Joe Schmidt elated by ‘aerial freak’ Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii as Wallabies pip England at the death

LONDON – Australia coach Joe Schmidt hailed Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii as an “aerial freak”, after the cross-code capture marked his first senior game of rugby union by starring in the Wallabies’ thrilling last-gasp 42-37 win over England at Twickenham on Nov 9.

Suaalii, a multi-million dollar convert from rugby league, was named Player of the Match after posing problems for England under the high ball, with the outside centre’s sublime pass also sending in fullback Tom Wright for the first of the Wallabies’ five tries.

The lead changed hands four times in the closing 15 minutes, with England 37-35 ahead and 80 minutes already played after lock Maro Itoje’s try was converted by fly-half Marcus Smith.

But replacement back Max Jorgensen struck in the 84th minute when, from a Len Ikitau offload that sucked in Smith, he scored the last of the game’s 10 tries.

Ben Donaldson converted as the Wallabies beat England at Twickenham for the first time since they knocked them out of the 2015 World Cup.

This was also just Australia’s second win in 12 Tests against England, with the Wallabies the underdogs after losing five of their six games in the 2024 Rugby Championship. But they did not have Suaalii at the Southern Hemisphere tournament.

Schmidt, reflecting on the 21-year-old’s performance, said: “I thought he was strong. I thought he was really well-supported by Lenny Ikitau. Lenny was outstanding.

“Joseph obviously got a few kick-offs back for us. He’s a bit of an aerial freak, but at the same time, it was a good learning experience for Joseph as well.”

Concerns had been expressed about whether pitching Suaalii into the cauldron of a Twickenham crowd of over 81,000 was a wise move.

But former Ireland coach Schmidt said: “I know there were some doubts expressed about him being selected and the risk.

“I think people would now see the opportunity of involving a young man like that.”

The victory marked an ideal start to their Grand Slam tour, with struggling Wales next up for the Wallabies on Nov 17.

“Three tries in the last five minutes to win it, lose it and win it, it was so up and down, but one thing that stayed up was the effort from our team,” said Schmidt.

England captain Jamie George said the hosts had produced an “unacceptable” display after they missed 35 tackles.

This was England’s fifth straight defeat by a leading rugby nation and followed the agonising 24-22 loss to New Zealand on Nov 2.

“Leaking 42 points at home is unacceptable and a large part of that is down to loss of collisions,” said George.

“Australia got front foot ball and they have got pretty good players out wide who made us look vulnerable.”

The 34-year-old hooker added: “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.”

Smith created two tries for replacement wing Ollie Sleightholme, before a late exchange of tries involving Australia’s Andrew Kellaway and Itoje left the Wallabies staring defeat in the face at 37-35 behind.

But then came the final twist, with England coach Steve Borthwick saying: “It’s a game we should have won.

“We were in a position to win multiple times.

“When you turn over that much ball and make the game that unstructured against a team with that much pace, you’re giving them opportunities.

“We gave them far too many opportunities.”

England’s other two tries came from Chandler Cunningham-South, while Australia also crossed the line via Harry Wilson and Jeremy Williams.

The Red Rose now have the daunting task of trying to return to winning ways against world champions South Africa at Twickenham on Nov 16.

Flanker Tom Curry has already been ruled out of facing the Springboks after he was knocked out when making a tackle on Nov 9. AFP