England have won their first Test series on Australian soil, going 2-0 in this three-match series with a 23-7 win over the Wallabies at AAMI Park.
More of the wash-up from Wallabies vs England
» Pulver not happy with AAMI Park surface
» Nine talking points
» Match report: England clinch the series
» DIY player ratings
» Roar Forum – what changes should the Wallabies make?
» WATCH: Highlights from the match
Final score
Australia 7
England 23
The Wallabies are on the hunt for redemption in the second Test tonight, fielding an altered line up against the old enemy England. Join The Roar from 8pm (AEST) for all the live highlights and action.
After a sloppy affair in Brisbane that saw them give up an early lead, Michael Cheika’s men are needing a win in Melbourne to keep the series alive before the final contest in Sydney.
A bright start and a 10-point lead weren’t enough to negate the error count and failure at the lineout, as the Australians continued to gift the English a free ticket back into the contest on their way to a 39-28 loss.
Eddie Jones and his Red Roses continued their dream run through international rugby in the first Test, winning their eighth game on the trot since tasting defeat against the Wallabies last year.
Not only will a victory for the visitors see England retain the Cook Cup, but they can also steal second spot in the IRB rankings from Australia, who sit just a point ahead of the Europeans.
Team news
After much speculation following the injury to Wallaby No.8 David Pocock, Sean McMahon has been named as his replacement, slotting in at the back of the scrum for his international return, on his birthday no less.
As well as the aforementioned McMahon inclusion, Cheika has also named three other changes to his line up, including a new look front row.
Scott Sio has sensationally been dropped entirely from the match day squad after the first Test, allowing James Slipper to move off the bench into the run on.
Similarly, Sekope Kepu has been elevated to the starting 15, replacing Greg Holmes at tight head.
The final change was initially thought to have been a back injury to Rob Simmons, however, after recovering during the week in time for availability, Cheika has since dropped Simmons from the side regardless in place of Sam Carter at lock.
For England, coach Eddie Jones has made just two changes to his winning side for the second Test, both in the backline.
Luther Burrell has been ousted from the 23-man squad, being replaced by young gun George Ford at fly half, in turn pushing Owen Farrell out to inside centre.
Jack Nowell is the other alteration to Jones’ side, replacing Marland Yarde on the wing after scoring a try in the series opener.
Prediction
Australia looked dominant in the first test, for the first 20 minutes, before slipping into an endless fountain of handling errors, penalties and turnovers.
It’s hard to see how they will respond, but you can bet the house on a fired up Mick Cheika giving his men a real spray to get them pumping for the second Test.
England on the other hand may have faltered early last time, but they’ve looked near unbeatable in the last six months, and that has a very real chance of continuing tonight.
The Wallabies will be looking to shoot out of the blocks and return serve tonight to even up the series. Expect them to take the early lead once again, but hold on to it this time.
Wallabies to win by 6
Can the Wallabies keep the series alive and hand Aussie Eddie his first loss in English colours? Or will the Red Rose run riot again over the green and gold, taking the Cook cup and Aussie pride with them?
Catch all the thrilling live highlights and action from 8pm (AEST), on The Roar.
Goatee
Guest
Firstly, a thousand (and more) apologies for the error regarding where your loyalties lie, OB. I didn't realise you were a kiwi!! He he! There is at present, clear daylight between the AB's and the chasing pack. Having said that, I look forward to the EOYT, in 2017! Secondly, I'm fairly sure that Ali's 'rope a dope' was against Foremen, in Zaire... If not, my mistake. Cheers!
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Yeah, except for those test man of the match performances anyway...
Old Bugger
Guest
Ummmm...sorry Goatee but my nation didn't produce Fast Eddy. I finally got over Dingo a few years back but, to suggest "The Fast One" has a black heart, is just .......well, blasphemous......haha!! PS - I saw the Thriller about 40yrs ago and IMO, the "Great One" did a repeat "rope-a-dope" against Joe. If that's what you're alluding to as far as the ENG rugby side, well they certainly hung tough, last night before bouncing back, with their late try.
AlexG
Guest
"The reality is..." that you are a fan whose team has just won a test series, and you are crowing about it That's okay - this is your time and you should enjoy it. Next month it will be Ireland or Australia or whoever.
oyster farmer
Guest
Agree OB,Carter's best game for WBs.Seems to have improvved his body height when ball carrying,All those phases on attack & so much possession Kurtley greatly missed!
soapit
Guest
chill out neil, you won mate
soapit
Guest
rob yes it kind of is showing good defence. you can see them reading the play and rushing up on folau so he cant get the pass away. this is roughly the same move that tore them up in game 1 and they went back and thought about ways of shutting it down. jones got ahead of cheika tactics wise
Neil Back
Roar Rookie
Can we all please stop with 'the Cook Cup's yours' stuff. England already held it coming here. RWC games don't count.
