Jorgensen draws on 2024 Twickenham heroics as Wallabies target England redemption

Max Jorgensen has pointed to Australia’s dramatic 42-37 victory over England at Allianz Stadium in 2024 as the source of belief fuelling the Wallabies ahead of their November Nations Championship rematch at Twickenham.

Jorgensen was at the centre of that famous win two years ago, receiving a flick pass from Len Ikitau in the 84th minute and sprinting down the left sideline to score the decisive try in front of more than 81,000 supporters. Maro Itoje had put England ahead inside the final five minutes, but Fraser McReight’s link-up play and Ikitau’s sleight of hand created the space Jorgensen needed to seal an unlikely Wallaby triumph.

“Two years ago, 2024, it was a pretty special night for the whole team,” Jorgensen told reporters this week. “It’s pretty cool to win at Twickenham, the home of rugby. It’s a hard place to win. To do it in that fashion was pretty cool.”

England responded with a clinical victory at the same venue 12 months later, a result Jorgensen acknowledged was a setback the squad is determined to learn from. “Obviously, a disappointing one last year, didn’t really go our way, not how we hoped. We want to take those learnings into this week and hopefully put out a really good performance.”

Despite describing Allianz Stadium as a “daunting place”, the winger believes the 2024 result has permanently shifted the Wallabies’ mindset on the road. “Just having that feeling and knowing you can win at Twickenham, that you’ve done it before — it can be a daunting place, 85,000 singing, chanting. It’s a different type of atmosphere than you get over in Australia. To have that confidence of knowing we’ve done it before and that we can do it is definitely good.”

Australia arrive in the UK needing to rediscover form after the All Blacks swept the Bledisloe Cup series 2-0. Before those defeats, however, the Wallabies had gone six games unbeaten under new head coach Les Kiss, who took charge following Joe Schmidt’s final match — a 57-10 demolition of Italy in Perth. Kiss oversaw five of those six victories, including a first-ever series win for Australia away to Argentina.

“A couple of disappointing losses against the All Blacks,” Jorgensen said. “We had six straight games where we’re playing some really good footy so we’re building on that, taking the harsh learnings from the All Blacks and then taking those learnings into this week.”