Hooper limps from field as Wallabies drop eighth straight Test to England

The Wallabies dropped their eighth straight Test to England and lost captain Michael Hooper to a foot injury as a potent mix of ill-discipline and picky refereeing proved costly for Dave Rennie’s side.

Ill-discipline was the Wallabies’ downfall in their loss to Scotland one week ago and while referee Jaco Peyper was incredibly pedantic in the 32-15 defeat at Twickenham, it was the same story in the penultimate Test of the season.

The loss was further soured by a foot injury to Hooper, who limped from the field with 25 minutes to play and will be in significant doubt to take his place in the clash with Wales in seven days.

The 18-9 penalty count in England’s favour was punctuated by two Wallabies yellow cards. Tom Wright was shown a yellow card for a high tackle on Jamie George just before the half-time break and nine minutes after play resumed, Angus Bell was sent to the sin bin for a spear tackle on Courtney Lawes.

Playing against an England side which has had Australia’s measure since the 2015 World Cup is hard enough. Trying to snap a seven match losing streak with only 14 men for 60 minutes of the match is another matter entirely.

But with 20 minutes to play, the Wallabies only trailed 19-15.

Jamie Blamire of England breaks away to score.Credit:Getty

A pair of Nic White try saving tackles stopped England from capitalising on prolonged periods of dominance, leaving the match there to be won.

It was the final quarter which will leave Rennie most disappointed. His side dropped an incredible amount of ball through loose exchanges as they chased the game and eventually gifted the home side with a try on the final siren which sealed the result.

While the Wallabies only trailed 16-12 at the half-time break, but the scoreboard did not accurately reflect the run of play.

Relentless Peyper penalties allowed James O’Connor the opportunity to keep the scoreboard ticking over but with ball in hand, England always looked the more likely of the two sides.

The writing appeared to be on the wall after just six minutes, when England’s next great playmaking hope Marcus Smith put Freddie Steward through a huge hole.

Michael Hooper leaves the field.Credit:Getty

The fullback easily beat Kurtley Beale in cover defence and brought the 82,000 fans at Twickenham to their feet.

To their credit, the Wallabies always responded to England points. Their first half maul defence was excellent, and their scrum held firm despite the absence of Allan Alaalatoa and Taniela Tupou.

But the match wasn’t played on their terms. Hunter Paisami’s defence was superb but Samu Kerevi’s presence with ball in hand was dearly missed.

Kerevi appears to be the key to unlocking the Wallabies’ attack, as it did not look like producing a try just one week after a spluttering performance against Scotland.

England’s Owen Farrell, right, tries to tackle Australia’s Hunter Paisami.Credit:Getty

O’Connor’s kicking game was accurate, but he is yet to prove he should be the first choice five-eighth in place of Quade Cooper.

One of the few bright sparks was White.

When Wright was shown a yellow card, England threatened to put the match away much earlier than even they would have anticipated. Enter White.

Leading 16-9 with just over five minutes to play, George peeled away from an England maul five metres from the Wallabies’ line and seemed certain to score.

The star halfback snuck up behind the England No. 2 and batted the ball out of his grasp as he rushed to slam it down, earning the Wallabies the most significant of lifelines.

White’s inspirational moment was matched by Slipper a couple of minutes before the break, when he forced a scrum penalty on England’s feed just inside the Wallabies’ half.

O’Connor nailed his fourth penalty goal from as many attempts just before the half-time siren, leaving the score precariously poised at 16-12.

But like many of the seven straight wins England accumulated against the Wallabies since the embarrassing defeat at their home World Cup in 2015, they ran away with the match in the second half.

For Wallabies fans, it was like watching a sad, familiar movie all over again.

Share this post