The Sunday Times Sport - UK (2021-11-14)

2GS The Sunday Times November 14, 2021 3

Tuilagi celebrates as

Steward, England’s

full back, dives over

for the only try of

the first half

at Twickenham

Hill snaffled a ball from an Australian

lineout and set off with Underhill driv-

ing him on, till they toppled over the

Australia line — somehow, Australia

insinuated that there were defenders

underneath. Smith and Youngs

played beautifully to set up the next

opportunity, but an England error

stopped that in its tracks too.

Farrell, who looked icily com-

posed, did kick England out of range

at 25-15 — the referee was never happy

with the Wallabies — and then Sim-

monds kicked the ball into gear at last.

Blamire scored not long after his New-

castle colleague, Trevor Davison, had

arrived as a replacement. There is one

Newcastle team going strong.

England were strong in patches.

With long interludes.

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER MARC ASPLAND

15. KURTLEY 5/
    BEALE
    Club: Racing 92. Age: 32. Caps: 94
    Called into the squad after
    Quade Cooper
    withdrew, making his
    first start for Australia
    since 2019.
    Inauspicious.


16. JAMES 6/
    O’CONNOR
    Queensland Reds, 31, 60
    A versatile back, O’Connor
    kicked all the points but
    did not look entirely at
    home as he struggled
    to get the Wallaby back
    line firing.


17. RORY 7/
    ARNOLD
    Toulouse, 31, 28
    Australia are redrawing
    selection rules so they
    can include players such
    as Arnold, who plays for
    Toulouse. Put size to
    good use.
    14. ANDREW 5/
    KELLAWAY
    Melbourne Rebels, 26, 12
    The Melbourne Rebels wing
    has made a free-scoring
    start to his Test career
    with eight in his
    previous 11 Tests but
    was kept quiet.
    9. NIC 8/
    WHITE
    Brumbies, 31, 46
    The former Exeter scrum
    half produced a brilliant
    last-ditch tackle to
    blindside Jamie
    George and deny the
    hooker a try.
    5. IZACK 7/
    RODDA
    Western Force, 25, 33
    The victim of a shoulder charge
    from Owen Farrell the
    previous time he
    played at Twickenham.
    Good to see him at
    highest level.
    13. LEN 5/
    IKITAU
    Brumbies, 23, 12
    It was Ikitau’s pass that was picked
    off by Sam Simmonds,
    leading to Jamie
    Blamire’s late try. The
    attack did not click —
    it was forced.
    
    
    1. ANGUS 7/
       BELL
       Waratahs, 21, 15
       Scrummaged well but put
       Australia under pressure
       with a tip tackle on
       Courtney Lawes that
       saw him sin-binned on
       second start.
    
    
    2. ROB 7/
       LEOTA
       Melbourne Rebels, 24, 6
       The back row is tough and
       workmanlike. A try
       against Scotland but his
       biggest contribution
       today was his tackle
       count.
       12. HUNTER 8/
       PAISAM
       Queensland Reds, 23, 14
       Tasked with putting Smith
       under pressure and he
       read the fly half’s
       movement well in a
       strong defensive
       performance.
       2. FOLAU 7/
       FAINGA’A
       Brumbies, 26, 24
       At the heart of an Australia
       front-row effort that
       gave England a tough
       afternoon and he
       helped them win one
       against the head.
       7. MICHAEL 8/
       HOOPER
       Waratahs, 30, 118
       However Australia play
       Hooper delivers. His
       defence and
       breakdown ferocity
       making life tough for
       England.
       11. TOM 6/
       WRIGHT
       Brumbies, 24, 9
       In the team ahead of Marika
       Koirobete. Spent ten
       minutes in the sin bin
       for a shoulder charge to
       the head on Jamie
       George.
       3. JAMES 7/
       SLIPPER
       Brumbies, 32, 113
       His first cap at tight-head
       for nine years and he
       adapted impressively,
       winning a scrum
       penalty against Bevan
       Rodd.
       8. ROB 7/
       VALETINI
       Brumbies, 23, 17
       Incredibly powerful athlete,
       he matched Hooper
       and Paisami for his
       defensive effort,
       making nine tackles in
       the game.
    
    
    
    

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AUSTRALIA

PLAYER

RATINGS

TOTAL

100/

Subs I Perese (for Wright, 67min), N Lolesio
(O’Connor, 74), T McDermott (White, 73),
T Robertson (Bell, 73), T Latu (Fainga’a, 65),
O Hoskins (Slipper, 68), W Skelton (Arnold,
63), P Samu (Hooper, 56)

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By Alex Lowe

MATCH STATS

England Australia

2 Trie s 0

60 Possession % 40

62 Territor y % 38

62 Own scrums won % 75

92 Own lineouts won % 76

538 Metres run 364

18 Defenders beaten 14

5 Line breaks 3

9 Offloads 3

10 Turnovers conceded 13

9 Penalties conceded 18

Jamie George looked

set to touch down for a

try in the first half after

being felled by Michael

Hooper’s tryline tackle

but Hooper’s

team-mate Nic White

wrapped his arms

around the England

hooker as George tried

to ground the ball.

White was able to to

dislodge it from his

grasp, stopping a

certain score.

HOOKERS ENJOY MIXED FORTUNES

There was better

fortune, however, for

Jamie Blamire, who

replaced George late in

the second half.

Blamire touched

down for a breakaway

try in the last play of

the game. Having only

made his international

debut in July against

the USA, Blamire has

now scored in each of

his first four Tests — a

record for an England

forward. That includes

a hat-trick against

Canada.