The Miracle at Twickenham
Australia win a thriller against all odds in London
Nothing that I have seen in 2024 of this Wallabies side under Joe Schmidt made me think they had a chance on Saturday at Rugby HQ.
How wrong I was (and delighted to be so!) in an entertaining afternoon that would have England scrambling for answers as they prepare to face the world champion Springboks this coming weekend.
Build up
Jamie George, England’s captain, was bullish in the pre-match chat saying, “My messaging to the team, Steve’s messaging the team, we’re going to want to go out and play with courage and be brave and take teams on and never sit back.”
He went on to say, “I’ve been outspoken about making sure the fans’ day out and what they see on the field, they come away being really proud of and they come away having had a really brilliant experience with the England rugby team. I still think they’re having that.” This is another example of people worrying about things off the field at the expense of what happens on it. I don’t think anyone enjoys watching box kicks, and that seems to be England’s sole tactic, if a side doesn’t kick on Feyi-Waboso.
Australia went into the game with little hope based on their TRC results where they finished bottom of the log. Much was written about Rugby League convert Joseph Suaalii who was playing in his first professional game in rugby union at 13, a notoriously tough position to learn the nuances of the game.
Gcobani Bobo stuck the knife in during the pre-match show, being very dismissive of veterans Dan Cole and James Slipper (quite right too) and the role they may play off the bench.
Strong start by England - game over after the first quarter?
England came out the blocks quickly and seemingly caught the Aussies off guard in a first quarter blitz that gave them a 15 - 3 lead thanks to two Chandler Cunningham-South tries and a penalty apiece for both sides. England were looking after the ball well and used Slade as a dual playmaker with Smith - Slade and Lawrence swopping jerseys but Slade still defending at 13. At this stage I considered turning it off as it looked like it was going to be one-way traffic, with the Aussies so loose in possession and absent-minded in defence. But I should know better, this is a Borthwick team we are talking about.
Australia fightback after Curry KO’ed and then pull away
The Aussie fightback started with two brutal collisions that sent Tom Curry for an HIA he was never gonna pass. First, burly prop Angus Bell sent the openside flying, before the ball was recycled for Valetini to have a crack and with shocking technique, Curry’s temple collided with Valetini’s knee and it was lights out.
This spurred the Aussie pack on who demolished the English scrum for a penalty that set up a lineout handy to the line. When the ball reached Suaalii in midfield under penalty advantage, the newbie drew two defenders before popping a pass NBA-style to Tom Wright who was untouched going over in the corner and Noah Lolesio converted to make it 15 - 10, game on.
England added three points after their second penalty award at the scrum to make it 18 - 10.
With Jake Gordon off the field to clear up a headwound, Tate McDermott sparkled in a little cameo. From two snipes where the rucks were unguarded, McDermott made telling linebreaks, the second of which led to a try for skipper Harry Wilson which was converted for a 1-point game at 18 - 17.
Australia still had time to attack England, with the home side being forced to concede a penalty, which Australia kicked over for an improbable 20 - 18 half-time lead.
In the 50th minute Australia pulled out a trick play at the front of the lineout that allowed for another red zone entry. After dominant carries by Valetini, Frost and Bell to get them to 2m out, quick hands down the short side saw lock Jeremy Williams go over in the corner. It was tight and the TMO had to intervene but luckily there was no conclusive proof of his foot being in touch and the try was awarded to make it 25 - 18.
The confidence was surging through the visitors now and from the kick-off they nearly scored again as they counter attacked with skill from another linebreak and only some desperate English defence kept the game in the balance. Nevertheless the Aussies were able to extend their lead to 28 - 18 and at this stage after 55 minutes it looked like a long way back for England.
This meant that England now had to gamble a bit and it didn’t take long for a response. After a maul was stopped in the Wallabies’ 22m, Spencer and Smith worked out there was space on the blindside and Smith’s grubber sat up perfectly for Ollie Sleightholme, whose speed off the mark is something else, and all of a sudden it was 28 - 23 to set up an exciting final quarter.
Mad final dozen minutes as lead changes hands FOUR TIMES
Smith had moved to fullback by this stage and this allowed him more space and time on the ball and he exploited it. From a quick throw, Lawrence made good headway and the Wallabies couldn’t recover and they were left short out wide for Sleighthome to grab his brace, set up by Dombrandt. Smith nailed the corner conversion to break the deadlock and give England a 30 - 28 lead. Australia had blown it!
In the 75th minute, with England in possession from a maul on the halfway line, Ford threw a loose pass to Lawrence as the strike runner and Kellaway gleefully picked up the pieces and nearly got reeled, but had the presence of mind to zigzag and take the long route to the line for the go-ahead score, 35 - 30. England had blown it!
Australian fullback Tom Wright had been good in attack but was poor on defence. He had bailed out of a 50/50 challenge leading to England’s first try and in the dying stages from a Smith grubber, he didn’t get an exit away, and was forced to carry the ball back, setting up an England 5m scrum with three minutes left. From this scrum, Earl was driven back going for the line and it looked like Tommy Freeman knocked on at the base but Itoje scored from the subsequent phase from close to the line and this manic game swung again, 37 - 35. Australia had blown it!!
England basically just needed to take the kick-off, set up two rucks and victory would be theirs. Itoje made a poor decision to try field a ball that hadn’t gone 10m and knocked on in the process haha, giving the Wallabies one last chance.
After some solid possession, without making much headway, they changed tack and went down the blindside with destructive centre Ikitau showing his deft skills to deliver an unreal chicken wing pass to replacement Jorgensen who couldn’t believe that Smith had bitten in as the last defender, leaving him with a free run in to the corner to seal an unbelievable win that not many could have predicted, especially after 15 minutes. ENGLAND HAD BLOWN IT!!!
