George laments 'unforgivable' England showing after last-gasp Australia defeat
- 312
England captain Jamie George labelled his side's performance as "unforgivable" after their 42-37 defeat to Australia on Saturday.
The Red Rose came flying out of the blocks with two early tries from Chandler Cunningham-South before Australia hit back through Tom Wright and Harry Wilson at Twickenham.
Noah Lolesio's penalty ensured the Wallabies snatched a 20-18 lead at the break, only for England replacement Ollie Sleightholme to drag his side ahead with a brilliant double.
Andrew Kellaway and Mario Itoje exchanged late scores for either side before Max Jorgensen’s last-gasp try secured victory for Australia.
George lamented his side's defensive showing after ending on the wrong side of a high-scoring thriller.
"I think the blueprint of how we wanted to play was in the first 20 minutes," George told TNT Sport. "We put Australia under a lot of pressure. Sometimes in a Test match like that you think the job is done.
"We took our foot off the gas. Credit to Australia they were very good but we cannot keep doing that, it will be a tough one to watch back.
"It is a fine balance between closing up shop and trying to see out the win rather than attacking. We talk about being brave and courageous and that [Itoje] try was exactly that. We will look at being better.
"The system and the principle all work. We know it works, but we didn't quite get what we wanted out if it.
"Leaking 42 points at home is unforgivable. They got front-foot ball and then have some pretty good runners outside."
Thank you, @wallabies 🤝@O2 | #WearTheRose pic.twitter.com/9mSuI5bYcX
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) November 9, 2024
Saturday marked the first time England have lost four Test matches in a row since 2018, when they suffered five straight defeats under Eddie Jones.
England head coach Steve Borthwick echoed George's sentiment after the Autumn Nations Series defeat.
"Gutting. We made such a number of errors, and it gave opportunities to the opposition to run in tries and they did," he told TNT Sport.
"In terms of our mindset, you are seeing a team wanting to move the ball and we want that, but we have to understand the consequences of it, and we saw that here.
"We didn't give our defence the chance to show what it can do, there was so much turnover and loose ball that the system couldn't set itself.
"There'll be no shortage of motivation for next week for South Africa."
