England level series beating Wallabies in Brisbane
Owen Farrell scored 20 points as England muscled out Australia 17-25 at Suncorp Stadium.
England got off to a blistering start, Ellis Genge setting the tone for the Test with a rampaging run over Australia captain Michael Hooper inside the opening minute. Eddie Jones' men kept the tempo high, and scored a try on the five minute mark, courtesy of Billy Vunipola off the back of a dominant five metre line out rolling maul.
Farrell followed up his successful conversion with two quick fire penalties, as England made the hosts pay for their ill discipline by extending their lead to 13-0 after 15 minutes. The Saracens man claimed his eleventh point from the boot moments later in front of the sticks, as Izaia Perese was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock down.
The men in white continued to dominate as Jack van Poortvliet - making his first start - conducted the flowing attack, that saw Marcus Smith and Farrell nudge probing kicks deep into Wallaby territory. The little ball Dave Rennie's men had was met with brutal defence, spearheaded by captain Courtney Lawes, but when they had a chance at points, they took it.
Taniela Tupou - returning from injury - pulled his side back into the Test two minutes from the break, as the prop powered over from close range, and Noah Lolesio's extras made it 7-19. Maro Itoje left the field moments after the restart after taking a knock to the head. England's command at half time was clear to see: making more metres, carries and line breaks.
Two minutes into the game's resumption saw Farrell nudge another three-pointer, but Australia answered via a Samu Kerevi try on 49 minutes, after sustained pressure on the English line, and Lolesio's conversion cut the deficit to make it a eight point game.
The men in yellow began to build into the match, and when Marcus Smith was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock down, Lolesio was on hand to nail the resulting penalty, claiming his seventh point of the Test. Just as momentum began to shift towards the Wallabies, Farrell kept the scoreboard ticking over with another penalty restoring the eight point cushion.
As the match reached its conclusion Jones' men displayed monumental defence, swarming each Australian attack - Guy Porter making his Test debut - suring up the midfield before making way for another international debut in Will Joseph. Farrell pumped the ball into the stands on 80 minutes, confirming a famous 17-25 win at Australia's spiritual home of rugby.
Reaction
Courtney Lawes: "That was a scrap. Really proud of the boys, we stuck in there and knew they were going to come back at some point. They have some quality players, and it was tough there for a little while but we came through it.
"We have been working hard just to get our strategy right, get to know each other and get used to playing with each other, and it paid off this week. We showed at the end there that our defence can get us on the front foot, but we let them score too easy, two simple tries, and in international rugby you cannot have that.
"Fans were unbelievable as always, we appreciate them here, and glad we could put on a performance for everyone back home as well."
Teams
England
15. Freddie Steward, 14. Jack Nowell, 13. Guy Porter, 12. Owen Farrell, 11. Tommy Freeman, 10. Marcus Smith, 9. Jack van Poortlviet, 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Jamie George, 3. Will Stuart, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Jonny Hill, 6. Courtney Lawes (C), 7. Sam Underhill, 8. Billy Vunipola.
Finishers
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17. Mako Vunipola, 18. Joe Heyes, 19. Ollie Chessum, 20. Lewis Ludlam, 21. Will Joseph, 22. Danny Care, 23. Henry Arundell.
Australia
15.Jordan Petaia, 14. Tom Wright, 13. Hunter Paisami, 12. Samu Kerevi, 11. Marika Koroibete, 10. Noah Lolesio, 9. Nic White, 8. Rob Valetini, 7. Michael Hooper (C), 6. Rob Leota, 5. Caderyn Neville, 4. Matt Philip, 3. Taniela Tupou, 2. David Porecki, 1. Angus Bell
Replacements
16. Folau Fainga’a, 17. Scott Sio, 18. James Slipper, 19. Nick Frost, 20. Pete Samu, 21. Jake Gordon, 22. James O'Connor, 23. Izaia Perese.
Fixtures & Results
Test 1 - Australia 30 - 28 England
Test 2 - Australia 17 - 25 England
Test 3 - Saturday 16 July - Australia vs England, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney (11am BST KO)
