England outwitted and outfought an error-prone Australia 21-17 to win their July series 2-, a second success for northern hemisphere rugby after Ireland’s earlier triumph over the All Blacks.
Young guns Freddie Steward and Marcus Smith scored the tries and England’s streetwise pack bossed the breakdown as coach Eddie Jones masterminded a second series victory over his own country after their 3-0 sweep in 2016.
Australia scored tries through Tom Wright and Folau Fainga’a in front of a sellout crowd of 43,274 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, but the home side’s accuracy deserted them too frequently at crucial moments.
Australia won the opening test 30-28 in Perth but England struck back with a 25-17 victory in Brisbane to take the series to Saturday’s decider.
Follow live reaction from the Australia vs England series decider below:
