Autumn International Review - England 20 - 13 Australia

These Autumn Internationals are already giving me a headache.  It seems before any tournament or series that England play, the press get off their rear ends and stop writing about what knickers Miley Cyrus is wearing and instead pose unanswerable question after unanswerable question.  Is Chris Robshaw a ‘real’ openside (yawn)?  What’s England’s best centre combination?  Is it true Danny Care has been dropped because of his appalling haircut?

To be fair, it’s not just England facing the pressure.  The Aussies have had their own demons to deal with, with a series loss to the Lions and then a disappointing Rugby Championship campaign leading many to wonder why this undoubtedly talented Wallaby side were failing to fire.  But a sensational away win over Argentina in Rosaria and impressive showing in their defeat to the All Blacks was enough to at least inject a sense of hope and expectation behind all the questions about the Wallabies – in particular their pack – which remained unanswered.

But there’s something about the English press which really hammers home the importance of answering all these questions in time for the Rugby World Cup, which kicks off in 2 years time.  Ranging from the suitability of individuals such as Mike Brown and Lee Dickson, to the balance of units in the pack – particularly the back row.  As England lined up against Australia at Twickenham on Saturday, the plethora of ponderings was mind-boggling.

Another question that was hanging over England as the game kicked off was over the suitability of Chris Robshaw as both a captain and an openside.  I find this constant berating of one of England's best and most consistent performers tiresome at best, and he responded perfectly in the opening two minutes.  After the hosts had spilled the kick off and Quade Cooper had probed the defence with a smart cross-field kick which just eluded Adam Ashley-Cooper, Joe Launchbury made a nuisance of himself at a ruck, forcing the ball loose and allowing Tom Youngs to make an outstanding tackle.  First man in at the breakdown?  Robshaw.  The Wallabies were penalised for holding on and the men in white had their first points courtesy of Owen Farrell.

The lead didn't last for long though, as Youngs and Courtney Lawes managed to fluff a lineout, which gave the visitors a chance to apply pressure and earn a penalty, which Cooper duly slotted.  The game then took an odd path, with neither side able to develop any continuity, but it was the English who were dominating possession and territory.  Dan Cole was destroying James Slipper in the scrum and, with the help of Mako Vunipola, earning penalty after penalty.  However, with Lawes and Youngs still not quite in tune at the lineout, a lack of cohesion in the middle and uncharacteristic indecisiveness from Lee Dickson, England were unable to make any sort of inroads into a disciplined Wallaby defence.  The only threats they had were from the scrum and Mike Brown at 15, who got Twickenham on its feet with a magnificent regathering of his own chip ahead over Will Genia.  Despite the pack impressing with its dominance, Owen Farrell was unable to reward his side as he hooked his penalty attempts 3 consecutive times.

Finally, the Saracens man got his radar working with a simple kick close to the sticks, and it came after his clubmate and debutant Billy Vunipola swatted off Cooper like an irritating bug and made big inroads through the middle of the defence.  If the sight of Vunipola junior's raw talent was a welcome one, then the sight of Farrell finally hitting his mark and sending England 3 points up was even more so. 

Any sense of relief was short-lived, though, as centre Billy Twelvetrees endured the worst 5 minutes of his international career.  After Israel Folau got on the outside of Chris Ashton thanks to a sumptuous pass from Cooper, the Wallabies recycled and centre Matt Toomua – who repeatedly smashed Twelvetrees when the Brumbies played the Lions – introduced the Gloucester man to the soles of his feet as he smashed through the centre.  Cooper slotted the conversion and then added another kick as Twelvetrees was penalised within kicking distance, handing the Wallabies a 10 point lead.  It would prove to be a lead which they'd carry into half time, as more promising work by Brown on the counter was undone by indecisiveness by Farrell and Dickson.

It was starting to look like a painfully familiar story for England fans – another autumn of exaggerated expectations and disappointing defeats, made all the starker by the parading of the 2003 World Cup winning England squad during the break – but it was absolutely clear that it was going to be critical who scored first.  Unfortunately for the hosts, it looked like that it would be the men in gold who were the more likely to trouble the scoreboard, with Nick Cummins just failing to gather a kick in a promising position and then Cooper missing a penalty after Marland Yarde had checked Adam Ashley-Cooper on kick chase.  It was Australia with all the threat, all the penetration and all the invention.

But it was England with all the luck.  Mike Brown fielded a magnificent kick for Toomua and – not for the first time – prevented a kick destined for touch from finding its mark.  Replays showed, though, that Brown has deceptively big toes that were grazing the whitewash by his own tryline, meaning the Wallabies should have had the lineout by the England line.  Instead, Brown dummied the kick and surged up field, bringing the crowd to life, before a quick tap from Ashton helped release Yarde on the other wing, who burned his way past Will Genia and Tevita Kuridani with searing speed and power, only to be denied by a superb cover tackle by Adam Ashley-Cooper.  What looked to be the get-out-of-jail card for the Aussies though did not work out as planned, as Genia's box kick from the ensuing lineout was charged down, allowing Chris Robshaw to pounce on the loose ball and claim his first international try. 

