Wallabies player ratings: How the men in gold performed against England

14 hours ago 4

The Wallabies managed to hang in against a strong England side, but major problems in their aerial game and with discipline, plus creeping sloppiness in attack, ended up costing them any hope of another famous win.

Let’s take a look at how the players rated on a disappointing afternoon at Twickenham.

Angus Bell 5

Like many, Bell couldn’t replicate the impact he had last year with his ball-running, and though the early scrum was strong, it probably didn’t yield the early penalty payout needed against England’s lesser front-row trio.

Billy Pollard 5.5

Went close to scoring at one point but was held up, somewhat dubiously. Busy effort in tight. But there is a level of athleticism in Pollard that, for some reason, we’re not getting to see. Has all the physical attributes to be one of the best.

Australia’s Billy Pollard is tackled by England’s Jamie George.

Taniela Tupou 6.5

Was poor last year at Twickenham but was one of the Wallabies best this visit. Showed some outstanding defence in his 45 minutes on the field and got up off the deck to keep working.

Nick Frost 5

Solid enough in the set-pieces, as usual, and cleaned up nicely on one loose ball. But could take a leaf from Maro Itoje on adding the big-unit-pest factor to his game at the breakdown. Has the size to blow up a few rucks.

Jeremy Williams 6.5

Strong shift from the force lock, with a typically industrious performance. Ran a good lineout and work ethic highlighted by a try-saving clean-up in the first half when he tracked back after an England kick.

Rob Valetini 6

Still, it seems, he is yet to return to his dominant best after an injury-hampered year. When the Wallabies are at their best, Valetini is punching through the line and getting front-foot ball. That happened last year, but didn’t happen enough at Twickenham this time. Defensive work was sound.

Fraser McReight 8

Superb performance in a beaten side and had McReight not been so good, the defeat could have been much bigger. A game-high with five steals, most in his own half, helped save the Wallabies when under pressure. Key contributions in defence as well.

Harry Wilson 6

Another of a sizeable crew whose impact was more muted than standard. Tried to carry hard but was contained well by the robust English defence.

Jake Gordon 6

Staple parts of Gordon’s game – pass and box kick – as solid as ever but was caught a few times at slow rucks, and found himself passing deeper and deeper to stationary players as the game went on. Whether it’s his role or not, someone needed to get the Wallaby ball runners hitting the ball at pace and at the line.

Tane Edmed 4

Another mixed bag from Edmed. Can mostly be forgiven for mistakes when attempting to be bold – although almost gifting England a try with a risky short dropout before halftime was stretching the friendship. His naive, almost too-casual errors are a different category, too, and getting nailed by Tom Curry with a lackadaisical moment in the second half led to a try. Missing Alex Mitchell one-on-one led to another.

Harry Potter 7

Constantly involved, as ever, and along with four line-breaks, Potter’s efforts in the first half in holding up Ben Earls, and then taking an intercept to deny another try and score 95 metres later, was impressive. But was also loose with the ball at times, with an equal-high three turnovers. Was one of several who were also outplayed in the aerial contest; not just the catching, but the urgency to get back.

Hunter Paisami 5

Harry Potter of Australia scores his team’s first try.

Carried a game-high 16 times and occasionally poked his nose through the line. But the mid-field was untidy in the slippery conditions, and a decision to crawl for extra metres in the second half – which led to an England try soon after – was emblematic of Australia’s game-long habit of shooting themselves in the foot when discipline was needed.

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii 6

Australia’s Joseph Aukuso Suaalii and England’s Freddie Steward contest a high ball.

Continued a similar theme that we’ve seen for much of this year, with strong defence and barely any attacking opportunity. Turned in some big hits in a tense first half, but was also out jumped by Roebuck, which gave England their first try. Like Israel Folau, JAS is aerially gifted but as seen with Folau, the Wallabies don’t often know how to use it.

Max Jorgensen 5

The hero of 2024 barely sighted the ball in attack and given his ability to beat defenders, that doesn’t seem wise. The Wallabies tried to get the ball wide and outside the last England defender, but it was too cumbersome. Not threatening chasing high balls, either.

Andrew Kellaway 5

Was always going to have his hands full against an England side who would kick the dimples off the ball. But Kellaway was one of many in the Wallabies backfield who not only couldn’t defuse the aerial threat, but couldn’t counterattack either. Much work is needed in the Wallabies’ high-ball game. Much work.

Reserves

Josh Nasser 5.5

Solid performance coming on with some good defence, and hit his lineout targets.

Tom Robertson 5

Stayed strong at scrum-time against the Lions bench unit, but was one of many who struggled to make any yardage when carrying.

Allan Alaalatoa 6

With Nasser and Robertson, kept the Lions bench front row contained, and put on some shots. Wallabies need to replicate aggressive tone set by Alaalatoa.

Lukhan Salakaia-Loto 5

Given just 13 minutes, which was a waste and an odd call from Schmidt given the impact England were always going to get from their bench.

Nick Champion de Crespigny 4.5

Played 20 minutes, with no major impact. Was caught out defensive wise, early in his stint. Reserve backrower is Tizzano’s spot when fit, but it’d be worth giving the attacking skill of Pete Samu a roll too.

Ryan Lonergan 5

As far as impact goes, Lonergan naturally suffers in comparison to Tate McDermott, who is one of the best bench halfbacks the Wallabies have ever had. Lonergan is a strong player who’ll get better with time.

Hamish Stewart 4.5

Coming on with the game slipping away was a tough ask for Stewart, who long since stopped being a No.10. Understandably messy attack at times.

Filipo Daugunu 5

A handful of low-impact minutes at the end for Daugunu, which makes you wonder why Schmidt didn’t also add another forward to the bench. Or use Dylan Pietsch, who is as close to a hybrid as the Wallabies have.