England ease pressure on Borthwick with big win over Australia

England produced a big win over Australia, offering visible support to head coach Steve Borthwick. Sky Sports reports a 45-22 victory in the Nations Championship, with England scoring seven tries.

The scale of the performance came after a difficult week for Borthwick. Sky Sports says the coach faced intense scrutiny following reports of a summer rift with his squad. Jamie George denied those claims to Sky Sports. On the pitch, England responded with seven tries and a points haul that Sky Sports describes as a record against Australia.

George, Ollie Chessum, Joe Heyes and Jack van Poortvliet crossed for England. Replacements Henry Pollock and Ben Spencer also scored, with Pollock claiming two tries. Fin Smith added five conversions and led England’s attack at fly-half. For Australia, Max Jorgensen, Filipo Daugunu and Jeremy Williams scored tries in the 40th, 62nd and 74th minutes.

Australia also lost Angus Bell to a temporary dismissal in the first half. Sky Sports says he became the first player penalised for a hip-drop tackle since World Rugby outlawed it this month.

England had an early opportunity when Feyi-Waboso appeared to break through, but video review showed an earlier forward pass from Ben Curry to Chessum in the move. The try was ruled out. England continued to apply pressure, but Alex Coles conceded a penalty in Australia’s 22.

England eventually broke through after Australia conceded an obstruction penalty under a high ball: Fin Smith kicked to touch, and George finished from the resulting maul. Smith’s conversion hit the post. Australia got on the board through a Ryan Lonergan penalty after England’s backline was caught offside from a lineout.

The result underlines England’s collective response at a time when their coach was under scrutiny. The performance gives Borthwick tangible support on the field, though questions about what comes next for him and the team were raised by the BBC in separate coverage of the subject.