A disappointing loss for England, with a few points of encouragement. There was a misheld belief that Australia were there for the taking, based on their recent poor record (partly a by-product of playing New Zealand and South Africa every week), and reports of discontent in their camp. However, they are a talented and resilient side, and were always going to be tough. Nonetheless, at home, against an inexperienced opponent, England should have done more, especially with all their possession in the first half.
The lack of cutting edge and the soft defensive performance is a concern, but there were positives to take from the game. Twelve months ago, this was a new England side, who appeared to be seriously off the pace in international rugby. In the Six Nations, they produced some improved performances, but progress was slow, and this was clearly going to be a lengthy process. England again appeared to have improved today, there was more attacking intent than they have shown in years, and they were able to string together good phases of play at times. There were also some positive individual performances. However, they are still some way off the pace, and the progress will have to speed up if they are to avoid an embarrassing autumn whitewash. They jury is still out on Martin Johnson’s regime, but there is enough there for fans to cling on to, if they can be patient. Johnson needs to beware however, that the patience will not last long.
Tim Payne – 6
Solid in the scrum and tackled well. Payne’s never going to be spectacular, but he did not let his side down.
Steve Thompson – 6
Good to see him back in the side, he threw and scrummaged well, could do with making more of an impact around the field like in his first incarnation, but a promising starting point.
David Wilson – 7
Impressive debut, scrummaged well, got around the field and made tackles.
Louis Deacon – 5
Quiet, needs to do more if he wants to keep out the likes of Lawes or Shaw.
Steve Borthwick – 6
Solid, but needs to be more of a presence around the field. Line-out work was good.
Lewis Moody – 7
Good return to the side, showed why he was so highly rated in the early years of his career before form and injuries overtook him. Lots of tackles and good work on the ground.
Tom Croft – 5
Quiet. Needs to recapture last season’s form and prove that his is a lasting talent. Good line-out work.
Jordan Crane – 6
Good positional play, made an impact around the field in the first half, but lacked dynamism when compared with Haskell, who replaced him.
Danny Care – 6
Good first half, when he was on track for a 7, let down by poor second half, which was a 5 at best before he was removed. First half was better than many English scrum-half performances of recent years, fired out quick passes and kept England moving in their good spells. In the second half, he regressed, spent too long organising his forwards, and was slow to get his hands on the ball.
Jonny Wilkinson – 8
England’s best player, rolled back the years and controlled everything that England did. Tackled bravely, kicked well, and showed that his underrated attacking skills, particularly his passing and running are sharper than they have been in years. Encouraging to see him play with such confidence. A few poor tactical kicks were the only blot on his copybook.
Shane Geraghty – 4
It was good to have a second fly-half at inside centre. Unfortunately however, he was poor, his passes were frequently too low or too high, he kicked badly and at the wrong time, especially his preoccupation with the chip and chase, which became predictable and was poorly executed. Wilkinson showed him how it should be done, selecting his moment and then producing a perfectly weighted chip, chase and offload. A couple of good breaks showed his potential, and he should play again next week, but must learn from this experience.
Dan Hipkiss – 6
Carried well when he was allowed to, and provided much needed muscle in midfield. Is reliant on those inside him to give him the right kind of ball if he is to make a bigger impact.
Matt Banahan – 7
Good all-round performance, did not look out of place, was a presence in attack and defence, but lack of serious attacking ball stopped him from showing his full potential.
Mark Cueto – 6
Not many chances, but showed a few glimpses of his ability. The entire back three was starved of good attacking ball. Poor tackling for Ashley-Cooper’s try.
Ugo Monye – 5
Positive in the early phases, when he had some attacking ball, and did not look entirely out of place at full-back, but was also to blame for the Ashley-Cooper score, and offered little threat running from deep.
Substitutes:
James Haskell – 7
Explosive when he came on, if he can show consistency, and play more rugby at number eight the starting job could be his.
Dylan Hartley – 7
Also explosive in the loose, did well in the set piece, his throwing was good. If he continues on this trajectory, he will be the starter soon.
Ayoola Erinle – 6
Overdue debut, dynamic when he came on, but one important handling error showed where he needs to improve. Deserves another look.
Courtney Lawes – 5
Little chance to do anything, seemed slightly off the pace, but now that his debut is out of the way, he can learn from the experience.
Paul Hodgson – 6
Improved things after Care’s poor second half outing. Snappy service, good substitution at the right time.
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