Former Wales captain Dan Biggar believes England’s inability to convert pressure into points is the “one disappointment” from their victory over Australia.
Though Steve Borthwick’s side left Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium 25-7 winners in their opening match of the Autumn Nations Series, the game was very much in the balance before England pulled away at the hour mark, aided by their impressive bench.
The hosts held a 10-7 lead before substitute Henry Pollock scored on 58 minutes to extend the lead to 15-7, before Alex Mitchell and Luke Cowan-Dickie added two further tries in the final 10 minutes.
However, England had dominated large swathes of the game, particularly in the first half, with very little reward. Speaking on The Rugby Pod this week, Biggar praised England for being “well-drilled” and structured “perfectly”, but raised this concern, saying the higher-ranked teams in the world would punish England for being so profligate.
There were two held-up tries in the first-half, with Harry Potter’s interception try coming just two-and-a-half minutes after he himself had held Ben Earl up, but England’s 10-7 lead going into the break was not reflective of the half that had just been played.