Talking points after England’s first Test defeat to Australia

England were toppled 30-28 by Australia in their first Test in Perth, but the scoreline masks a myriad of shortcomings from Eddie Jones’ tourists as they fell to a fourth successive defeat.

Here, the PA news agency examines five talking points arising from the series opener.

Henry Arundell’s stunning seven-minute cameo that conjured two late tries failed to mask the reality that England were conclusively beaten by 14-man opposition which also lost three players to injury inside the first half hour. They trailed by the insurmountable deficit of 30-14 until Arundell began to weave his spell on Australia’s defence, placing the spotlight on to Eddie Jones yet again. England’s head coach has asked for patience, most notably over an impotent attack that functions sporadically and is wasteful, but with recent results compounded by the team looking a disjointed mess in the final 20 minutes at Optus Stadium, patience continues to ebb away.

It is still early days, but the creative axis formed by Owen Farrell and Marcus Smith is misfiring. The moments of promise evident against the Wallabies in the autumn vanished in Perth where the twin playmakers operated on different wavelengths. England have moved away from a kick-heavy strategy in favour of building their attack through phases, but it remains to be seen if Farrell and Smith are the right fit to execute the gameplan and Jones may soon be forced to choose one of them at fly-half and discard the other.

As Samu Kerevi’s hard-running performance at Optus Stadium was acknowledged with the man of the match award, it once again highlighted the gaping hole left in England’s midfield by the absence of another wrecking ball of Islander heritage. Injury after injury has robbed Jones of