"If only Henry Slade had managed to stop Ben Donaldson getting that offload away, if only Ollie Sleightholme had been able to make that wrap-up tackle on Len Ikitau, if only Marcus Smith was able to catch Max Jorgensen. But Slade didn't, Sleightholme couldn't, Smith wasn't, and Jorgensen scored in the corner. This time last year the Wallabies beat England 42-37, their first victory against them at Twickenham in nine years, and it was, the players will tell you themselves, the moment when everything changed."
"The one thing an Australian team doesn't want is pity, but that's what they got. They had won two Tests out of nine in 2023, when they embarrassed themselves at the World Cup, and, after a few months during which he seemed to spend most of his time bowling around in a cork hat and shouting at everyone about how rubbish Australian rugby was, their head coach Eddie Jones had defected to Japan."
Missed defensive opportunities from Henry Slade, Ollie Sleightholme and Marcus Smith allowed Max Jorgensen to score in the corner and hand Australia a 42-37 win at Twickenham. That victory was the Wallabies' first at Twickenham in nine years and sparked belief across the squad. Australia had struggled in 2023, winning two Tests from nine, suffering World Cup embarrassment, losing players to the NRL and dropping to ninth in world rankings while Eddie Jones left for Japan. After Twickenham Australia scored 50 points against Wales, came within three of beating Ireland, claimed a Test off the British & Irish Lions and beat the Springboks at Ellis Park.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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