Australia's Max Jorgensen dives over the line to score their late winning try against England at Twickenham. Photo: AFP
Max Jorgensen's last-gasp try gave Australia a dramatic 42-37 victory over England in a frenetic 10-try match at Twickenham that saw the lead change hands four times in a breathtaking final 15 minutes.
England thought they had snatched it when Marcus Smith converted Maro Itoje's 78th-minute score, only for the irrepressible Wallabies to dig deep and somehow grab the upset win.
It was only their second victory in 12 games against England and first in five at Twickenham since their 2015 World Cup pool win, and left the hosts shaking their heads after a fourth successive defeat.
Unlike in the last three against New Zealand, England did, as promised, keep playing in the last quarter, but unfortunately for them, so did Australia, who got their grand slam tour off to a spectacular start.
England had opened up with a superb try after five minutes. Ollie Lawrence, who barely touched the ball last week, collected a low, probing Marcus Smith kick and, six, crisp passes later Chandler Cunningham-South dived over.
Seven minutes later the flanker got his second, catching the Australian defence cold by charging over from a tap penalty after another sharp Smith break.
England lost flanker Tom Curry, knocked out by a knee to the head making a tackle, after 23 minutes and it seemed to unsettle them as Australia, playing with real ambition and adventure, took control, albeit helped by a blizzard of missed tackles.
A sublime no-look one-handed pop pass by centre Joseph Suaalii, the 21-year-old rugby league convert playing his first senior game in union, sent fullback Tom Wright over before Tate McDermott, on as a blood replacement at scrumhalf, then made an immediate impact with a great dart to feed Harry Wilson for a second.
More pressure earned a penalty that Noah Lolesio popped over to somehow put them 20-18 ahead at halftime and leave the Twickenham crowd collectively scratching their heads in bemusement.
Australia started the second half strongly and lock Jeremy Williams produced an acrobatic winger-style finish to touch down in the corner for their third try.
England had gone from 12 points ahead to 10 behind either side of halftime, but, unlike in most of their recent games, they did keep pressing and found the scores needed.
They closed the gap with a first international try for replacement wing Ollie Sleightholme after a deft Smith grubber.
They then edged ahead with Sleightholme's second try after a quick lineout and a driving run by the impressive Lawrence, with Smith converting to make it 30-28 with 10 minutes to go.
A bungled pass on halfway was then scooped up by Australia winger Andrew Kellaway who raced clear, with Ben Donaldson converting for a two-point lead.
England hit straight back though, Itoje reaching over to level and Smith nailed the conversion and the crowd celebrating what they thought was a victory.
Australia, however, refused to lie down, forging forward with a series of scrums with the clock in the red then blasting clear as Len Ikitau offloaded brilliantly for replacement Jorgensen to race clear and gleefully dive over the line.
England next face world champions South Africa at Twickenham next Saturday, while Australia play Wales on Sunday.
Schmidt reacts
Australia coach Joe Schmidt said his side's dramatic win can reverse their fortunes after a torrid run of form.
Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt before the international rugby match against Georgia at Allianz Stadium in Sydney in July, 2024. Photo: AAP / www.photosport.nz
Having lost five out of six matches in the Rugby Championship, including a humiliating 67-27 defeat by Argentina, Australia began the autumn internationals with serious questions to answer.
But the visitors showed impressive resolve to overturn a 12-point deficit in the first half before they recovered from the seemingly fatal blow of Maro Itoje's late try with Jorgensen going over to snatch the win with the clock in the red.
Schmidt said he was heartened by Australia's resilience and had seen a marked improvement on their performance late in the game compared to September's narrow 31-28 loss to the All Blacks.
"I feared that we were going to have something similar again today at one stage," he told reporters.
Schmidt said he could see "green shoots" in Australia's development, though there was also room for improvement.
"There were things out there that we'll look at and we'll say we've got to do that better," he said. "There are things that we'll try to build on that we did quite well."
He added that the long-term aim will be the British & Irish Lions' tour of Australia next year, though his immediate focus is next week's contest against Wales.
"I think it is a process," he said. "Inevitably, progress is never linear. There will be a few peaks and troughs on the way further forward."
One of the green shoots Schmidt saw on Saturday was Joseph Suaalii, who was playing his first senior rugby union match having switched from rugby league and had what Schmidt described as a "confidence-boosting debut".
"It was a good learning experience for Joseph," Schmidt said.
"I know there were some doubts expressed about him being selected and the risk.
"I think people would now see the opportunity of involving a young man like that, particularly the way he prepared during the week."
- Reuters
