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England vs Australia player ratings: Ben Youngs stars while Nathan Hughes fills Billy Vunipola void

Youngs scored a great opportunistic try in the second half

Jack Austin
at Twickenham
Saturday 03 December 2016 18:55 GMT
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England overcame an alarming start to register a record-equalling 14th successive victory by crushing Australia 37-21 at Twickenham.

Somehow Eddie Jones' men trailed by only 10 points after an utterly one-sided opening spell that saw wing Sefa Naivalu cross and the Wallabies foiled on two more occasions by desperate final-stand defending.

Rampant Australia targeted George Ford repeatedly and forced openings at will, but they were aided by passive opponents who were quickly reduced to fire fighting at every turn.

Once again drawing on their resolve, however, injury-ravaged England clawed their way back with an opportunist score from the superb Jonathan Joseph the beginning of the end for the tourists.

Joseph's vision and execution created a second for Marland Yarde and the foot was pushed further into the Wallabies' throats when Ben Youngs used his wits to dart over, before Joseph completed the rout.

The win means Jones' England have drawn level with the 14-Test winning run set by Sir Clive Woodward's World Cup winners in 2002-03 and extends their mastery over the Wallabies to four successive matches.

For the first time since 1992 they have finished the year with an unblemished record consisting of the 13 victories masterminded by Jones and end 2016 in second place in the global rankings, holding off Australia's challenge for their position behind New Zealand.

Additional reporting by PA.

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