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Inspired England get the better of Wallabies in Sydney
By AAP
England will leave Australia with the Ella-Mobbs trophy in their keeping after taking out the three-Test series with a thrilling 21-17 win over the Wallabies at the SCG on Saturday night.
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Playing the likely last ever rugby Test match at the SCG, the Wallabies fell just short in their quest to farewell the iconic ground with a home-town victory.
With Australia taking the opening win in Perth and England responding in Brisbane, Eddie Jones’s men delivered when the pressure was on to stretch their recent win-loss record to 10-1.
It backed up their 2016 series win in Australia, which was a three-nil whitewash.
“No excuses, we gave ourselves a chance to win it tonight,” Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper told Stan Sport.
“I don’t think we were clinical. We created good opportunities but just weren’t good enough to finish them.
“There were some errors that hurt us in big moments.”
The Wallabies created many more chances but were unable to turn their them into points with England’s defensive effort also deserving praise.
Australia brought former NRL star Suliasi Vunivalu into the fray for his Test debut with three minutes remaining but the ex-Storm flyer was unable to find the match-winning try.
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Young England playmaker Marcus Smith delivered a crucial blow in the 55th minute when an Australian line-out went awry and Noah Lolesio failed to secure the loose ball.
Smith scooped it up and showed his blistering pace in racing 50m to touch down, with Owen Farrelly adding the extras for a 21-10 lead.
The Australians were able to hit back 10 minutes later when replacement hooker Folau Fainga’a burrowed over the line, closing the margin to four points.
The home side lived up to their promise to get off to a fast start but despite dominating territory and possession, they found themselves trailing at halftime.
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Poor execution at key moments proved costly with Reece Hodge sending a ball sailing over the sideline, while prop Taniela Tupou was guilty of pushing two passes that were never on.
While the halftime hooter sounded, England hammered the tryline before fullback Freddie Steward dived across to put his team ahead 11-10.
Just before the try, Jones showed his displeasure in their attack, replacing veteran halfback Danny Care with Jack Van Poortvliet in the 37th minute.
Australia’s first-half try was scored by a busy Tom Wright off a line-out, with Marika Koroibete sending a long ball out to his fellow winger.
He and Nic White combined before Wright raced to the line and Lolesio added the extras for a 7-3 lead after 26th minute.
Koroibete and Samu Kerevi were everywhere in attack while skipper Michael Hooper and lock Nick Frost, in his first Test start, also worked tirelessly but in the end it wasn’t enough.
England skipper Courtney Lawes said his team “stuck at it”.
“They gave us a good bit of fuel in the press, talking a lot of smack about us which motivated us,” he said.
“We didn’t really fire that many shots tonight but we found a way to win.”
– Melissa Woods
