Pete Samu seals victory as 14-man Australia punish wasteful England

England may have travelled to the other side of the world but some familiar frailties have accompanied them. Even with 14 men for 46 minutes of the contest the Wallabies proved too much for the visiting side and they have finally broken their eight-game losing streak against Eddie Jones’s side.

Australia had trailed 14-9 entering the last quarter only to come storming back with two tries in seven minutes for Jordan Petaia and Folau Fainga’a to transform the contest. It was a remarkable effort considering they had Darcy Swain sent off after just 34 minutes, lost Quade Cooper to injury in the warm-up and saw another two players forced off inside the first 25 minutes.

England did strike back late on with tries from the debutants Henry Arundell and Jack van Poortvliet but, before that, lost control of a game they really should have won. With two Tests still to play in Brisbane and Sydney, England are not entirely sunk yet but it is hard to imagine Australia not improving further. The way England wilted physically in the second half after a costly yellow card for Billy Vunipola was also telling.

It was a nightmare result for Jones in a lovely arena. Perth’s impressive new stadium, just across the river from the old Waca ground, is both beautifully situated and aesthetically satisfying, a great addition to world rugby’s venues. With its indigenous-themed outer cladding and situated on the water’s edge it almost feels like an antipodean Noah’s Ark and the hosts were determined to make an equally striking impression.

No one, though, had factored in the 11th-hour withdrawal of Cooper, who damaged a calf minutes before kick-off and had to replaced by Noah Lolesio, with James O’Connor swapping the corporate suite for a place on the