The XV of the Rose pocketed a second consecutive victory at the Wallabies this Saturday (17-21).
England won their series of three test matches against Australia, winning a second consecutive victory over the Wallabies (21-17) on Saturday in Sydney, a week after their success (25-17) in Brisbane. Australia, who won the first test (30-28) in Perth, will have to question themselves before their next match, against the XV of France on November 6.
The English, tired, did not have a perfect match but won for the second time in their history a tour of Australia, six years after the first in 2016 and 19 years after their only world title in this same Sydney stadium, against to the Wallabies. England are the second nation from the North to win on this tour of the South, after Ireland, victorious for the first time in a series of tests in New Zealand thanks to their success on Saturday (32-22 ) in Wellington.
Wales, which faces South Africa at 5:05 p.m. in Cape Town, and Scotland, against Argentina at 9:10 p.m. in Santiago del Estero, can imitate them, if they win. The two series are indeed tied 1-1. If the first test match between the two nations had changed at the last minute in favor of the Wallabies, the second had been largely dominated by Eddie Jones’ men from the start and until the end (25-17) in Brisbane . This third opposition, during which two tries on both sides were scored, was more sluggish.
Decisive Marcus Smith
After a long round of observation, it was the Wallabies who scored the first try, on a superb “one-two” between scrum half Nic White and his winger Tom Wright (8-3, 24th). The rest of the first period was a series of penalties on both sides, until the XV de la Rose chose to play one in touch, then to chain the “pick and go” to allow to the young fullback Freddie Stewart to flatten in the in-goal and give the English the advantage just before half-time (11-10).
On returning from the locker room, it was not until a dazzling breakthrough from another youngster, opener Marcus Smith, who recovered the ball after a forward, to see the game come to life and the English fly away to the score (21-10, 56th). The Wallabies, authors of numerous handling errors, tried to straighten the bar, making their speed and their force of percussion speak, but the English, technically superior, more organized and solid in defense, resisted for a long time.
Until the Australians’ territorial domination resulted in a try from powerful hooker Folau Fainga’a, who entered shortly before (21-17, 66th). But England, albeit blunt, more tired in this third Test match, managed to maintain their four-point advantage until the siren.
