Match Details

England

VS

Qantas Wallabies

26

Twickenham, London Kick off times: 3:00pm (Local) Sat 12 Nov

16

A powerful second-half performance has seen England defeat the Qantas Wallabies 26-16 in a physical Cook Cup Test at Twickenham in London.

Fullback Chris Latham and wing Drew Mitchell were Australia's standouts, Latham threatening to score at least twice and Mitchell doing so early in the second half, tying the scores at 16-16.

Although the Australian scrum was dominated by the local pack, the Wallabies' defence was outstanding, England's tries coming only when it had a man advantage.

The Wallaby scrum alone was penalised six times - England conceded just six penalties in total - and prop Al Baxter was sent off late in the match when French referee Joel Jutge once again pointed the finger at him for collapsing a scrum.

The very next scrum also collapsed, leaving Baxter's fellow prop Matt Dunning lying on his back. Dunning was carried from the field in a neck brace, leading to uncontested scrums for the final 10 minutes, and sustained pressure saw England wing Mark Cueto cross for the match-sealing score in the 75th minute.

After a seventh loss in succession, the Wallabies get their chance to end Australia's worst losing streak in 36 years when they tackle Ireland in Dublin next Saturday.

On a cool but clear day the Wallabies began the second match of their European tour with plenty of vigour, consistently attacking the England line in the first five minutes.

Dunning and Latham led the charge and an early penalty saw Mat Rogers convert to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.

England flyhalf Charlie Hodgson replied shortly after, but more importantly he twice denied the Wallabies with desperate last-line tackles - firstly when George Smith set Mitchell rampaging down the left and then when Latham burst through one attempted tackle and then pushed off another in a trademark elusive run.

Then came a crucial moment when, from the ensuing ruck and with England under immense pressure, Lewis Moody cynically blocked any chance of a try by tackling Lote Tuqiri when blatantly offside.

Moody was shown a yellow card but, with England standing on its own line, Jutge must have considered awarding a penalty try. Rogers converted his second penalty and the Wallabies took a 6-3 advantage.

Approaching the half-hour mark, Australia was penalised inside its own 22 for players going off their feet and Matt Dawson tapped quickly, before the Wallabies had a chance to retreat.

Gregan brought him down five metres out and was also sent to the bin for 10 minutes.

From the scrum, the England backs moved the ball smoothly from right to left and winger Ben Cohen dived over in the corner for the first try of the match.

Hodgson's conversion made it 10-6 but, despite the locals dominating the 10 minutes leading to the break, the Wallabies held firm to go to half-time just four points down.

A Hodgson drop goal gave England the first points of the second half and the teams then traded penalties as the locals maintained a seemingly comfortable seven-point buffer, 16-9.

However the Australians' never-say-die attitude, evident throughout, paid dividends when they won the ball from an England lineout five metres out and put together a backline movement that saw Latham nearly make it across in the opposite corner.

The fullback had the presence to pop it back to Mitchell as he went to ground, and the winger was helped across the line by Tuqiri.

Rogers duly slotted the conversion and scores were level at 16-16 after 55 minutes.

As the match reached a new intensity, Hodgson limped off with a groin injury but his replacement Olly Barkley soon converted a long-range penalty to give England a 19-16 lead with 20 minutes to go.

The England forwards turned the screws in the closing stages, the departure of Baxter and Dunning evidence of the Wallabies tiring after absorbing enormous pressure and having very limited possession.

Even after Cueto's clinching score, the Australians continued searching for a second try of their own, but there simply wasn't enough left in the tank.

While Australia prepares to travel to Ireland, England next week takes on the rampaging All Blacks.

England26

Tries: Cohen, Cueto

Penalties: Hodgson 2, Barkley

Conversions: Hodgson, Barkley

Drop Goal: Hodgson

Australia16

Try: Mitchell

Penalties: Rogers 3

Conversion: Rogers