Farrell nailed his conversion and suddenly it was England with all the tempo and attacking threat.  They were aided by the introductions of Dylan Hartley, who brought the lineout up to scratch and carried hard, and Ben Youngs, who finally added some direction and zip to the England thrust.  It paid dividends as they surged upfield and set up camp by the Wallaby line, and when Hartley 'leaned' into Stephen Moore, it created a gap for Farrell to burst through and touchdown to give England the lead.  Referee Stephen Clancy reviewed the score before awarding it, deciding that there hadn't been 'enough' obstruction to deny the try.

In the next 10 minutes England looked to hammer home their advantage, with Brown going close from a smart dabbed kick from Farrell and even Chris Ashton making some useful metres, but the alarm bells were starting to ring for the Wallabies, and as the game reached the closing stages they upped their game to another level.  With Nic White, on for the ineffectual Will Genia, directing play smartly and kicking intelligently, the visitors began to claw their way back into the game.  Nick Cummins shot through a gap, only to be denied by another superb tackle from the magnificent Brown, before Folau was halted short after Quade Cooper had rounded substitute Ben Morgan.  Try as they might, the Wallabies couldn't find the killer touch – but the England scrum had it in abundance, and the pack earned another couple of penalties to make the game safe, and set the final score at 20 – 13.

It was a scrappy, messy game but also intense, brutal and compelling.  There's a view that, from England's perspective, it will have raised more questions than answers after some unconvincing individual performances, but at least they've answered the key enquiry – can they beat quality opposition when they are expected to?  It wasn't pretty – at times it wasn't effective – but at least they've come out with the right answer.

 

England Player Ratings

Mike Brown – 9 – England’s best attacking threat fully justified his inclusion as he finally got to play in his preferred full back position.  His defensive work was strong, but his counter attacking was superb as he got his side on the front foot time and again.  Man of the match.

Chris Ashton – 5 – Didn’t do anything wrong, but didn’t do anything right either.  Was hardly involved but not necessarily his fault, given the poor cohesion inside him.

Joel Tomkins – 5 – Not the best debut.  Made a good early tackle on Folau but then was pretty much invisible for the next 75 minutes.  Partnership with Twelvetrees didn’t spark, although they had limited quality possession.

Billy Twelvetrees – 4 – He must hate the sight of Matt Toomua.  He recovered slightly in the second half, but his attempted tackle for the try was not that of an international 12 and his distribution skills weren’t on show for the majority of the game.

Marland Yarde – 6 – Promising stuff from the London Irish man.  Showed his pace and power on a couple of occasions but was over enthusiastic at times.

Owen Farrell – 7 – Had a nightmare second quarter where he missed 3 kicks and stopped directing with any authority.  But to recover and put in a fine 2^nd half display – including the key score – was very impressive.

Lee Dickson – 4 – Disappointing from a man who has been in top form for his club.  Average box kicking, ponderous decision making and poor service led to all sorts of problems for those outside him.  Is under pressure for his spot next week.

Mako Vunipola – 7 – Was well on top against Ben Alexander and was as destructive as ever on the carry.  Is becoming a really good option at loosehead.

Tom Youngs – 6 – Not his best day at the office as a couple of loose throws proved, but his energy in the loose was as impressive as ever, and was part of a dominant scrummaging effort.

Dan Cole – 7 – Utterly dominant in the set piece against James Slipper and tackled well, although it would be good to see that turnover work coming to the fore again.

Joe Launchbury – 8 – Impressive.  Busy all over the park and made a real nuisance of himself at rucktime.  A real force in defence and attack.

Courtney Lawes – 7 – The lineout didn’t always go according to plan but a couple of huge hits in the second half helped turn the tide.  Difficult to tell if he’s done enough to oust Geoff Parling.

Tom Wood – 6 – A quiet but workmanlike display from Wood.  Suffered from some sloppy handling at times but more than made up for that with some ferocious work in the loose.

Chris Robshaw – 8 – Yet another strong display from the skipper.  Prominent at ruck time – forcing 2 turnovers – and towards the top of the tackle charts and carries once again, his engine was impressive.  Out muscled Michael Hooper in the back row battle.

Billy Vunipola – 7 – Impressive home debut.  Literally threw Quade Cooper off on a couple of occasions to make some real in roads into the Wallaby defence, and made a textbook choke tackle on Genia.  Needs to stay more involved though, rather than drifting in and out.

Subs used

Dylan Hartley – 7 – Lineout seemed to improve and his carrying was impressive.  Will be pushing Youngs for a starting spot.

Joe Marler – 6 – Did nothing wrong and helped maintain the upper hand in the scrum.

David Wilson – 6 – Aside from the sight of a prop wearing upper-body skins, did well in the scrum and looked to carry as well.

Dave Attwood – Not enough time to make an impact.

Ben Morgan – 5 – A couple of good carries but couldn’t really get into the game – and a missed tackle on Quade Cooper did not make for good watching.

Ben Youngs – 7 – Another to breathe life into the England game.  Injected zip and urgency to the England attack and will be pressing Dickson hard.

Toby Flood – 6 – Was an authoritative presence on the pitch when the Wallabies were threatening to come back into things.

International Round Up

Japan 6 - 54 New Zealand:  An experimental New Zealand side thrashed their hosts, Japan, despite the Cherry Blossoms impressing in the opening exchanges.  Tries from Charles Piutau (2), Sam Cane, Ben Smith, Richie McCaw, Jeremy Thrush, Frank Halai and Beauden Barrett all helped rack up a big total.