A forced switch that changed the match
Henry Pollock is a back-rower. At Twickenham on Sunday he played the second half on the wing, and he needed barely a quarter of an hour to make the move look natural. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso went off at the break with an ankle problem, Pollock took his place, and tries in the 55th and 57th minutes turned a comfortable lead into a rout. England won 45-22.
It was a seven-try afternoon. Jamie George, Ollie Chessum, Joe Heyes and Jack van Poortvliet had scored before Pollock’s double, and Ben Spencer rounded things off in the 76th minute by intercepting an offload and racing into the corner. Fin Smith landed five conversions from fly-half. Australia’s tries came from Max Jorgensen, who picked off a pass just before half-time, Filipo Daugunu and Jeremy Williams.
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Pressure on Borthwick eases, for now
Steve Borthwick arrived at the game under scrutiny after newspaper reports of a rift between him and the squad over the summer. George denied the claims and said the week had been a distraction that pulled the group closer. Two early England tries were also ruled out, one for a forward pass and one for a knock-on, so the scoreline could have been bigger.
Australia lost loosehead prop Angus Bell to a yellow card in the first half. He became the first player penalised for a hip-drop tackle since World Rugby outlawed it this month. Harry Wilson admitted afterwards that his side were second best physically and said they cannot wait until the last 15 minutes to start playing.
Pollock was upbeat when asked about the position change. He said the coaches would not have put him on the wing if they doubted he could handle it, and he credited Henry Slade for backing him up after a few mistakes.
England host Japan on Saturday 14 November, then New Zealand a week later. Australia go to Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday 15 November.
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