England see off Wallabies to set up series decider in Sydney

England hit back after the disappointing first test defeat last week to the Wallabies by levelling the series after a superb opening fourty minutes saw England eventually hold of a spirited second half performance by Australia to gain a 25-17 win.

England and Eddie Jones were desperate to erase their poor opening test performance and put on a show for their fans.

The visitors had a game plane and that was to get into the faces of Australia right from the start of the game.

For the opening thirty minutes England played some of their best rugby since the World Cup. Led by forwards Ellis Genge, Billy Vunipola and Courtney Lawes, England ripped into the wallabies.

Vunipola powered over for England early on  after being driven over following an England line out, which set the tone for the match.

Owen Farrell punished ill discipline from the home side by converting two successful penalty kicks.

England continued to put more points on the board from the boot of Farrell before Australia managed to get their first points on the board.

For the first time in the half, Australia managed to get themselves in England’s 22 when prop Taniela Tupou smashed over the line before half time to give the home side something to cheer about.

England suffered a further  blow when they lost Maro Itoje went off for a head injury assessment following a collision which has since ruled him out of the rest of the series.

Farrell added another penalty at the start of the second half, but the Wallabies hit back like they did in the first test when Samu Kerevi went over.

England where then reduced briefly to 14 men when Marcus Smith was sent to the bin for a deliberate knock on. Australia cut the gap to five points with a successful penalty.

Despite losing four players to Injury in the first half, Australia were beginning to dominate the game.

Eventually, England managed to get a penalty kick which Farrell converted to give England a crucial eight point advantage which was enough to see off a resurgent Australian side to set up a series decider next weekend in Sydney.

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