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Nick Cummins pinned ears back to score Wallabies' sole try at Twickenham
Nick Cummins (L) of Australia scores a try past Toby Flood of England during the QBE International match between England and Australia at Twickenham Stadium on November 17, 2012 in London, England.
(November 16, 2012 - Source: Tom Shaw/Getty Images Europe)
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A CORNERED Honeybadger is a dangerous animal, apparently.
"Backed into a corner, there's only one way to go," says Wallaby wing Nick Cummins, who styles himself on the small but aggressive African animal.
Luckily for the Wallabies, the one way Cummins decided to go at Twickenham yesterday was over the try-line.
The Western Force winger scored a maiden Test try for Australia in the first-half of their win over England, snapping a 205-minute try drought for the Wallabies and ending their chance of a humbling entry into the record books.
Cummins' try ensured the Wallabies didn't become only the second Australian side in history to go three Tests without a try.
"I ended up bagging a bit of meat in the corner there late in the first half, which was tops," said Cummins
"'Fanga' (Nick Phipps) managed to sling one out to me and I just saw the line and pinned the ears back."
The try was not only vital for the Wallabies on their way to a much-needed win in a game of tight defence, but also the product of an encouraging return to attacking rugby by Australia.
Iain Payten in London
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Nathan Sharpe of Australia is closed down by Joe Marler and Geoff Parling of England during the QBE International match between England and Australia at Twickenham Stadium on November 17, 2012 in London, England.
(November 16, 2012 - Source: Tom Shaw/Getty Images Europe)
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Charlie Sharples (2nd L) of England and Adam Ashley-Cooper (3rd R) of Australia jump for the ball during the QBE International match between England and Australia at Twickenham Stadium on November 17, 2012 in London, England.
(November 16, 2012 - Source: Tom Shaw/Getty Images Europe)
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England 14 Australia 20: match report
All of a sudden everything changes. This was a significant reality check for England, a game they had to win if the narrative of a young team building for greatness was to be believed. There were no signs of anything approaching greatness at Twickenham. Australia taught England a lesson in composure, execution and accuracy. There was nothing fortuitous about the Wallabies’ victory either, and to come back from a thrashing in Paris a week ago, to rebuild their scrummage and breakdown work, to play with real passion and imagination was praiseworthy indeed.
Michael Hooper, the Wallaby flanker who is meant to be second fiddle to the injured David Pocock, had an extraordinary match in attack and defence. His work at the breakdown was exemplary and every time an England player appeared to make a conclusive break there was Hooper hanging onto his ankles, closing the door. Best of all, Hooper’s decision-making was spot on. He knew precisely when and how to apply the pressure without conceding penalties in dangerous positions.
Contrast that with England’s lamentable chronology of mistakes. As the pressure increased in the second half, England’s discipline went belly up. A variety of offenders gave away penalties and there was a right old mess as the match was approaching the hour mark. The Wallabies had built a six-point lead by that stage but England had battled back, establishing a decent field position inside Australia’s 22. Twice skipper Chris Robshaw had a chance to kick for the points which would have brought England to within touching distance of Australia, but twice he opted for attacking line-outs which came to nothing when Tom Waldrom was unable to ground the ball to the satisfaction of the television match official. Applaud Robshaw for his gung-ho spirit if you wish, but in Test matches the only validation is the scoreboard and England, having built a 14-11 lead in the first half, squeezed nothing from the second when they had clear chances to do so.
( read the whole report here: )
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Chris Ashton of England breaks with the ball during the QBE International match between England and Australia at Twickenham Stadium on November 17, 2012 in London, England.
(November 16, 2012 - Source: Tom Shaw/Getty Images Europe)
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Australia bounce back at Twickenham
A powerful performance from Australia led to a 20-14 victory over England at Twickenham, with Berrick Barnes kicking 15 points.
In front of a packed crowd at Twickenham, England opened the scoring with a penalty from Toby Flood with two minutes gone, but it was Australia who held the edge early on in terms of territory and possession.
The Wallabies were on top in the opening scrums and it proved to be the foundation for Australia's first score of the afternoon as Michael Hooper burst through on the left hand side, Berrick Barnes eventually sending through a drop-goal from straight in front.
Australia continued to play with width, Nick Cummins giving the English defence cause for concern as he continued to find space down the right wing.
Flood put England back in front with a long-range penalty but Australia responded by putting the home side under pressure deep on their own try line, the TMO ruling out a score after looking at numerous replays.
A penalty at the resulting scrum however led to Barnes levelling the scores from straight in front, but Flood responded to take the score to 9-6.
Cummins then grabbed the first try of the afternoon after a poor box kick from Danny Care led to a break from Australian scrum-half Pat Phipps, who slipped through a gap in England's defence and fed an unmarked Cummins for the score.
It was England however who had grabbed the final points of the first half, a tapped penalty by Care putting Australia on the back foot before the ball went wide to Manu Tuilagi.The Leicester centre dived and allegedly did enough to ground the ball on the line, putting England back in front and leaving the score at 14-11 at half-time.Barnes drew both teams level at the start of the second half and then put the Wallabies in front after a perfectly weighted chip behind the defence from Beale was gathered by Hooper, leading to another penalty kick to give Australia a 14-17 lead.The Wallabies regained possession from the restart and a break from Tapuai almost released Cummins on the outside again only for Sharples to intervene. Australia's dominance at the breakdown resulted in England being penalised, with Barnes stretching the visitors lead to six points.
