Australia v England, 11 June

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AUSTRALIA v ENGLAND
11 June 2016
20:00 AEST (UTC+10)
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Live on [tbc]

Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Touch judges: [tbc]
Television match official: [tbc]

A. Head to Head

44 Played 44
25 Won 18
1 Drawn 1
18 Lost 25
940 Points 674

B. Recent Form

3 October 2015 - Twickenham, London: 13 – 33 to Australia

29 November 2014 - Twickenham, London: 26 – 17 to England

2 November 2013 - Twickenham, London: 20 – 13 to England

17 November 2012 - Twickenham, London: 14 – 20 to Australia

13 November 2010 - Twickenham, London: 35 – 18 to England

19 June 2010 - Telstra Stadium, Sydney: 20 – 21 to England

12 June 2010 - Subiaco Oval, Perth: 27 – 17 to Australia

C. Teams

AUSTRALIA 

Israel Folau; Dane Haylett-Petty, Tevita Kuridrani, Samu Kerevi, Rob Horne; Bernard Foley, Nick Phipps; Scott Sio, Stephen Moore (captain), Greg Holmes, Rory Arnold, Rob Simmons, Scott Fardy, Michael Hooper, David Pocock.

Replacements: Tatafu Polota-Nau, James Slipper, Sekope Kepu, James Horwill, Dean Mumm, Sean McMahon, Nick Frisby, Christian Lealiifano

ENGLAND

15. Mike Brown; 14. Anthony Watson, 13. Jonathan Joseph, 12. Luther Burrell, 11. Marland Yarde; 10. Owen Farrell, 9. Ben Youngs; 1. Mako Vunipola, 2. Dylan Hartley, 3. Dan Cole, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. George Kruis, 6. Chris Robshaw, 7. James Haskell, 8. Billy Vunipola.

Replacements: 16. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17. Matt Mullan, 18. Paul Hill, 19. Joe Launchbury, 20. Courtney Lawes, 21. Danny Care, 22. George Ford, 23. Jack Nowell.

Burrell problem was his poor defence not his bulky attack. If Teo can defend then he could well be worth a run.

Huge result for England - hopefully Eddie can reign in his smugness and sledging until after the second test, which England really should win if they can generate even 80% of that again.

Seems that all of the players who needed to stand up did so - Hartley looks more and more important to this England side and Farrell looks to be more and more the man of the present and future.

Keep brown in for the series.

Once the season starts again we can look at that position.

englandglory4ever wrote:Burrell problem was his poor defence not his bulky attack. If Teo can defend then he could well be worth a run.

Would Teo (or Burrell) have made that pass for Yarde's try?

They might be more threatening than Farrell in attack at 12, but if you can get good ball out to the wings, that's just as good.

Farrell is a one-trick pony at test level. He can't kick out of hand, pass long or tackle, just kick penalties. If you watch the 6 minute highlights (with all the penalty kicks taken out) he only features once, when he misses a tackle on Folau to let him in for the try. If that was Ford he'd be crucified.

pheonix wrote:Farrell is a one-trick pony at test level. He can't kick out of hand, pass long or tackle, just kick penalties. If you watch the 6 minute highlights (with all the penalty kicks taken out) he only features once, when he misses a tackle on Folau to let him in for the try. If that was Ford he'd be crucified.

Are you Beshocked's nemesis, the three things Farrell can do are:

Kick out of hand, tackle and pass long, see just about any Sarries game and watch. The one thing he does not do well is create although that is improving.

Got to be the worst wum of this century

As an aside, the England demolition of Scotland in the JWC bodes very well for the future, some players really putting their hands up for an upgrade into senior international rugby.

Especially in that difficult 12 shirt, doc will be pleased his young royal is progressing very nicely.

pheonix wrote:Farrell is a one-trick pony at test level. He can't kick out of hand, pass long or tackle, just kick penalties. If you watch the 6 minute highlights (with all the penalty kicks taken out) he only features once, when he misses a tackle on Folau to let him in for the try. If that was Ford he'd be crucified.

Really? Ok.....

Well done England and well done Jones.

Said all along England would win at least 1 test, I think they'll now go on and win the series.

Farrell is a one-trick pony at test level. He can't kick out of hand, pass long or tackle, just kick penalties.

You forgot about being chippy and willing to start a fight with his own shadow in a darkened room...

