Australia ……….30pts
Tries: Petaia 63, Fainga'a 69, Samu 76
Conversions: Lolesio 64, 70, 77
Penalties: Lolesio 23, 40, 43
England …………28pts
Tries: Genge 49, Arundell 79, Van Poortlviet 80
Conversions: Farrell 80, 80
Penalties: Farrell 7, 21, 60
England should have started this series with an emphatic victory over Australia in Perth, but they could not tie the Wallaby down, despite it being severely handicapped, and they paid the price as the hosts clinched the match with a blistering three-try final quarter display.
Turbo-charged touchdowns by full-back Jordan Petaia, hooker Folau Fainga'a, and back rower Pete Samu gave Australia a 30-14 lead with only three minutes of normal time left and, although last ditch tries by young bench backs Henry Arundell and Jack van Poortvliet gave the final score respectability, the curtain had already come down on Eddie Jones' eight-match winning run over his countrymen.
It came to a halt because England failed to leverage their massive advantages as the Wallabies suffered one blow after another before the half-time break.
First, Michael Hooper's outfit was unsettled by the loss of fly-half Quade Cooper after a warm-up injury just before kick-off, and they were further depleted when tight-head prop Alan Alaalatoa was knocked out and full-back Tom Banks injured his elbow before the half-hour.
The biggest disruption came when lock Darcy Swain was sent off seven minutes before the interval for a head-butt in retaliation to a Jonny Hill hair-pull, leaving an unfancied Wallaby pack in the lurch, whereas Hill's sinbinning meant only a temporary absence.
However, despite this litany of Aussie disaster, self-inflicted and otherwise, it was the 14 man Wallabies who produced the second-half display full to the brim with grit and desire, and England who wobbled – although not quite to the same extent as they did against the 14-man Barbarians a fortnight ago.
Courtney Lawes and his crew at least had the consolation of seeing the electric Arundell score with a brilliant first-cap, first-try, first-touch finish, as the 19-year-old blasted through two attempted tackles before rounding the last Australian defender. Leicester scrum-half Van Poortvliet also made his mark to touchdown from a sharp blindside break, rounding off a final surge of injury time pressure – but by then the
“Diggers” had already dugin for an all-important First Test victory.
England started much more strongly than a Wallaby side that at least had plenty of excuses for looking so rusty and disjointed.
The Red Rose forwards, with Ellis Genge, Billy Vunipola, and Tom Curry in the vanguard were getting the better of the contact, and the momentum meant that the English backs, with Danny Care injecting pace and kicking with precision, and Freddie Steward making his presence felt aerially and on the counter-attack, translated into territorial gains and sustained pressure.
The only significant negative was that England's pressure did not yield much in the way of points, mirroring their shortcomings in the Six Nations.
The tourists had to make do with an early Owen Farrell penalty until, midway through the half, they created a giltedged scoring opportunity off a seven-phase attack.
It started with a laserbeam Farrell flat pass which sent Curry hammering into the Australian 22, and the flanker, who did not see the easier option of Marcus Smith running free on his inside, floated a pinpoint long pass to Joe Marchant on the right wing. What England did not bank on was the meteor-like cover tackle by Marika Koroibete which thwarted the try, leaving England to make do with a second Farrell penalty for offside in the build-up, and a 6-0 lead.
At this stage Noah Lolesio, the young Brumbies fly-half who replaced Cooper, had done little other than tackle, but when England conceded a scrum penalty his kick made it 6-3, and it stayed that way after Farrell pushed his next kick just wide.
What was also disconcerting was that England's supposed dominance at the scrum never materialised, and despite James Slipper, a Wallaby centurion loosehead having to play tight-head, neither Genge nor Will Stuart could get any traction.
Instead, a solid scrum and a long Samu Kerevi clearance set-up the only significant Wallaby attack before the break when Koroibete, Nic White, and Andrew Kellaway sent big Angus Bell on a stampeding run into the England 22, where he linked with the impressive Rob Valetini.
The breakout paid off when Lolesio levelled the half-time account at 6-6 following a Curry breakdown infringement.
It was his last involvement due to injury, with Lewis Ludlam coming on for a secondhalf which saw an early Wallaby statement of intent with a Lolesio penalty giving the hosts a 9-6 lead.
England responded with an urgency which, if it had been sustained for the full 80, would have carried the day. With the Wallabies short of a jumper England went to their line-out drive, and it paid dividends when a secondary drive off a Maro Itoje line-out saw Genge drill his way over for the game's first try.
Although Farrell could not add the extras England led 11-9, and when they tried a repeat performance, it looked as if they might crack Australia again.
However, Hooper showed why he is held in such high esteem when he helped to stem the England drive to the line and use one arm to save a try and win a turnover penalty off Itoje. England had to make do with a Farrell penalty extending the lead to 14-9 on the hour – but thereafter the game turned green and gold, with inspirational Wallaby captain Hooper leading the charge.
He was involved in the patient series of forward carries from scrum ball which resulted in crisp, fast passing down the line creating a text-book try for bench full-back Petaia, and with Lolesio converting Australia led 16-14.
The injection of confidence grew even more noticeable when Billy Vunipola was yellowcarded following a shoulder to Hooper's jaw, and with both teams now reduced to 14 each Australia went for the jugular.
With Kerevi carrying strongly and a Kellaway grubber forcing Steward to carry into touch Australia scored from the resulting five metre line-out drive on Caderyn Neville's catch, when replacement hooker Folau Fainga'a drove through a huge hole on the blindside of the England maul to score.
Lolesio's conversion made it 23-14, but Australia were not done, and they added insult to injury by wrecking England's scrum at the next put-in. This was the precursor to a final, irresistible surge orchestrated by Lolesio which saw Kerevi and Hooper blast for the line before the ball was switched inside for Samu to step inside Ludlam's tackle.
It means that the England trajectory under Eddie Jones is still downhill, and with two successive defeats following a Six Nations no-show, his side face a huge challenge in Brisbane on Saturday to rescue not only this series, but also their head coach's credibility.
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