England clinches test series with 23-7 win over Wallabies

Would the English tyros really find it such a challenge facing the likes of James Slipper or Scott Sio, Greg Holmes or Sekoke Kepu?

Another try from a rolling maul as Stephen Moore crossed the stripe.

With six minutes remaining England sealed the game.

He added: “You have to pay credit to England, they played very well”. We want to contend number one in the world.

“It was hard when he lost the captaincy, it’s not a pleasant experience, but he’s bounced back really well and we’re all delighted for him tonight”.

Feelings boiled over with a melee in the 12th minute after referee Craig Joubert had awarded a penalty to the Wallabies but reversed it after penalising Australia for foul play from the incident. England stand on the verge of history after last weekend’s epic first Test win in Brisbane.

4th min – England miss an attempted penalty goal.

Farrell kicked a penalty and England led 10-0 but they were also riding their luck. “That’s a coach killer”.

No doubt this is where Quade Cooper looms large in Michael Cheika’s plans. Exhausting enough just watching, both sets of players left everything out there.

But despite his team walking out of Brisbane with the 39-28 verdict, England Coach Eddie Jones insists that his young squad, averaging just 24 years old, has considerable room for improvement.

“Australia are desperate to win, we’re desperate to win, and this is a game where players either grow or shrink”, said Jones.

Henry Slade is another who has so much talent and potential but has yet to be handed his chance for England under Eddie Jones.

A stirring 23-7 victory at AAMI Park means Jones’ Grand Slam champions will head to Sydney in pursuit of a glorious three-Test whitewash of a team that reached last autumn’s World Cup final.

The meeting was initiated by the English side, with Cheika invoking new World Rugby regulations that allow coaches to be present in a meeting with officials if their opposition requests a sit-down with the man in charge, according to the UK’s The Telegraph. If they want to come along, then that’s fine.

England’s defence was being severely tested, but they continued to withstand a huge onslaught and the brilliant Farrell raced away for another try after chasing Jamie George’s grubber and converting before slotting over another late penalty to add insult to injury.

“I don’t think the post-match press conference is the right place to discuss the composition of the team”, Cheika said. However, this is the equivalent of the rule book’s fine print, and is a clause rarely activated in the rugby world. That has been the way of things in this series, with England getting the benefit of some crucial calls, although it would be churlish to suggest they have been anything but the better team.

The pre-match concerns about the AAMI Park struggling with Test level scrums proved to be more than valid, as the two packs churned up dead turf at an alarming rate following the first couple of engagements.

“We know the job isn’t done”.

Forced to make three times as many tackles as their hosts, the likes of James Haskell and Robshaw gave true meaning to the clichéd phrase of “putting bodies on the line”.