australia who looked like a collection of individuals who had accidentally wandered into a flashmob.
Earlier this afternoon, Ireland had a victory for the scrapbook.
Read all about it here.
Owen Farrell, England captain is having a word.
“We did what we need to do. A game against Aus is always a massive game, and we’ll take what we did today but we know we need to be a lot better. We want this team to play to all its strengths and we’ll build on that this week ahead of South Africa”
Freddie Steward, player of the match is here:
“It’s an incredible experience to play here, the stuff of dreams. For my try Marcus put me through a gap and it was elation as I dived over the line. It’s so good being in camp and playing alongside the likes of Maro, Faz and the others”
Such a towering presence today, but up close looks very much the young fella he is. Well played.
FULL TIME! England 32 - 15 England
That’s the last act of the match and it’s a very convincing win for England.
TRY! England 32 - 15 Australia (Jamie Blamire)
80 mins. Australia have one last attack, with Ikitau prominent in the England have, but Simmonds rips the ball, pelts up the left touchline and pops inside to Blamire who runs it in from thirty metres. A lovely moment for the substitute hooker.
Smith curls the extras from out wide.
Updated
77 mins. In a moment that sums up the entire Australian second half, Beale takes the ball in the line, does a shimmy, completely misses the ball with his boot when attempting a grubber, then a player in front of him plays the ball and gives away a penalty.
You couldn’t write it.
England subs.
Raffi Quirke, Sale’s livewire teenage scrum-half is on for Ben Youngs.
Trevor Davison replaces Bevan Rodd.
Charlie Ewels for Johnny Hill
Sam Simmonds in for Courtney Lawes
Aus Subs.
Tom Robertson for Angus Bell
Tate McDermott for Nic White
Noah Lolesio for James O’Connor
Updated
PENALTY! England 25 - 15 Australia (Marcus Smith)
72 mins. Marcus Smith takes over kicking duties and calmly finds the middle of the posts after Nic White is penalised for an obstructing run.
Updated
70 mins. Meet the new hooker, same as the old hooker for Australia as Latu chucks the ball over his jumper at their latest lineout in a decent position. England clear the ball miles and Beale is engulfed by the white shirts on the chase, but the gold defence do enough to allow White to clear.
Updated
68 mins. This game has degenerated into people dropping things or kicking things between set pieces. At the latest scrum, England push the Wallaby pack back for miles.
Ollie Hoskins is on for James Slipper
Owen Farrell limps off, replaced by Max Malins.
Subs:
Tolu Latu replaces Folau Fainga’a for Australia, and Tom Wright is off for Izaia Perese
For England, Dombrandt is permanently on for Underhill, two minutes after Underhill replaced Dombrandt. Still with me?
Updated
PENALTY! England 22 - 15 Australia (Owen Farrell)
64 mins. Farrell adds three more after Australia cave in at a scrum.
Australia sub:
Will Skelton replaces Rory Arnold.
England: Underhill returns to the field, Dombrandt off.
Updated
61 mins. From the latest penalty conceded by Australia, England take the scrum, which perhaps says much about Jamie Blamire’s throwing. Unfortunately the home pack are penalised for collapsing before Fainga’a cocks up his throw on the Wallaby lineout.
Elite level, this.
58 mins. For a moment it looks like Australia have a penalty in the England half after Lawes moved too many times on the floor in the tackle, but the ref spots a seatbelt tackle on the England man in the build up and reverses the pen. Farrell then misses touch.
A truly exceptional, top tier passage of play.
Updated
56 mins. Dombrandt opens his legs and carries the ball for twenty metres in behind the line, but a huge counter-ruck from the Wallabies wins the ball back. White feeds Paisami who steps inside and runs a fifty metres. He’s hauled down by Farrell and loose breakdown action means England can clear.
Pete Samu is in for the injured Michael Hooper.
PENALTY! England 19 - 15 Australia (Owen Farrell)
53 mins. Blamire misses Lawes in the lineout, albeit not by much. Hooper runs away with it, but he’s isolated and Itoje clamps on to win a penalty for the Wallaby captain not releasing.
Farrell tees it up, but drifts it wide of the posts.
PENALTY! England 19 - 15 Australia (Owen Farrell)
49 mins. Farrell strokes it over.