chris
Guest
It's really sad to see so many of my Aussie cousins being in denial, so many of you seem to be struggling to deal with the new reality here, all this talk of England being lucky, cheating in the scrum, getting help from referees 2 weeks in a row is just getting boring now. The new reality is that this England side is now better and smarter than the wallabies the new reality is that England are now the world number 2 side not Australia, the reality is that England have won the series already beating Australia in their own back yard, the reality is that Australia will were absolutely overpowered and outsmarted by this England side, the reality is that the poms didn't get whipped or smashed as many comments I have seen here, the reality that a lot of Australia public along with Fox sports are in total denial that they have been beaten fair and square by now the number 2 side in world rugby. The reality is that the whitewash of England that so many of you were predicting hasn't happend in fact there could be a whitewash the other way round. Some of you really need to grow up and please stop perpetuating this myth of Australia being bad losers. And as for the Fox trailer it's a real disgrace and embarrassment to professional sports, can you imagine sky sports or BBC doing such a trailer about another country. Phil Kearns and his like are are quiet simply a disgrace to the game of rugby. And I'm saying this as an half Aussie and half English lad.
Loup
Guest
Wallabies problem wasn't really ball-handling so much. When long sets of phases are being racked up, eventually the ball will be dropped. Ball security in contact was a bit of an issue with McMahon and Fardy, but that 's not really what lost the game. What lost the game was poor attack. Backline didn't do very much apart from one-off running, time and time again. English defence just had to hold their opposite straight running player who they suspected - correctly in general - was simply going to clatter into them, ball and all. Players like Folau and Foley were so heavily marked and were drawing multiple defenders, they simply needed to offload or pass short just before contact. It looked like the back line didn't do very much prep throughout the week, even though it was a fairly sure bet that England wouldn't use their failed rush defence again, rather the drift, which was the more successful strategy in the first game. I thought Lealiifano would have organised things somewhat when he came on, but the back line actually looked less threatening. It looked like the Brumbies back line malaise had hit the Wallabies. I think Daryl Gibson would have done a better job coaching the back line during the week. Cheika didn't do enough to change tactics. Wallabies played brainless disorganised rugby yet again. Much more so than last week they were really missing some of the backs from last year.
OJP
Guest
yeah, I thought it should just have been play on after the Foley / Farrell clash
Johnny Boy Jnr
Guest
Eating your words I see Squirrel ? Simmons is a dull player but has outstanding power in the scrum.
The Desert Nut
Roar Rookie
Totally agree with you about the definition of insanity. Cheika needs to take a serious look at the weaknesses of the team and strengthen them. Why not start by dropping Mumm?
Timbo (L)
Guest
Australia could have won. The plan could have worked. It wouldn't have been by much and it wouldn't have been very convincing but it was possible. In my opinion discipline and ball handling killed it. From the looks of it Chieks plan was to run bodies around the line until it cracked. And it kind of did. Kicking for touch instead of the posts would have been a strategy to tire the men in white out. Alas, there were several long time wasting stoppages for them to catch their breath. They were dead on their feet by the end, unfortunately so was Australia, too tired to hold onto the ball. The plan backfired, it needed a 6:2 Bench and a play maker to succeed. Australia Didn't Win The Plan Didn't Work. Well done the English forwards. This victory is yours. Able to predict the next move and withstand sustained pressure for so long was a tribute yo your skills. Itoge got even better when he moved out to 7 to cover the weary Haskell. What next for Australia? The definition of insanity is repeating the same thing and expecting a different result. Is it time to throw the Brumbies out with he Bath water? The next game is a dead rubber let's see what we can do. Gill, DHP, Debrasini, Cotteral, Morahan, MacMahon, McCalman, Fardy, Some 80 minute Locks, Frisby, Riedy, CCL, Karevi. I am not saying these guys are the best but I would like to put some of them in the crucible and see what pours out.
Timbo (L)
Guest
I hear he is available
Timbo (L)
Guest
The AFL guys fumble a little bit less than Aust. did in the last 20
Timbo (L)
Guest
Smartar$e and inaccurate. The way that the Chiefs second string side gave wales B a shellacking mid week I would put england a distant 4th or 5th. I am a WB supporter and I would put the Chiefs, Highlanders and Crusaders above England.
Timbo (L)
Guest
Coach Chooses the Athletes. Reds, Force and Rebels also have some great players but Chiek's myopia stops him seeing past the NSW boarder.. Also the french teams are littered with legends. What about Quirke, oh, that's right, he plays for the Sunwolves now.He is an awesome #8
Timbo (L)
Guest
Harry, I thought Hooper had one of his most effective games.. ever.He met his obligations so i think your assessment for this game was unwarranted. I would still kick him to the curb though, Gill is head and shoulders better. McMahon also. I have mulled over this for a while though, If Gill is off to France and and therefore ineligible, Is there much point putting him in the team? A coach needs to look a little bit down the road and try to develop some younger players along the way. Also Gill plays for the Reds, Cheik and Larkham only select outside of the Tah's and Brumbies if they absolutely have to..
Rotuma Island
Guest
also poor coaching