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How to tune into Sport NationEngland dominate lacklustre Wallabies at Twickenham
Ian Chadband • November 2nd, 2025 7:52 am
England | Photo: AAP
The Wallabies' dream of a repeat heist at Twickenham has been destroyed, after England outclassed a strangely lacklustre Australian outfit 25-7 at their home citadel.
Not even a couple of first-half moments of Harry Potter magic -- an improbable try-save and then a glorious length-of-the-field interception try -- could rescue what was an uncharacteristically lame and subdued performance on a rainy, grey afternoon from Joe Schmidt's side on Sunday (NZ time).
The scoreline could easily have been worse than the 18-point margin suggested, as England ultimately prevailed by four tries to one, with scores from Ben Earl, Henry Pollock, Alex Mitchell and Luke Cowan-Dickie, and seven points from the boot of George Ford, underlining their domination.
But while Australia were undermanned and clearly missing the influence of some of their best players because the fixture was being played outside the international window, they were still strangely off the pace after their long trek from Japan the previous weekend.
In front of a crowd of 81,468, there never felt the likelihood of a repeat of last year's epic 42-37 win as England spurned opportunities near the line to ram home their superiority, and Australia did show plenty of defensive resolve until they gave up a couple of tries in the last 10 minutes.
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England went on the rampage early with the visitors mightily relieved not to give up any points, especially when Harry Wilson managed to hold up prop Joe Heyes on the line.
But then, after some fairly aimless sparring, Ford deservedly gave the hosts some reward for their pressure halfway through the first half with a penalty after Tane Edmed had been penalised for holding on after taking a high ball.
That expected England aerial assault then really gleaned even more dividends when a high box kick from Mitchell was pickpocketed by a terrific leap from Tom Roebuck ahead of the Australians' flying ace Joseph Aukuso-Suaalii.
The winger then slipped to Sam Underhiil, who put No.8 Ben Earl in to gallop home from 30 metres out unchallenged.
Ten points up, England, slicker than their sluggish opponents, looked sure to hammer home the advantage with Australia offering nothing in attack, but another remarkable defensive effort by Potter, who held up the charging Earl on the line, felt like a game changer.
And if Potter's magical intervention at one end was critical, his anticipation in plucking Fraser Dingwall's seemingly try-bound pass to the right corner proved even more of a conjuring act as the winger sped the length of the field to score a try out of nowhere.
Reducing the deficit to 7-10 at the break, it was suddenly game on for the visitors who had fought back from a 12-point deficit last year.
Fraser McReight pulled off a brilliant bit of thieving as England upped the ante at the start of the second period, but Rob Valetini went on a charging break for a rare moment of Australian enterprise.
With the final quarter approaching, it felt extraordinary that the Wallabies were still just about in the hunt, but once again, the visitors were undone by another steepling kick from Mitchell just before the hour.
Roebuck again got the decisive touch backwards with replacement Henry Pollock latching on like lightning. The young star stumbled just before the line but picked himself up to go over unchallenged.
It was a signal for England to press home their advantage, Mitchell burrowing over in the 71st minute and Cowan-Dickie piling over with five minutes left.
