Owen Farrell scored 20 points as England bounced back from their series-opening defeat to claim a hard-fought victory over Australia in the second Test in Brisbane on Saturday.
The 25-17 win, England’s first in Australia since 2016, had Eddie Jones’ team drawing level in the series, following a 30-28 loss in the opening Test in Perth.
It was a much-improved performance from the visitors, built on an excellent first half during which they flew into a 19-0 lead thanks to Billy Vunipola’s try and Farrell’s near-unerring boot.
While Australia threatened a comeback in the second half, at a point cutting the deficit to just five points, England managed to give themselves enough of a buffer to see the game out and set up a series decider in Sydney next weekend.
Farrell was the star man for England, turning in a true captain’s performance at centre by converting six of his seven penalty attempts and generally managing the game very well through his tactical kicking game.
For Australia, it was a case of missed opportunities, as a misfiring lineout prevented the hosts from fully capitalising on their chances of the second half. Tries either side of half time from prop Taniela Tupou and centre Samu Kerevi, who was a pillar of strength in midfield, gave the Wallabies hope, but it just wasn’t to be.
To rub further salt into the wounds, Australia suffered another couple of injury blows, as utility back Izaia Perese appeared to suffer a bad knee injury while attempting to gather a ball from the air, while lock Cadeyrn Neville also went down in the second half.
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