England still not the finished article while TMO controversy continues; gap between New Zealand and rest is closing, and the second tier show improvementEngland will finish the year on a winning note unless Samoa, vanquished by Romania in Bucharest on Saturday, produce the result of the decade. Unbeaten in their first year under Eddie Jones, they have lost only against Ireland in 2017 without, Scotland at home apart, producing an entirely compelling performance. Jones will not mind, counting down as he is to the 2019 World Cup; he is completing a jigsaw puzzle, adding pieces each game. Against Argentina, England were largely on the front foot, building patiently, if unspectacularly, almost rigid in their approach. On Saturday, they played more...
Wallabies captain picked up record eighth yellow card of his Test career and had a try disallowed as tourists endured miserable day at the office against EnglandLast week’s abiding rugby image was of a smiling Kurtley Beale, clad only in his budgie smugglers, standing next to Prince William. Seven days on, it was a story of canary yellow and pursed lips. Australia and Beale had their moments, but the loss of two key players to the sin-bin and some desperately tight refereeing calls ultimately denied the visitors another victory party.Had they kept 15 men on the field throughout, who knows? While England looked far more lively, particularly after Maro Itoje’s introduction, they were up against opponents who, on a drier...
Eddie Jones will delight in the way England rode their luck to scramble a win against Australia from the chaos at their intimidating, unforgiving homeThe RFU is spending £50m rebuilding the eastern half of Twickenham. It is putting up a new rooftop rose garden, restaurant and music stage to make the old cabbage patch more welcoming. England, and Eddie Jones, of course, want to do the very opposite thing. The harder their visitors find it here, the happier they’ll be. And since the East Stand is a mess at the moment, all scaffolding, plyboard and piles of breezeblocks, Jones’s work is a lot further along than the builders’. England have not lost here since he took charge, their last defeat...
He may have the No15 jersey on his back but Kurtley Beale will move in tighter because he is an important distributor for Australia, and Eddie Jones will be wary of his influence on Saturday’s game at TwickenhamMichael Cheika put his money on Kurtley Beale and now we are really seeing it paying off for Australia. He lost Matt Giteau, he lost Matt Toomua – two players who can really influence a game – so Cheika identified Beale as his go-to man and he will be the key factor in Australia’s attacking structure on Saturday.Off the field, it looks as if he has really turned himself around – it would be interesting to know how much of a role Cheika...
Ireland’s resounding victory over South Africa gives them a claim on being Europe’s top side, while England and Wales labouredA lot of stiff, sore bodies will be hauled into team meetings this Monday, as the coaches run their weekend debriefings after the first full round of the autumn internationals. The Irish will be feeling that much better about themselves than everyone else. Nothing soothes a player’s aches and pains quite like a famous victory, and their 38-3 win against South Africa was a resounding result, the statement performance of the weekend. The only time a European team have beaten South Africa by more than that was when England hammered them 53-3 in 2002. That was back when the side that...