The Wallabies will be left with much to ponder and a lot of work to do after kicking off their European tour with a 45-22 loss to England in London.
In front of a packed crowd at Twickenham, pressure was the name of the game for the hosts in the first half, as they dominated with strong defensive momentum and territory, making the Wallabies work hard in defence and attack.
Watch every second of the 2026 Nations Championship live and on demand via Stan Sport.
An intercept try to Max Jorgensen at halftime gave the visitors hope of pulling a result out of the fire, the score 19-10 with everything in the balance.
However, four second-half tries to the men in white, including a double to makeshift winger Henry Pollock, saw the hosts run away with the game to send a strong message to the rest of the Nations Championship competition.
So, what did we learn?
England head coach Steve Borthwick will have a lot to be happy about following his side’s win at Twickenham, because if there was one word to sum up their effort, it was pressure.
Nearly scoring in the first 90 seconds, the hosts kept the pressure on for the entire match through physicality and clinical defence, reaping the rewards in attack as they found space out wide against a condensed Wallabies.
Their execution in attack was even better, finishing with 62 per cent territory and 17 attacking entries into the 22, beating Wallaby defenders 27 times.
While the visitors did find some success in the second half, Australian captain Harry Wilson didn’t mince words about what was needed at fulltime, with the Wallabies slow out of the starting blocks, and ultimately paying the price.
While it was a performance the Wallabies will not be happy with, there were some positives to take from the game – most notably the fact that even after a difficult first half that only saw them enter the England 22 for the first time at the 37th minute, the men in gold were still right in the mix at the break.
A timely intercept try by Max Jorgensen saw the visitors down 19-10 at halftime - a scoreline that showed a Wallabies side that were able to hang in there defensively, forcing mistakes from the English.
After being exposed in the air against the All Blacks, the tactical kicking game was much better, with Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Max Jorgensen offering plenty of pressure out wide.
The bench also made significant inroads in the second half, with Filipo Daugunu, Rob Valetini, Taniela Tupou and Ben Donaldson of note – but their efforts were hindered by the fact that the Wallabies were chasing the game.
They were performances that answered several questions for head coach Les Kiss and his staff after the Bledisloe series, but they were ultimately overshadowed by the new questions posed by England.
It was a credit to England that it wasn’t just a game where their pressure and execution came through – it was also a smart performance from Borthwick’s side.
Letting pressure compound on the Wallabies, there was no shortage of candidates who put their hands up for best on ground, alongside player of the match Henry Slade.
The English forward pack was especially impressive, bettering the Wallabies at lineout, matching them in the scrum, and out-enthusing them in general play, with Ben Earl especially impressive, making an astounding 22 carries – more than double any other player on the park.
The English also targeted the ruck well, forcing 18 turnovers on the Wallabies, with Maro Itoje and Ollie Chessum getting through a mountain of work.
Their platform was rewarded out wide, with Jack van Poortvliet having a strong performance at scrumhalf and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso lethal out wide in the first half before being forced off with an ankle injury.
The areas the winger exposed were ultimately capitalised on by Henry Pollock, who scored a double in the second half to put the match beyond doubt.
It was a performance of simple, clear, and smart fundamentals - which will please Borthwick as his side looks ahead to Japan next week.
Les Kiss and his coaching staff have a lot of work to do over the next seven days, with his side departing Twickenham beaten in nearly every aspect of the contest.
Kiss spoke after the match about old habits creeping into their performance, and of particular note was the backline defence, with 10 of the 15 tackles missed in the first half made by the backs.
The pressure imposed by the hosts resulted in the defence condensing, which led to ample space out wide, which the English capitalised on.
Another old habit was the relieving of pressure, with lapses in execution frequently followed by lapses in discipline, multiple errors in quick succession only playing further into England’s hands.
Of equal concern were areas where the Wallabies have turned to as strengths in their game – most notably execution in the 22 and the lineout. In both instances, the side was also bettered, with three lineouts lost, several of which in critical scoring opportunities.
The result saw the visitors trying to force plays as they chased the game, which only added to the pressure, put them on the back foot, and ultimately backfired, as Ben Spencer’s intercept try at the death summed up the English performance.
It was a performance where Wallabies errors gave a lot of opportunities to the hosts, which they duly took advantage of.
After that result, Les Kiss and his team will now travel to Edinburgh, and with the side in the place they are now, Murrayfield looms as arguably the most important game so far in Kiss’ short tenure.
Kiss has the opportunity to reclaim a third piece of silverware this year after winning back the Puma Trophy and Mandela Challenge Plate against Argentina and South Africa, with the Wallabies last holding the Hopetoun Cup when they defeated Scotland in 2022.
But there is more than just a trophy on the line, with the Scots having won four of their last five fixtures over the men in gold, with five of their last seven games coming down to a margin of five points or less.
With the Scots reeling from a similarly disappointing loss to the All Blacks earlier this weekend, the two sides find themselves in a similar place in the Nations Championship, making a win here even more important.
For Kiss’ side, a win at Murrayfield is sorely needed, as it would not only snap a seven-game losing streak in Europe - their last win being against Wales in 2024 - but a positive result would set the side in good stead for the remainder of the tournament, and for 2027.