Alex_Germany wrote:

englandglory4ever wrote:Burrell problem was his poor defence not his bulky attack. If Teo can defend then he could well be worth a run.

Would Teo (or Burrell) have made that pass for Yarde's try?

They might be more threatening than Farrell in attack at 12, but if you can get good ball out to the wings, that's just as good.

Ford added a lot to the attack when he came on. His range of passing and ability to distribute close to the line adds more to our game than Burrell lumbering forwards. Ford improving England's defence , never thought I'd see that day.

Great performance from England but we need to improve going forwards, Jones was right to highlight deficiencies post game. Our backrow weren't dominant with Cole and Itoje far more imposing at the breakdown. Hartley was very quiet other than talking to the ref. Mike Brown also had a shocker, time for a Nowell, Yarde, Watson dynamic?

Ford was second highest tackler on the pitch with 9 after haskell with 18

lostinwales wrote:

Shifty wrote:Fantastic for England, I guess that's the difference between English and Welsh players, England believe in themselves, refuse to accept they are inferior, and can go out there and win, while Wales chuck in the towel and regardless of how seasoned and experienced simply know they are not good enough to win anything.  

I don't think it is so simple. Australia and NZ are different sides too. The biggest difference comparing England and Wales is that the England bench is every bit as strong as the starting line up. Its not the same as Wales.

As for the opposition you always know that regardless of what else happens there will come a spell at some point in the game when NZ suddenly massively up the tempo and score a couple of tries in as many minutes. The difficulty is in how you respond. Going back to THAT england NZ game for once we also responded by upping our tempo and scoring against them. That and shutting the AB's out in the first half meant that they had too much to do.

Would Wales have beaten Australia today?

GeordieFalcon wrote:Ford was second highest tackler on the pitch with 9 after haskell with 18

He's never lacked bravery or commitment. He's often lacked size and aggression. Then again I think Gustard could have got Ghandi tackling like Brian Lima.

WELL-PAST-IT wrote:Especially in that difficult 12 shirt, doc will be pleased his young royal is progressing very nicely.

Best comment on this thread all day!!!!!!!!!
Very clear to see the answer to England's conundrum at Inside Centre is Prince Harry (future England and Lions captain). He played 10 against Scotland and played quite well. To be serious for a moment, his skill set really does appear the missing link. his defense at Premiership level is average, but improving, which is not bad for a 19 year old. Given another year or two a back line of Farrell to Mallinder to Tuilagi (if ever recovered) would be difficult to deal with.

Anyone else notice the little irony that England finished the game with Itoje at 6, Haskell at 8 and Robshaw at 7? All three players supposedly out of position.

Gods, reading this a lot of fans had given up barely 20 mins in. It's an 80 minute game! How many matches have seen the team leading at 20 mins not end up winning?

Breakdown went fine. The backrow's job wasn't t compete directly with Pooper. It was to bully them off the ball and help the pack as a whole get good ball, and now that I've watched it, this is literally what happened for most of the match. It's a backrow that lacks in a number of areas, but if you don't think it's been working well these past 7 games, I don't think you've understood what Jones wants from it, how it's meant to have been working or what they've been doing.

Fetchers, as Jones realised early, are so 2015

CJ, Haskell still came away with 3 turnovers. Not sure how many itoje had, or Robshaw. But I think Cole had one or two aswell.

Also I was one of those worried by Australias start. It just looked so ominous. I would go so far to say under Lancasters reign, we wouldn't have recovered or changed our play/ defence. It was nice to see us adapt. And that's what everyone keeps saying was the biggest thing. Not just a plan a.

doctor_grey wrote:

WELL-PAST-IT wrote:Especially in that difficult 12 shirt, doc will be pleased his young royal is progressing very nicely.

Best comment on this thread all day!!!!!!!!!
Very clear to see the answer to England's conundrum at Inside Centre is Prince Harry (future England and Lions captain).  He played 10 against Scotland and played quite well.  To be serious for a moment, his skill set really does appear the missing link.  his defense at Premiership level is average, but improving, which is not bad for a 19 year old.  Given another year or two a back line of Farrell to Mallinder to Tuilagi (if ever recovered) would be difficult to deal with.  

And imagine Hammersley gliding in from full back

formerly known as Sam wrote:Hartley was very quiet other than talking to the ref. Mike Brown also had a shocker, time for a Nowell, Yarde, Watson dynamic?

