England held on for a series-clinching victory against Australia in Sydney on Saturday.
Taking a slim one-point lead into the break at Sydney Cricket Ground, the visitors scored two crucial tries either side of half time before staving off a late fightback from the hosts for a 21-17 win, which also gave under-pressure Australian coach Eddie Jones a second series triumph in charge of England Down Under.
After an exciting but scoreless first 15 minutes that included a missed penalty from Wallabies pivot Noah Lolesio, England inside centre Owen Farrell opened the scoring via the boot midway in the match, but the Wallabies got the crowd to its feet when they notched up the first try at the start of the second quarter.
Right wing Tom Wright created something out of nothing, charging down the wide channel before a neat one-two with newly 50-Test-capped scrumhalf Nic White put him over in the corner. Lolesio added the extras, but Farrell answered with another penalty before striking the upright with his third spot kick.
England went into the break with a 11-10 lead as they took the ball strongly through the phases towards the Australian line, and fullback Freddie Steward completed the charge when he dove over for an unconverted score in the corner.
Farrell extended the margin for the visitors by three points after the break, and they went 21-10 ahead after flyhalf Marcus Smith scooped up a loose ball from the lineout and ran 60 metres to dot down.
As the stadium clock passed the 60-minute mark, the Wallabies began turning down points to go for the line and their persistence paid off when replacement hooker Folau Fainga’a barged over for Lolesio to make it a four-point game in the closing stages.
Australia looked promising for a last-ditch rescue act, stringing together 18 phases in a passage of play at the death, but the English defenders showed guts to hold out until the final whistle before raising their arms in victory.
