Wallabies slump to seventh straight loss - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Wallabies slump to seventh straight loss

By Jim Morton 13/11/2005 06:05:19 AM Comments (0)

The Wallabies fell to their seventh straight Test loss, losing 26-16 to England in a dramatic match at Twickenham.

The English killed off the Australians and doused a potential controversy when winger Mark Cueto scored in the left corner with five minutes left.

The Wallabies were down to 14 men at the time after Al Baxter had been sin-binned and fellow prop Matt Dunning subsequently stretchered off, forcing the Test into uncontested scrums.

The drama around the no-pushing decree was more a blight on the tourists than the loss itself.

The defeat, on top of Australia's Ashes loss to England this year, equals the Wallabies worst losing streak in 36 years.

The English pack treated the Wallaby forwards with disdain, constantly driving them backwards in scrums and rolling mauls off lineouts.

The disparity in the power of the front rows was glaringly exposed when tight-head Baxter sin-binned after an English 5m scrum in the 69th minute.

Rookie Greg Holmes went on to the field and loose-head Dunning moved to tight-head but had to be stretchered off after the next scrum collapsed on top of him.

The Australian lineout again struggled to win its own throws while the lack of precise and fast finishing also hampered the tourists at critical times.

Under-fire captain George Gregan was sin-binned in the first half and was replaced by Chris Whitaker in the 65th minute.

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