Sorry Sam, I know you don't particularly rate Hartley but I think you are not being fair there. He got through a lot of defensive work and his set piece was solid, which has to be the absolute minimum for an international hooker. We saw in the World Cup what happened when we had a hooker who's fundamentals for the position were not international standard. Plus his leadership of this group is more than just talking to the ref, and whatever it is it does seem to be working. I'm not saying it was all down to him by any stretch but he must take some 'on field' credit for the players heads not dropping at 10-0.

I do agree on Brown though. His international performances over the past few years mean he has credit in the bank but the concern is maybe it isn't a temporary dip in form but something more. Not that many back 3 players at international level go significantly past 30. However I think it would be heart in mouth stuff defensively with your back 3 picks. I do think Watson should end up at full back eventually but do worry it is maybe 12/18 months too soon. We don't want to distroy his confidence and the odd defensive lapse aside he still looks the business on the wing for the moment. Not totally convinced by Goode at this level either but think he probably deserves a chance based on his club performances this past season.

Other changes for me would be Ford to start with Farrell moved out to 12 and maybe Mullen to start with Mako on the bench as I feel internationally he is more effective against tiring defences. On the Ford Farrell 10/12 axis the Aus commentators stated how effective it was for England that they could comfortably attack either side of the breakdown. Guess they felt it kept the Aus defence spread out.

Haskell continues to prove mopany of us wrong. Thought it was interesting that when Billy V went off Robshaw went to 8 in the set piece and not Haskell. Does that mean that Jones sees Haskell as a 7 only?

Series isn't over by any stretch though, really expect Austrailia to come back very strong next week.

Hartley had a very good game. It's very easy to take a solid set piece lightly, but Hartley was rock solid and provided plenty around the park. As soon as LCD came on and the lineout started creaking you realise how important Hartley is to the side.

It's been confirmed that Pocock is out for the rest of the tour with an eye injury, Rob Simmons is also out with a back problem. Pocock's injury could be a blessing in disguise if they bring in a more physical player in his place.

Thought Mako had a really poor game, looked unable to carry affectively and drifted in and out. He's far better as a sub IMO

pheonix wrote:Farrell is a one-trick pony at test level. He can't kick out of hand, pass long or tackle, just kick penalties. If you watch the 6 minute highlights (with all the penalty kicks taken out) he only features once, when he misses a tackle on Folau to let him in for the try. If that was Ford he'd be crucified.

I am sure you are right.

Jones clearly does not know what he is doing even playing him. As for taking off Burrell so that Farrell could switch to twelve to secure the defensive line that was clearly a disastrous decision.

Daily Mail Player ratings

ENGLAND

Brown – Assured with ball in hand and typically robust in defence. Always brings an edge to England’s game. 7

Watson (Nowell 69) – Sharp with ball in hand and recovered composure well after shaky beginning in defence. 7

Joseph – Took first-half try well and marshalled defence well. First-half break calmed England nerves. 7

Burrell (Ford 30) – Tough decision to replace him after 30 minutes paid off spectacularly. Unlikely to start second Test. 5

Yarde – Surprise choice ahead of Jack Nowell but more than justified his selection with his best showing in an England shirt. 7

Farrell – An absolutely superb display from the Saracens midfield man. Kicking was ice cool and distribution almost perfect. 9

Youngs (Care 69) – A fine display from a man who has grown under Eddie Jones. A world class scrum half. 8

M Vunipola (Mullan 65) – Shaky defensively in early stages and occasionally struggled in scrum. Worked tirelessly. 7

Hartley (Cowan Dickie 71) – His finest day as an England captain. Set piece work magnificent and work-rate first rate. 8

Cole (Hill 65) – Scrummaged strongly apart from one penalty conceded. Carried well and held his own across pitch. 7

Itoje – Undeniably England’s find of the year, if not the decade. Early turnover saved a certain try and kept on getting better. 8

Kruis (Lawes 60) – Effective contribution from a player who has made England no5 shirt his own. Exceptional work-rate. 7

Robshaw – This may be the game which finally sees the former England captain establish himself as fan’s favourite. Superb all-round display. 8

Haskell – Arguably his best performance in an England shirt. Just refuses to go away and may go on to make 100 caps. 9

B Vunipola (Launchbury 71) – Even when he is not completely at his best he is never short of excellent. Another world-class performer. 7

B91212 wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:Hartley was very quiet other than talking to the ref. Mike Brown also had a shocker, time for a Nowell, Yarde, Watson dynamic?