Alex Dombrandt is on as Sam Underhill has gone off for a head injury assessment.
YELLOW CARD! Angus Bell (Australia)
48 mins. The home side are camped in the Australia 22, the ball being recycled quickly and probing attacks causing problems in the Wallaby defence. In back play Bell lifts Lawes’s legs beyond the horizontal and drops him. Easy decision for the ref.
46 mins. The Wallabies have the ball robbed by Jonny Hill as they try to form a maul at their own lineout in their own half. Hill drives to the line and with help is rumbled over, but the Aus defence to enough to hold the ball up.
Updated
44 mins. Jamie Blamire’s nerves are tested on his first throw, and the results of the test are very much not straight. Australia waste no time in grabbing possession from the free kick and clearing their lines.
PENALTY! England 16 - 15 Australia (James O'Connor)
42 mins. Maro Itoje has his hands on the ground beyond the ruck, presenting an early chance for points to James O’Connor. A chance he grabs and stick through the posts.
Second half!
England receive the restart and we’re back in play.
Half time change for England.
Jamie George was limping late in the first half and he’s not returned, replaced by Jamie Blamire.
Half time musings.
England’s attack is looking pretty good, lots of mixing up of positions with Farrell and Smith swapping regularly, plus Tuilagi frequently off his wing and Steward up into the line. Evidence of Martin Gleeson’s influence, perhaps? Having said that, they could do with more points to show for their better performance.
Australia are in this however, with only their own poor discipline stymying their attacking platforms, and when they get some territory England are not handling it as well as they should. Hence it there’s only four points in it.
But, I feel the longer the game goes on like this, the more the home side are likely to pull slowly away.
HALF TIME!
PEEE-EEE-EEEP! That’s yer lot for this half
PENALTY! England 16 - 12 Australia (Owen Farrell)
39 mins. O’Connor does the necessary.
Tom Wright is back on.
38 mins. In something of a turnaround from the last scrum, James Slipper gives it the full pasty and drives through Bevan Rodd to win a Wallaby penalty. That will boost his and and the Aussie pack’s confidence. England are then offside in the next phase of play and it’s kickable.
If O’Connor nails this, then the score will be 3-3 in the Tom Wright sin-bin period. A great result for the visitors.
35 mins. The England pack catch and drive from the lineout and Jamie George breaks off but as he falls over the line to score Nic White comes in late from behind and punches the ball from his grasp. Outstanding last ditch defence from the Aussie scrum-half!
Updated
33 mins. Maro Itoje rips the ball in a tackle to set up a constructive half-dozen phases from England that takes them up into the Australia half. Under pressure out wide Nic White is penalised for a seatbelt tackle on Tom Curry. The Wallabies are penalised again - they are already up to 10.
PENALTY! England 16 - 9 Australia (Owen Farrell)
30 mins. Once all that is over, Wright sits himself down and Farrell kicks the points.
YELLOW CARD! Tom Wright (Australia)
29 mins. Jamie George is in behind into open pasture thanks to a pop pass from Lawes in midfield. He’s stopped by Beale and Tom Wright but the ref wants to take a look as Wright looks like he’s thrown his shoulder into the England hooker’s head.
There’s lots of panto noises from the Twickenham crowd as the replays are shown, but Ref Peyper believes wright was passive, so no high level of danger. Yellow card.
Updated
26 mins. Australia are consistently giving away unforced penalties when in possession, which is very frustrating as they are in this when they hold the ball. This time it’s Fainga’a off his feet at the breakdown.
England can do little from the penalty lineout as Paisami flew out of the line and smote Smith into knocking on.
Updated
24 mins. James Slipper is playing on the wrong side of the scrum and in the latest set-piece he’s driven to the ground for an England penalty. The home side goes full hands off first phase from the lineout and for split second it looks like May could be in, but Beale shepherds him well and bumps him into touch.
PENALTY! England 13 - 9 Australia (James O'Connor)
21 mins. Australia have some big carries in the England half through Leota and Valetini. As the ball comes to the right Beale can’t find Hooper out wide as he has to hoop a big pass over Owen Farrell who is lazily running back in an offside position. It’s yet another penalty with discipline is poor on both sides, and it’s O’Connor’s turn to take advantage.
