What did we learn from the Wallabies' loss to England?
1. History was made
Eddie Jones came to Australia to make history and that’s exactly what he’s done. England has won three consecutive Tests against the Wallabies in Australia for the first time, clinching a series win down under in an unprecedented achievement. They're soon to be ranked second in the world, in a whirlwind few would have predicted. The memories of the World Cup have faded and it is Australia now with some scrambling to do. Jones is still yet to lose a Test as England coach and has added more silverware to his cabinet. On the flipside, it seems the honeymoon is over for Michael Cheika
2. World class surface not fit for suburbia
It took just eight minutes for the contentious surface to face its biggest test and it fell apart straight away. Players, coaches and officials dismissed any concerns over the turf through the week but their confidence was clearly misplaced. Every single scrum restart had to be moved to avoid digging up more of the surface. There’s been diseases and difficulties but there’s really no excuse for the standard of the ground in a Test situation.
3. You can plug leaky holes in a week
England’s defence was soft in the opening Test in Brisbane, so they brought a brick wall with them to Melbourne. The Wallabies had a handful of chances where they were hammering the England defence and couldn’t slip through. That proved a major game changer for the Red Rose, particularly when it meant they hung on to a half-time lead after keeping the Wallabies out after 22 phases. England finished with 215 tackles to 81, in a monstrous effort.
With only 29% possession, it was only going to take one mistake for England to lose that Test match. And they didn't make it. Clinical.
— Iain Payten (@iainpayten) June 18, 2016
4. Pivotal penalties
We’ve heard all week that Craig Joubert is the best referee in the world and that is probably still the case. Nothwithstanding that, Australia found themselves on the wrong end of some lineball penalties in the opening half. A neck roll on Nick Phipps turned into a penalty against Australia, after Stephen Moore hit the ruck hard in retaliation to the illegal move. A penalty againt flyhalf Bernard Foley proved the most contentious decision, though. Foley appeared to be shouldered out of the way by Owen Farrell but was puzzlingly penalised for shepherding the England inside centre.
5. Convert opportunities
Blame penalties, praise England’s defence or find another way to spin it but Australia simply cannot have as much as possession as they did and not turn it into points. The Wallabies made mistakes, missed overlaps and gave away penalties at crucial times despite hammering the England defensive line. With 68 per cent of possession, they needed to convert and couldn’t, possibly the most frustrating story of all.