Sorry Sam, I know you don't particularly rate Hartley but I think you are not being fair there. He got through a lot of defensive work and his set piece was solid, which has to be the absolute minimum for an international hooker. We saw in the World Cup what happened when we had a hooker who's fundamentals for the position were not international standard. Plus his leadership of this group is more than just talking to the ref, and whatever it is it does seem to be working. I'm not saying it was all down to him by any stretch but he must take some 'on field' credit for the players heads not dropping at 10-0.

I do agree on Brown though. His international performances over the past few years mean he has credit in the bank but the concern is maybe it isn't a temporary dip in form but something more. Not that many back 3 players at international level go significantly past 30. However I think it would be heart in mouth stuff defensively with your back 3 picks. I do think Watson should end up at full back eventually but do worry it is maybe 12/18 months too soon. We don't want to distroy his confidence and the odd defensive lapse aside he still looks the business on the wing for the moment. Not totally convinced by Goode at this level either but think he probably deserves a chance based on his club performances this past season.

Other changes for me would be Ford to start with Farrell moved out to 12 and maybe Mullen to start with Mako on the bench as I feel internationally he is more effective against tiring defences. On the Ford Farrell 10/12 axis the Aus commentators stated how effective it was for England that they could comfortably attack either side of the breakdown. Guess they felt it kept the Aus defence spread out.

Haskell continues to prove mopany of us wrong. Thought it was interesting that when Billy V went off Robshaw went to 8 in the set piece and not Haskell. Does that mean that Jones sees Haskell as a 7 only?

Series isn't over by any stretch though, really expect Austrailia to come back very strong next week.

Hartley was steady but in a nmgame full of niggle I expected him to be in his element. The scene was set for him to throw hus weight around and get in the faces of his opposition,his opposite number certainly did. Hartley has been very good under Jones and Borthwick has fixed the England lineout but Hartley needs to make sure he doesn't become a vanilla version of himself. Never thought I'd want to see a little more aggression from him.

His leadership and the leadership group within the England squad seems to be working well.

Watson is perfectly capable at full back and has been for Bath. Given Brown missed catches and tackles I think he's using up his credit fast if he still wants to hold the shirt come the final test.

I like the two playmaker combo it gives so many more options and the pair of them have played together quite a bit before (England under 20s). Ford has so much vision and skill where as Farrell offers a physical edge and the points kicking.

CJ I wanted to see the backrow target Pocock and Hooper and rough them up a bit. The Aussies got away with slowing our ball down. We didn't do nearly enough to slow them down. Their tries stemmed from phases of quick ball. Our discipline was good but whilst Aus didn't get the penalties they got nice ball instead. The commitment in defence was excellent mind, very physical from the backrow.

Cracking game. I can see you lot being a for e for some years

The dynamics of Jones/Haskell and how to get the best out of a player...

"...Indeed upon his arrival Eddie Jones told us that Haskell was only a “short-term” solution at number seven and he apparently told Haskell himself that he hoped he had long fingernails because he was hanging on to his spot.

And this was not just mere motivational chat. It was the brutal truth. Had Jones been able to find the sort of seven he desires, Haskell would not have been playing here.

Not that Jones does not like Haskell. He loves his commitment. He exhorts other players to finish matches bloodied and battered “just like Haskell”. And he exhorts Haskell to perform a simple task: to go around the field smashing people.

It might sound rather primeval but it runs at the heart of England’s success under Jones. Simplicity is king.

There is much talk about the complexities of the breakdown and the work of the expert ‘fetchers’ and ‘jackalers’ but all of this can become irrelevant if you are smashed out of the way. You can do no work over the ball if you are not there in the first place."

And Haskell epitomises that attitude at the breakdown. In defence or attack England’s plan on arriving at it is to clear the bodies from it first before looking to pinch or secure ball. And in Itoje England have a fourth back-rower, and their most artful technician.

formerly known as Sam wrote:

B91212 wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:Hartley was very quiet other than talking to the ref. Mike Brown also had a shocker, time for a Nowell, Yarde, Watson dynamic?

