Rugby-'We're better than that', says disappointed Wallabies coach

By Nick Mulvenney

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Wallabies coach Dave Rennie said he was not going to use his lengthy injury list as an excuse for defeat on Saturday and thought he had put out a good enough team to beat England and clinch the July series.

Australia had the better of the first half and the last 20 minutes at the Sydney Cricket Ground but made errors at crucial moments to fall to a second successive defeat after a loss in Brisbane last week.

"You've got to give credit to their defence, they barred up and created enough turnovers to keep us at bay," the New Zealander told reporters.

"We just needed to turn that field position into points. I think we did enough tonight but you've got to be clinical and take opportunities."

Australia were missing 11 top players due to injury or suspension after a sometimes brutal series but Rennie was in no mood to start reaching for mitigating circumstances.

"We had a good enough side on the field to win tonight," Rennie added.

"What it highlights is we're creating really good depth and you've got a guy like Nick Frost who did really well tonight. Injuries are part of the game, you've got to find a way, haven't you?"

Rennie said he did not think the two lost matches in the series were a fair representation of the evolution of the team 14 months out from the World Cup.

"I reckon we're better than the result tonight, and better than the result last week," he said.

"Last week was a slow start, we fought our way back into the contest and probably should have got over the top.

"This week we started better, we got behind again, and then had enough territory and ball to win that. So we've got to do better."

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, Editing by Hugh Lawson)