An English response was needed and it came with a powerful surge towards the Australian try-line, the hosts launching a series of driving mauls towards the Wallaby line, Thomas Waldrom going close but knocking on as he dived for the score.
The home crowd did their best to lift England's performance but the error count continued to rise as Australia controlled the breakdown and the scrum, winning yet another penalty which Barnes failed to convert from long-range.
A tapped penalty from replacement Ben Youngs brought the crowd to their feet as England persisted to go for the try rather than taking the points on offer, but Australia again turned over possession, stifling England's momentum.
It was a similar story for the rest of the second half as Australia dominated the breakdown, repelling a series of attacks from the home side deep into their own 22 but emerging on top on every occasion, to clinch an important victory for coach Robbie Deans.
Man of the match: Who needs David Pocock? Openside Michael Hooper had a fine afternoon.
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Moment of the match: After sustained pressure, Thomas Waldrom just couldn't get the ball down.
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Toby Flood (C) of England is tackled during the QBE International match between England and Australia at Twickenham Stadium on November 17, 2012 in London, England.
(November 16, 2012 - Source: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images Europe)
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Australia reclaim Cook Cup
England's kit was officially described as "regal purple", in order to reflect their place among the "rugby royalty".
But with South Africa and New Zealand due at Twickenham over the next fortnight, England face an uphill battle to join the elite in the top band of World Cup seeds when the draw is made on December 3.
That would leave England with the prospect of facing one of the southern hemisphere giants in the pool stages.
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Manu Tuilagi (R) of England scores a try during the QBE International match between England and Australia at Twickenham Stadium on November 17, 2012 in London, England.
(November 16, 2012 - Source: Stu Forster/Getty Images Europe)
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All Blacks rule in Rome
Simone Favaro of Italy (R) during the international test match between Italy v New Zealand at Stadio Olimpico on November 17, 2012 in Rome, Italy.
(November 16, 2012 - Source: Claudio Villa/Getty Images Europe)
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New Zealand extended their unbeaten run to 19 games with a 42-10 win over Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
The world champions led from start to finish to maintain their perfect record against Italy, who put up a solid challenge in the first half but ultimately couldn't match the visitors' attacking firepower.
New Zealand led 13-7 at half time.
Kieran Read of the All Blacks takes the ball forward during the international rugby match between Italy and New Zealand at Stadio Olimpico on November 17, 2012 in Rome, Italy.
(November 16, 2012 - Source: Hannah Johnston/Getty Images Europe)
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Superior fitness and combination yielded a five tries to one 42-10 victory for New Zealand over Italy in front of 75,000 fans at Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Sunday
It was only in the last quarter that New Zealand were finally able to break the Italian shackles and the final margin was no indication of the spirited effort mounted by a home team which was finally worn down by the class and pace of the visitors.
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New Zealand had issues protecting the ball at breakdowns, during the first half, and paid the price as the Italians were quick to put the ball to good use and ensured the defence of the All Blacks was well tested.
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Kieran Read of the All Blacks runs into score a try during the international rugby match between Italy and New Zealand at Stadio Olimpico on November 17, 2012 in Rome, Italy.
(November 16, 2012 - Source: Hannah Johnston/Getty Images Europe)
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Springbok defence holds firm against Scotland
Ryan Grant Scotland is tackled by Francois Louw and Jean de Villiers of South Africa during the international match between Scotland and South Africa at Murrayfield Stadium on November 17, 2012 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
(November 16, 2012 - Source: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Europe)
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Scotland 10 South Africa 21: match report
A run-of-the-mill victory for South Africa, but nothing more. They were powerful and imposing in the first half, but once they were 21-3 up early in the second period, they visibly relaxed, allowing Scotland to up their intensity and enjoy some long spells of pressure.
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Henry Pyrgos Scotland jumos for the ball with JP Pietersen of South Africa during the international match between Scotland and South Africa at Murrayfield Stadium on November 17, 2012 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
(November 16, 2012 - Source: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Europe)
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Springboks survive Scottish fightback
Two tries from Adriaan Strauss helped South Africa to a 21-10 victory over a brave but inefficient Scottish side at Murrayfield on Saturday.
A dominant first-half performance saw the visitors take a 14-3 lead into the interval thanks to Strauss's first try - off a rolling maul that Scotland failed to deal with - and three penalties from Pat Lambie.
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Man of the match: Francois Louw was fantastic once again and Henry Pyrgos deserves a mention but you can't overlook the man who scored two tries, Adriaan Strauss.
Moment of the match: Scotland were always going to struggle to get back into the game once they had conceded the first try. The Bok rolling maul strikes again!
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Sean Lamont of Scotland is tackled by Francois Louw and Jean de Villiers of South Africa during the international match between Scotland and South Africa at Murrayfield Stadium on November 17, 2012 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
(November 16, 2012 - Source: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Europe)
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next test:
New Zealans v Wales
England v S. Africa
Scotland v Tonga
Italy v Australia
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