England 37-42 Australia: Defeat exposes frailties once more

It is easy to imagine, somewhere in a Parisian hotel room, Eddie Jones chuckling at the television.

With his Japan side not playing France until the evening, he would have had just enough time to take in England’s defeat by his native Australia.

And, if not a repeat, the 64-year-old might have picked up on some recycled storylines.

Five years ago, during his own time in charge at Twickenham, England astonishingly squandered a 31-0 lead against Scotland, ultimately squeaking a 38-38 draw.

A grim-faced Jones said afterwards that losing had become a habit. He thought the prospect of victory triggered jitters that put it back out of his team’s reach.

“It is a recurring thing,” he said.

“It’s like we have some hand grenades in the back of a jeep and sometimes they go off when there’s a lot of pressure.”

It seems there are still some bouncing about in the boot.

And against Australia on Saturday, there was a whole fireworks display of frailties.

England contrived to win the match twice over and then, with the clock deep in the red, lost it again on a fatal, final play. They had led by 12 points in the first quarter, ahead with two minutes to play and a kick-off to come their way.

But, once again, the game squirmed free of their grasp as Len Ikitau got away from Ollie Sleightholme and Australia’s replacement wing Max Jorgensen gleefully hared into the corner.

England have lost their last four matches by margins of five, two, seven and one point. Captain Jamie George has resisted Jones’ old diagnosis, that their inability to see out matches is a psychological glitch.

But, until they grind through the pressure to victory, his team can’t dispel the theory either.