A poor second half allowed England A to punish Australia A and seal a comprehensive win at The Stoop in London – and the hits could keep coming, with few, if anyone, delivering a performance that screamed ‘pick me’ to Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt.
After taking a 10-5 lead into half time, the Rod Seib-coached side allowed their opponents back into the game through ill-discipline and errors as the Saxons ran in five second half tries to seal a six tries to two win.
Will Muir’s intercept try proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back as the replacement outside back intercepted Jock Campbell to move England A two converted tries clear at 31-17 in the 69th minute.
Making the play even more significant was Muir was the last man on the edge, but the back read Campbell’s attempted cut-out pass like a book and ran 40 metres to score a simple try in the end.
Cadan Marley’s second try of the half – a simple score first-phase off the back of a rolling maul that didn’t get going – sealed the deal in the 78th minute.
“We certainly haven’t been lacking intent,” Seib said.
“The intent against Bristol was fantastic and obviously the guys worked really hard today, but once again inaccuracy really hurt us. Anytime we built pressure, we turned it over with poor catch-pass execution or our ground work was poor. In that regard, we couldn’t ice opportunities and that really hurt us.”
Tom Lynagh played 60 minutes for Australia A against England A at The Stoop on November 17, 2024 in London. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Test forward Tom Hooper, who played the entire match at blindside flanker, also lamented his side’s inability to take their chances.
“Look, I thought it was a lot closer than the scoreboard but, at the end of the day, their A-zone competition was really schmick,” Hooper said.
“They were a lot more silky in the backs and they did really well to come together in a week and get those scores across.
“Our piggies needed to go a bit more to work closer to the line and we probably let our backs down. It was just our A-zone execution that let us down again for the second straight game. But it was really good to come together and I’m really proud of the boys’ efforts.”
The result won’t make shock waves, but it could prove influential in Schmidt’s thoughts as the Wallabies coach moved to the halfway point with their Grand Slam dream still alive after thrashing Wales 52-20 in Cardiff.
With Will Skelton unavailable for the Wallabies’ fourth Test on tour against Ireland, and Samu Kerevi likely to be rubbed out of next week’s clash against Scotland because of a high tackle, it’s likely Schmidt will call up at least two players to finish the campaign.
So did anyone stand up for Australia A?
Luke Reimer, who scored his side’s first of two tries, was amongst Australia A’s best and was strong on the ball as usual, but the one Test flanker didn’t necessarily show the physicality that a Test flanker requires.
Luke Reimer scored Australia A’s first try against Engladn A at The Stoop on November 17, 2024 in London. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Hooper, who has slipped down the rankings under Schmidt, packed a punch but his hands let him down once or twice in the second half.
The lineout functioned well, but the pack was beaten at the scrum and didn’t dominate the collision area either against a young English side that was picked more on promise than anything else.
Ryan Lonergan’s service was clean and Tom Lynagh looked assured, but neither played the lights out.
Hamish Stewart had a strong early carry and was dogged in defence, but the midfield wasn’t necessarily threatening either.
The back three, meanwhile, saw little space.
It meant winger Corey Toole wasn’t afforded the chance to break free.
On the one occasion it did look like he’d get a chance to open up, some poor service denied him the precious split-second he would have taken full advantage of.
Returning hooker Lachlan Lonergan, however, looked sharp after missing most of the season because a leg injury.
His front-row teammate Rhys Van Nek scored Australia’s second try, diving over from close range shortly after a rolling maul came up just short.
So who might Schmidt turn to for the final two Tests if he feels he needs reinforcements?
Two-Test Wallaby Stewart shapes as one player who could re-join the Wallabies given Kerevi’s likely suspension and the fact Hunter Paisami, who just had his second child, is sidelined with injury.
Massimo De Lutiis got big minutes under his belt and if there’s any long-term concern about Taniela Tupou’s health, the 21-year-old could be a smoky to join camp.
Ryan Smith, Josh Canham and Hooper could also be fighting for a spot to join as cover in the second-row given Skelton is due to leave following the Wallabies’ next Test against Scotland.