Sorry Sam, I know you don't particularly rate Hartley but I think you are not being fair there. He got through a lot of defensive work and his set piece was solid, which has to be the absolute minimum for an international hooker. We saw in the World Cup what happened when we had a hooker who's fundamentals for the position were not international standard. Plus his leadership of this group is more than just talking to the ref, and whatever it is it does seem to be working. I'm not saying it was all down to him by any stretch but he must take some 'on field' credit for the players heads not dropping at 10-0.

I do agree on Brown though. His international performances over the past few years mean he has credit in the bank but the concern is maybe it isn't a temporary dip in form but something more. Not that many back 3 players at international level go significantly past 30. However I think it would be heart in mouth stuff defensively with your back 3 picks. I do think Watson should end up at full back eventually but do worry it is maybe 12/18 months too soon. We don't want to distroy his confidence and the odd defensive lapse aside he still looks the business on the wing for the moment. Not totally convinced by Goode at this level either but think he probably deserves a chance based on his club performances this past season.

Other changes for me would be Ford to start with Farrell moved out to 12 and maybe Mullen to start with Mako on the bench as I feel internationally he is more effective against tiring defences. On the Ford Farrell 10/12 axis the Aus commentators stated how effective it was for England that they could comfortably attack either side of the breakdown. Guess they felt it kept the Aus defence spread out.

Haskell continues to prove mopany of us wrong. Thought it was interesting that when Billy V went off Robshaw went to 8 in the set piece and not Haskell. Does that mean that Jones sees Haskell as a 7 only?

Series isn't over by any stretch though, really expect Austrailia to come back very strong next week.

Hartley was steady but in a nmgame full of niggle I expected him to be in his element. The scene was set for him to throw hus weight around and get in the faces of his opposition,his opposite number certainly did. Hartley has been very good under Jones and Borthwick has fixed the England lineout but Hartley needs to make sure he doesn't become a vanilla version of himself. Never thought I'd want to see a little more aggression from him.

His leadership and the leadership group within the England squad seems to be working well.

Surely with Hartleys history and him being captain, he should be praised for NOT getting involved in the silky niggle?! That we noticed anyway...

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Hartley had a very good game. It's very easy to take a solid set piece lightly, but Hartley was rock solid and provided plenty around the park. As soon as LCD came on and the lineout started creaking you realise how important Hartley is to the side.

2 lineots and to me there looked nothing wrong with the actual throw that Mumm stole, maybe a touch low?

The 2 Australian tries in the first 20 minutes was a massive shock. Surely they couldn't be that much more superior than us. Well they weren't. Eddie and his coaches identified the problem and fixed it. I don't see Australia getting such an easy ride next week. England must now be hot favourites.

The loss of pocock changes the dynamic. It will surely be a more physical pack but one with that perhaps wins less turnover ball.

No 7&1/2 wrote:

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Hartley had a very good game. It's very easy to take a solid set piece lightly, but Hartley was rock solid and provided plenty around the park. As soon as LCD came on and the lineout started creaking you realise how important Hartley is to the side.

2 lineots and to me there looked nothing wrong with the actual throw that Mumm stole, maybe a touch low?

Looked to be around Itoje's hip, may be wrong. He just doesn't inspire confidence tbh

Just watching the highlights. Haskells break and step off his left foot is class

Also, in the build up to the final try, the intelligence of how to keep the ball "live" was brilliant. Including launchbury deciding to suck under a tackle and play the ball instead of taking contact. Smart rugby.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Hartley had a very good game. It's very easy to take a solid set piece lightly, but Hartley was rock solid and provided plenty around the park. As soon as LCD came on and the lineout started creaking you realise how important Hartley is to the side.

2 lineots and to me there looked nothing wrong with the actual throw that Mumm stole, maybe a touch low?

Looked to be around Itoje's hip, may be wrong. He just doesn't inspire confidence tbh

No, it was shoulder height. He's actually only missed 1 since the warm up horror show.

Before this game, I predicted that England would win this series comfortably 3-0 as I feel they are simply the better team (laughed at by some on here ). Yesterdays performance by them was one of the best I have seen in sometime and proved to me that a comfortable 3-0 series win is more than achievable.

The problem with LCD's second throw wasn't the execution but the predictability of where it was going, with Hartley you know he'll hit anyone anywhere but he went for the safe option of his former under 20's team mate.

He doesn't call it though that would have been Lawes I assume?

