Eddie Jones claims England’s 2-1 series win over bitter rivals Australia was ‘more difficult’ than whitewashing against the Wallabies in 2016 – insisting his side had to ‘fight like all’ to take the 21-17 win… while he is looking forward to the next World Cup of the year
England scored crucial test win in Australia after winning third clash
Freddie Steward and Marcus Smith scored fantastic tries for the tourists in Sydney
Eddie Jones believes Saturday’s win was ‘heavier’ than 2016’s win
The whitewashed red-and-whites host Australia 3-0 six years ago
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England head coach Eddie Jones has claimed the win over Australia is “tougher” than the 2016 win against the Wallabies.
England defeated host Australia 21-17 in the third Test on Saturday to wrap up a 2-1 series win.
In 2016, the Red and Whites won the third Test 44-40 to seal a 3-0 series whitewash in Sydney.
England take a heroic series win over Australia after winning the decisive test in Sydney
Head coach Eddie Jones has claimed the win over Australia was harder than the 2016 one
Jones said: ‘This was harder than 2016. We had to fight today like anything, they would always throw it around, so we had to defend well.’
England opened this year’s series with a 30-28 defeat to the Wallabies, who had just 14 players left.
But Jones’ side came on an equal footing in the series when they defeated the hosts 25-17 in the second Test in Brisbane.
Saturday’s decider saw England start slowly as they fell behind 10-3. On the stroke of half-time, Freddie Steward ensured that Jones’ side went into halftime with an 11-10 lead.
England beat Australia 44-40 in the final Test to end a 3-0 series whitewash in Sydney in 2016
Marcus Smith and Owen Farrell also shone as England fended off a late backlash from the hosts.
Jones praised the leading group and stressed the importance of the result for next year’s World Cup.
“If you fight like that and win a match like that, it’s a real achievement, but all the credit goes to the leaders group,” he said.
“The result is always important, but the development of the team, especially now that we are in the last 12 months of this World Cup cycle, was crucial that we did well.”