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0-3. Not a great look, is it? The Wallabies have officially been whitewashed after a 40-44 loss at Allianz Stadium. Here are our talking points from the match.
More of the wash-up from Wallabies vs England
» England whitewashes the Wallabies
» Match report: Wallabies go down in points-fest
» DIY Player Ratings
» Roar Forum: Wallabies to-do list for the Rugby Championship
» How hard does a Wallabies forward hit?
» Re-live the match with our live blog
» WATCH: The full match highlights
The whitewash we didn’t see coming
Australia was pretty confident of a win coming into this series – after all, before now, we had never lost a series on home soil to the English.
To not only lose the series but for it to finish as a total whitewash in favour of the visitors was a surprise that we quite simply never saw coming.
Decades from now when some future rugby writer looks up this series in the record book, they might glance at the results and think it came in a poor era for Australian rugby.
To see that it came after a year when the Wallabies won the Rugby Championship and were runners-up at the World Cup will be baffling.
So this comes as a bit of a wake-up call – will it be the making or breaking of this side? And why did it happen? Well, one factor is…
Missed kicks costs points
It’s a simple fact of the game – if you can’t kick for goal reliably, you are going to miss out on vital points. In match decided by a margin of just 4 points last night, this is a killer.
England’s Owen Farrell missed just three shots on goal for the entire series, and no more than one in any single match, missing two penalty goals in the first two Tests and a conversion last night.
Bernard Foley’s record in front of goal across the series however looks pretty shabby. In the first Test? We had just one of four tries converted. Last night? Two conversions and a penalty goal missed. Nail all three and it would’ve been a win.
Of course, Farrell’s lack of misses is even more impressive when you consider the fact that he’s taken so many more shots than his Australian counterpart. And why is that? Because the Wallabies showed…
Poor discipline
If you could point out one defining factor about the Test series as to why England won and Australia lost, this is probably it.
In the first Test, England had six penalty goals from seven attempts, while Australia managed two from two. In the second Test, England had three from four, Australia none from none. Last night, Farrell booted a perfect six from six, Australia three from four.
Do we need to say anything else? These numbers are a worrying trend and really, they are unacceptable for a side that wants to win. The Wallabies played some great rugby at times during the series, but shot themselves in the foot when it came to their relationship with the referee. And that begs the question of…
Leadership?
Is it time for a change? If Brexit is enough to make David Cameron resign in disgrace, surely a 0-3 series loss to England on home soil is pushing it for Stephen Moore?
Okay, we’re kidding there… but only a little. Maybe it’s not so much a question of who the Wallabies captain should be now, but who the captain should be come 2019, and how long we want them to have been in the job when the journey to Japan rolls around.
A few names have been floated for that task, but it feels like a real standout successor to Moore is yet to emerge.
Finally, since it’d be a bit mean to have all the talking points be about the Wallabies, let’s ask…
How far can Eddie’s England go?
A clean sweep at Six Nations, and now a white wash on Australian soil? There’s little more that Eddie Jones and his English side could have done to impress since he took over.
So the question becomes – just how far can they take it? They’ve lifted themselves up to No.2 in the world rankings, which leaves us with a pretty clear next goal for this side.
Can Eddie’s England beat the All Blacks? Could they even push towards a world cup win in 2019? There’s a long way to go, but the early signs are promising.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.