England promised a response. After a poor year where pressure has continued to mount on head coach Steve Borthwick, England finally delivered on their pledge. At a freezing Allianz Stadium, England brought warmth to even those most frozen, disgruntled hearts with a comprehensive 45-22 win over a dismal Wallabies side.
Borthwick's side have taken a lot of flak over the past 11 months and the squad were fed up of it. But we've been here before. We heard during the Six Nations, where they won one match from five, that they will bounce back, they were ready to prove a corner had been turned at the next opportunity. But still it didn't click. Talk only counts for so long, words become empty when promises aren't kept. There comes a point where you just have to show up and deliver on potential. England did that, in a match where there was so much to please Borthwick, and back-row Henry Pollock even got a half playing on the wing.
- England 45-22 Australia: Pollock stars in record win to ease Borthwick pressure
England's eventual return of seven tries was about right. Fin Smith and Jack van Poortvliet worked well at half-back, George Furbank's return brought fluidity to the backline, while Ben Earl and Ollie Chessum were outstanding in the pack. Henry Slade was also superb in defence, and brought so much to attack. The driving lineout worked, the scrum held up well, and, wait for it, England went a full 80 minutes without copping a yellow card, just the second time they've managed that this calendar year.
They started well, with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso darting over in the early stages, only to have that try chalked off due to a forward pass. But Jamie George crashed over in the seventh minute, with a celebration of as much joy as it was an outpouring of anger and pent-up frustration. It summed up the team's mood.
George spoke passionately this week in defence of Borthwick, with the England coach coming in for criticism from all corners this year. It hasn't been easy for those in the red rose: a first defeat to Italy, and then the loss in Johannesburg back at the start of these Nations Championships in July. There's plenty of class there, but it wasn't clicking. Their discipline was harming any chance of progress, and morale was low. But the resounding win over Fiji at Everton helped, and then came the win in Argentina.
But as they prepared to return to Twickenham, vowing to win the fans' trust back, the England team adopted a siege mentality this week. A report in The Times on Thursday which said the environment under Borthwick had deteriorated frustrated the squad, and George, Maro Itoje and Chessum led the public backlash. But with all the talk of them wanting to put the record straight, they needed a performance to get Twickenham back on side.
George's early try helped and Ollie Chessum and Joe Heyes added a further two before the break. It would've been more had the outstanding Feyi-Waboso not picked up an injury in the 27th minute. Up until that stage he was playing a glorious sweeper role, hovering behind the in-sync half-backs, waiting for opportunities, and carrying with abandon. He was ruthless. But the leg injury ended his game and the last we saw of him was him heading down the tunnel at half time. Borthwick went with a 6-2 split heading into this, so it was on Pollock to replace him. Pollock's not short of confidence, astonishingly talented in the back-row but this was an altogether different task. But like his teammates, he stood up to it.
The Wallabies scored just before the break as Max Jorgensen snaffled up a loose Van Poortvliet pass, but that was as good as it'd get for them. They grabbed another from Filipo Daugunu in the 61st minute, but the match was over as England had barely blinked. Van Poortvliet needed just two second-half minutes to make amends for his earlier error as he finished off a wonderful sweeping move which had lovely touches from Furbank and Tommy Freeman. Pollock then grabbed two off the wing as his hybrid status reached new heights.
England's replacements (aka the Pom Squad) brought some new impetus, complete with debutant Greg Fisilau but there was another injury concern for England with Seb Atkinson limping off in the second half.
Australia tried to get a foothold in the match with Jeremy Williams grabbing a late score for Australia, but it was England's Ben Spencer who had the final say. As chilly evenings go, this was a step forward for England.
Australia came here promising to test England's unity, as Harry Wilson put it, but they never really examined the hosts' durability. This wasn't the Wallabies side we hoped to see. There was little evidence of the progress they've made under Les Kiss. They were error-strewn, poor in the contact and made brutal self-inflicted mistakes when they least needed them.
For England, that makes it three wins from four in the Nations Championship. They're showing signs of healing after a rough year. This win eases the pressure a touch, but if there's one man who will relish the chance to test England's durability it's Eddie Jones. His Japan side come here next weekend.
But this was more like it from England. They delivered on their pre-match promise, and put together a comprehensive victory. Questions answered, for now.