Interesting times. It's clever of EJ to say we didn't play well, nipping in the bud any possible Oz mind games such as 'England have peaked too soon/we (Oz) know we can play better and win now we have seen their best'. The beauty of a non-English coach is he can say the kinds of things that likely would be written off as English arrogance if said by a native English coach.

There are genuine questions over the starting front row and maybe the whole back division: as so often with Youngs/Care, the one who comes off the bench somehow looks better. Why?! Do we start with Ford/Farrell at 10/12? And the back three is a real teaser.

EJ will also be interested in how Oz deal with the huge loss of Pocock. I'd wouldn't be surprised if EJ chose his 23 but didn't announce it till very late, after the declared Oz 23. They need to make the running from here. He of all people knows how to do and say what they least want: they cannot finetune any amended game plan until they know exactly how Englan have responded to events yesterday.

(PS: eirebilly - thanks for the positive vibes, but steady on! This would not be a 'comfortable' series win even if it did end 3-0. Yesterday was excruciating for us English for the first 15-20, then very uncomfortable for the rest of the game until Jack scored at the death to seal it.)

No 7&1/2 wrote:

Sgt_Pooly wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Hartley had a very good game. It's very easy to take a solid set piece lightly, but Hartley was rock solid and provided plenty around the park. As soon as LCD came on and the lineout started creaking you realise how important Hartley is to the side.

2 lineots and to me there looked nothing wrong with the actual throw that Mumm stole, maybe a touch low?

Looked to be around Itoje's hip, may be wrong. He just doesn't inspire confidence tbh

No, it was shoulder height. He's actually only missed 1 since the warm up horror show.

Just re-watched it, you're right. Still a very safe throw and easy to read. I'd be much happier with George coming from the bench, LCD is still a little unpredictable for me.

No 7&1/2 wrote:He doesn't call it though that would have been Lawes I assume?

Going back to the world cup, Parling called exclusively to himself to make it easy for Youngs, either way it seemed predictable.

Problem with C-D is the same as Ford the 1st time they miss its seen as a disaster. I'd have George purely as hes the better player bit CD has improvved a lit this season, going to be a good option for us.

He needs a haircut

eirebilly wrote:Before this game, I predicted that England would win this series comfortably 3-0 as I feel they are simply the better team (laughed at by some on here ). Yesterdays performance by them was one of the best I have seen in sometime and proved to me that a comfortable 3-0 series win is more than achievable.

Still feels much more likely Aussie at home will bounce back and win but I'd love two more good performances from England (and a better start in each of them).

rozakthegoon wrote:Just watching the highlights. Haskells break and step off his left foot is class

If you watch how he switches the ball carrying hands as he sees Hooper about to hit him as well. May seem obvious but plenty fail to do it. He was class. He is class. And it's not before time he gained recognition. I hope he can keep it going.

Hood83 wrote:

rozakthegoon wrote:Just watching the highlights. Haskells break and step off his left foot is class

If you watch how he switches the ball carrying hands as he sees Hooper about to hit him as well. May seem obvious but plenty fail to do it. He was class. He is class. And it's not before time he gained recognition. I hope he can keep it going.

Yep lots of wingers fail to do that, cough Ugo Monye cough

trebellbobaggins wrote:

eirebilly wrote:Before this game, I predicted that England would win this series comfortably 3-0 as I feel they are simply the better team (laughed at by some on here ). Yesterdays performance by them was one of the best I have seen in sometime and proved to me that a comfortable 3-0 series win is more than achievable.

Still feels much more likely Aussie at home will bounce back and win but I'd love two more good performances from England (and a better start in each of them).

Keep it up Treb

GeordieFalcon wrote:Ford was second highest tackler on the pitch with 9 after haskell with 18

He gets targeted. It would be interesting to see tackling stats for the older Jonny Wilkinson. I'd expect the tackle could to be quite low as attackers would try and avoid him.

You could argue that if the 10 is the highest tackler, the 7 isn't doing his job. However, in this case, they were targeting Ford despite Haskell.

Congrats England. Very strong win. Impressed with how England responded to the Aussie start and with the control Ford and Farrell managed the game. Jones has a very strong pack and excellent bench options and has a good chance at a series win. I think the Aussies will come back strong though, even without Pocock.

Aussies need a better mid field balance and more ball players, really missed a Giteau type IMO.