England produced their best Twickenham performance since the glory days of 2003 with winger Chris Ashton scoring two tries as they stormed to a 35-18 victory over Australia on Saturday.
England had lost their last two home games against Australia and were beaten on home soil by New Zealand a week ago. But they delivered a performance full of effervescent, ambitious running, particularly among their backs, who are growing with confidence with every game together.
Ashton scored an excellent try after 25 minutes and, with Toby Flood landing his goalkicks and James O’Connor missing his first three attempts, England led 16-6 at the break.
Ashton’s second was a memorable 80-metre effort after England turned the ball over while defending their line and though Kurtley Beale replied with two tries for Australia, faultless goalkicking by Toby Flood, who collected 25 points, ensured there would be no third successive Twickenham victory for the Wallabies. – Reuters