Kiss admits Wallabies have 'work to be done' after 45-22 hammering by England

Australia head coach Les Kiss conceded there is “work to be done” after the Wallabies were beaten 45-22 by England at Allianz Stadium on Saturday, a result that extended their difficult run following a Bledisloe Cup series sweep by the All Blacks.

England were largely in control by the final whistle, running in four tries during a 26-point second-half blitz after the sides had been separated by only nine points at the break. Henry Pollock scored twice on the wing, Maro Itoje made a game-high 16 tackles, Ben Earl topped the charts with 22 carries, and Fin Smith contributed 10 points with the boot.

Kiss pointed to a narrow, undisciplined approach in the first half as the root of Australia’s problems. “I thought the first half, we probably went into some bad habits and played a bit narrow,” he said. “We needed to get the ball into the first hands, shift the point of attack, create our swing that we have, which we got to in the second half. We just didn’t get enough of those opportunities in the first half.”

The Wallabies had shown signs of life before the interval. Max Jorgensen intercepted a pass and sprinted clear for a try just before half-time, with Ryan Lonergan converting to keep Australia within touching distance at 19-10. A yellow card to prop Angus Bell had made the first half harder, with England extending their lead through tighthead Joe Heyes while Bell sat out his 10 minutes.

But the second half told a different story, as England’s physicality and tempo overwhelmed the tourists. Kiss acknowledged the gap between training performance and Test-match execution. “We’re training really well but the 80 minutes is more important. We’ve got to make sure we’ve got that transference,” he said. “I know the boys are continuing to work hard. We’ll have to challenge ourselves and each other about what needs to be done because there’s work to be done.”

The defeat is Australia’s third in their last four Tests, a sharp contrast to the six-match unbeaten run Kiss oversaw after replacing Joe Schmidt following the Wallabies’ 57-10 win over Italy in July.

Australia now travel to face Scotland at Scottish Gas Murrayfield in the fifth round of the Nations Championship next weekend, with final ladder positions in both conferences still to be settled ahead of the competition’s inaugural Finals Weekend. Winning away at Murrayfield has proved a significant challenge for the Wallabies over the past decade, and Kiss will need his side to address their first-half frailties quickly if they are to secure a positive result.