A hometown villain amongst the Wallaby heroes

‘Well done England, now a second continent hates you as well’.

That’s how the petulant headline on the back page of today’s Courier Mail screamed the wash-up of the whitewash.

Despite a much-improved Wallaby performance the ignominy was all theirs. Swept for the worst domestic result in 44 years – not quite the momentum Michael Cheika and his men were after eight months on from contesting the World Cup final.

More of the wash-up from Wallabies vs England
» Five talking points from the match
» 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

And Eddie Jones’ England were good for each of their three wins, achieved with superior physicality, strategy, execution, endurance and grit.

Last night they added a fair bit of endeavour to the mix to complement the astonishing defensive display from the week before.

But there were heroes on both sides in an enthralling contest that kept the record Sydney Football Stadium crowd raucous from woe to go – or go to woe for the Wallaby fans.

For the visitors Billy Vunipola epitomised the power and passion of the England pack with a monstrous game. The big No.8 carried the ball no fewer than 15 times for close to 50m and made ten tackles.

Brother Mako at loosehead wasn’t too far behind in the physicality stakes with one barnstorming run to lay the platform for the opening try to Dan Cole plus an astonishing game-high 18 tackles.

Pivot George Ford put in another tactical masterclass while outside him Owen Farrell was deserved man of the match, keeping the scoreboard ticking over in England’s favour, banging over nine of his ten kicks for 23 points.

The Aussies played like a team the team they were – already on the wrong end of history and desperate to avoid the clean sweep. Sean McMahon more than justified Cheika’s faith in playing him out of position at No.8 with a game that bristled with aggression and intent. On a number of his 14 runs he scattered defenders despite giving away ten to 15kg on them.

McMahon hunted brilliantly in tandem with openside Michael Hooper who put in another rampant effort. Their terrorising of the world’s angriest fullback Mike Brown was a joy to watch.

James Slipper tackled himself to a standstill while his Queensland mate Rob Simmons should be dropped more often if it results in the sort of hard-shouldered running he produced before an injury to one of those shoulders restricted his involvement to just the first half.

The big rig of Will Skelton kept the English defenders honest until a lack of match fitness saw him fade with half an hour to go.

Matt Toomua did everything that was asked of him at inside centre – setting a rapid defensive line and making some telling hits while asking questions with his no-nonsense attack.

One of his three line breaks led to the lovely inside ball to set Israel Folau – who was again imperious – racing away for his try in the 59th minute. And Dane Haylett-Petty proved again why he is the Wallaby find of the season with another accomplished display.

He’s one of those Ben Smith-type players with an uncanny knack of creating things seemingly out of nothing. Also like Smith he has a ram-rod straight back, so straight it’s virtually concave – maybe that helps elude clutching defenders?

So there were heroes aplenty, but unfortunately for the Wallabies there was a villain in their midst and he cost them a game that was there for the winning.

That clutcher of defeat from victory was Nick Phipps. Before I go on can I just say that you cannot fault the Aussie halfback’s commitment and tenacity. Like in every game, last night he covered huge tracts of land and proved again he is one of the best defensive scramblers going around. But Test halfbacks need to be so much more than that.

Phipps is much criticised for his laboured pass and dwell time at the base of rucks and mauls.

That was in evidence again last night but the Wallabies were coping. The real collateral damage he inflicted came from some crucial errors and indiscipline at key times.

The most telling to the Wallabies’ chances came in consecutive blunders deep in the final quarter that led to England scoring the ten points that were the winning of the game.

The first came in the 67th minute with the Wallabies desperately hanging on to a 32-31 lead. Phipps attempted to dive pass a loose ball to Folau on his own 22.

Instead, he somehow rocketed the ball along the ground and watched helplessly, like the rest of us, as it cannoned off Folau’s boot into the grateful arms of the English who swept onto the attack that led directly to a try to replacement hooker Jamie George. Successful conversion, 38-32 to England.

Then, with time up but the Wallabies still within range of a converted try at 35-41, it was Phipps who snuffed out any sniff with a blatant offside at a ruck. A gleeful Farrell kicked the penalty that sealed Australia’s fate.

Just how costly that indiscretion was became apparent a minute later when Taqele Naiyaravoro scored the home side’s fifth – albeit unconverted – try.

Not to harp on, but it was a Phipps’ knock on in at the base of a ruck in the 37th minute that cost his team some serious momentum inside the English 22m heading into the break.

Previous to that he had raised the ire of ref Nigel Owens when he pleaded with him to yellow card one of the English. A petition that rightly received a sharp rebuke.

Assuming Cheika saw Phipps lurch from one calamity to the next, why didn’t he hook him and give Nick Frisby a go? Even for the last 10? It couldn’t have been any worse and might just have been better?

Wallaby fans can play along with the headline and hate England all they want, but it was one of their own that cost them the game.