Joseph Suaalii call vindicated as Wallabies stun England amid uproar over 'shocking' scenes

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt's shock decision to hand Joseph Suaalii his Test debut against England has been vindicated after the NRL recruit starred in Australia's thrilling last-gasp win at Twickenham. The Wallabies looked to have been denied a remarkable come-from-behind win when England's Maro Itoje crossed for converted try in the 79th minute, but replacement winger Max Jorgensen sparked scenes of euphoria for the Aussies with a match-winning try deep into time added on to leave the hosts stunned.

The siren to signal the end of the 80 minutes had well and truly gone when a desperate Wallabies side kept the ball alive and found some space down the left flank. A swift passage of passing through three pairs of hands eventually saw the ball fall to Len Ikitau, whose remarkable one-handed offload sent Jorgensen powering towards the tryline, before he triumphantly swan-dived into the corner to snatch a famous Wallabies win.

The 42-37 win was Australia's first victory over England at Twickenham since their World Cup triumph nine years ago and snapped a poor run of form against the old enemy. And while Suaalii didn't cross for a try himself on debut, the $5 million NRL recruit proved many of the doubters wrong after a sensational display that included plenty of flashes of brilliance and particular prowess under the high ball.

Joseph Suaalii sparked Wallabies into life after slow start

It was Suaalii's ingenuity that got the Wallabies back into the game after England jumped out to a 15-3 lead through a pair of tries to flanker Chandler Cunningham-South and the boot of Marcus Smith. The home side looked to be coasting but an Aussie attack down the left saw Suaalii pull off a beautifully timed one-handed pop pass under pressure from the England defence, to put Tom Wright in for the Wallabies' first try.

It sparked Australia into action as Tate McDermott, on as a blood bin replacement for Jake Gordon, burrowed through a gap to send captain Harry Wilson in for a second try, before a penalty off the reliable boot of Noah Lolesio gave the Wallabies an almost unthinkable halftime lead. Western Force lock Jeremy Williams kept the onslaught going after the break, ploughing down in the corner after a short-side attack to be awarded a try, despite a lengthy review over the grounding.

Lolesio kicked the Wallabies 10-points clear but England hit back after a clever grubber from Smith was latched on to by replacement Ollie Sleightholme to score. The same man exposed Suaalli in defence to cross again in the 68th minute as England re-took the lead but Andrew Kellaway scooped up a misplaced pass to put the Aussies ahead with five minutes left.

England sent the majority of the 82,000-strong home crowd into raptures when Itoje's late try and Smith's boot looked to have won it. But in an extraordinary passage of play four minutes into the red, the Wallabies' never-say-die attitude and willingness to spread the ball was rewarded as Ikitau sent Jorgensen clear for a try that Aussie fans are likely to watch again and again.

The thrilling victory capped off a superb debut for Suaalii, whose tall frame and athleticism constantly blunted England's high kicks. The former Roosters star showed flashes of brilliance in attack and was largely solid defending at outside centre and was even perhaps surprisingly named man-of-the-match for his maiden Test and first ever game in senior rugby.

Referee slammed over controversial Tom Curry incident

The win did not come without controversy though, as New Zealand referee Ben O'Keeffe was slammed by fans for allowing play to go on after England's Tom Curry was knocked out in a nasty first half incident. Curry copped an accidental knee to the head while trying to tackle Rob Valetini and lay motionless on the ground near the ruck as the Wallabies attacked.

It actually took a classy act from the Wallabies second-rower to bring a halt to proceedings as Valetini yelled at the referee to stop the match so Curry could be attended to. England were 15-3 up at the time and Suaalii set up the Wallabies' opening try shortly after the incident, but fans were livid that the referee did not stop play earlier.

with AAP