Australia hail Twickenham victory as victory for the ages

SYDNEY: Former players and media pundits lined up on Sunday to heap praise on the Wallabies’ surprise victory over England on Saturday, hailing the latest win as a turning point for Australian rugby under coach Joe Schmidt.

Since Australia’s last victory at Twickenham in 2015, the Wallabies have endured a dismal period, reaching its nadir last year when they were eliminated from the World Cup in the pool for the first time.

Christy Doran wrote in The Roar: “Hope has emerged from the depths of despair in the Australian spring after the Wallabies secured one of their best victories in a decade to emplace England at rugby’s home of Twickenham.”

The Sydney Morning Herald’s Iain Payten was prepared to go back even further and thought the best comparison was the win against the All Blacks in Hong Kong in 2010, when youngster James O’Connor hit a match-winning conversion from the touchline.

The headlines reflected Schmidt’s delight at the payoff of his gamble to start rugby league at centers Joseph Suaalii in his first professional rugby union game.

Suaalii rewarded the New Zealander with a good performance, highlighted by his athleticism in the air and a draw and pass to create space for full-back Tom Wright to score.

“This is the X-factor you can’t make work,” former Wallabies captain media pundit Michael Hooper said on Stan Sports.

“Just that pure talent. Absolutely the ability to make a run out of nothing. And we like what we see.”

Although Suaalii was named Man of the Match, Payten felt a fairer assessment could have been made by including loose forwards Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight and Harry Wilson, as well as prop Angus Bell.

While the front-foot ball looked set to secure a comfortable win for England, it was their physicality at the break that brought Australia back into the contest after a poor start.

“The best performance under Schmidt was a mile away from last year’s doldrums and was a huge confidence boost for the Wallabies team, their long-suffering fans and certainly the huge machines around the British and Irish Lions tour,” Payten wrote.

Fears that the Wallabies would not be competitive on the Lions’ tour next year and possibly at their home World Cup in 2027 may not have completely disappeared, but there was optimism that the tide was turning.

“This turnaround from last year’s disastrous World Cup campaign is remarkable. If the Wallabies can beat England at Twickenham, what can’t they do?” former Wallaby Peter FitzSimons wrote in the Herald.

“The Wallabies are not yet at the dawn of a golden age. It’s too early to tell. But after a long, dark night that has passed for the better part of two decades at least, the brightness of the dawn is now evident and it seems just a little golden.”