PENALTY! England 13 - 6 Australia (Owen Farrell)
18 mins. Another England lineout on the Wallaby 22 and it’s another first phase move to Tuilagi busting up in midfield. Paisami stops him but Hooper is too keen at the breakdown and Farrell takes the kicking opportunity.
Updated
PENALTY! England 10 - 6 Australia (James O'Connor)
15 mins. After the restart, Michael Hooper decides it’s time to do some Michael Hoopering and wins a penalty for his side at the breakdown. It’s in range and O’Connor nails it.
PENALTY! England 10 - 3 Australia (Owen Farrell)
13 mins. The ball is won cleanly off the top of the lineout, and England work it to Tuilagi who despite his wing selection is very active in midfield in defence and attack so far. Smith is conducting confidently from 10 and eventually Australia are offside.
Farrell calls for the tee and extends the lead.
10 mins. Rob Leota obstructs a kick chase and England have a lineout on the Australia 22 from the penalty. Sinckler is down receiving some treatment, but it looks like he can run it off.
TRY! England 7 - 3 Australia (Freddie Steward)
8 mins. England have a free kick from the scrum which Youngs taps early. The ball goes right then back left for Marcus Smith to hold then delay-pop a pass to Steward joining the line who nips around Beale to score.
Farrell converts
Updated
7 mins. Freddie Steward claims a high ball and Nick Mullins on comms calls him an ‘air Steward’, which causes something inside my soul to shrivel up and die.
When I’m over that, there’s a knock on from Australia as they attempt to get amongst England’s attack.
PENALTY! England 0 - 3 Australia (James O'Connor)
4 mins. A few phases from Australia gain little territory and the ball is sent up in the air again. It looks like Slade has fielded it cleanly, but Bevan Rodd is penalised for a blocking run.
It’s in O’Connor’s range and he slots it.
Updated
2 mins. Ball in play for a full two minutes, but mostly a lot of kicks back and forth probing for position with no obvious winner. Eventually May puts it out around halfway and the Wallabies will attack from there.
Kick-off
Marcus Smith’s first touch is to get the game underway by chipping the ball deep into the Australia half.
The teams are on their way out, with England led to the field by Maro Itoje winning his 50th cap.
Big News Alert!
Ireland have just put in a remarkable performance to beat the All Blacks 29-20 in Dublin.
Have a read while you wait.
Ugo Monye likes Tuilagi on the wing, find out why here
Teams
The big news for England is Marcus Smith starting at 10 with the returning captain Owen Farrell slotting in as a comfort blanket at 12. This displaces Manu Tuilagi from the centre to an unfamiliar wing berth while Adam Radwan is flirted from the matchday 23 entirely.
Australia make two changes to their squad who lost to Scotland; Kurtley Beale starts at full-back with Andrew Kellaway starting on the wing.
England: Freddie Steward; Manu Tuilagi, Henry Slade, Owen Farrell (capt), Jonny May; Marcus Smith, Ben Youngs; Bevan Rodd, Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler, Maro Itoje, Jonny Hill, Courtney Lawes, Sam Underhill, Tom Curry.
Replacements: 16 Jamie Blamire, 17 Trevor Davison, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Alex Dombrandt, 21 Sam Simmonds, 22 Raffi Quirke, 23 Max Malins.
Australia: Kurtley Beale; Andrew Kellaway, Len Ikitau, Hunter Paisami, Tom Wright; James O’Connor, Nic White; Angus Bell, Folau Fainga’a, James Slipper, Rory Arnold, Izack Rodda, Rob Leota, Michael Hooper (capt), Rob Valetini.
Replacements: 16 Tolu Latu, 17 Tom Robertson, 18 Oliver Hoskins, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Pete Samu, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Noah Lolesio, 23 Izaia Perese.
Preamble
England’s first big test of the Autumn rolls into town as Australia come to Twickenham.
Eddie Jones will want to make a statement that isn’t anything to do with teenage women in another sport; the Wallabies, arriving on neither peak form nor personnel, present the perfect opportunity.
If Australia perform similarly to Murrayfield last Saturday then it could be a long afternoon, but Dave Rennie’s side have had a habit of turning predictable narratives on their head this year.
It’s a long shot but today could be one of those days. But probably won’t.
