Wallabies undone by unstoppable England
A 37-21 win against Australia means England is now unbeaten in a record-equalling 14 matches.
International rugby: England 37-21 Australia
England completed its perfect 2016 with a 37-21 victory over Australia at Twickenham.
The host had not lost since being beaten by the Wallabies at the same venue on its way to a humiliating Rugby World Cup exit in October 2015.
But England's fortunes have transformed since Eddie Jones replaced Stuart Lancaster as coach and Sunday's (AEDT) victory marks a 14th match unbeaten – equalling an England record set during World Cup winning coach Clive Woodward's time at the helm.
That sequence of victories included three from a series whitewash in Australia in June, but it was the visitors who made the stronger start on this occasion.
Michael Cheika's men failed to turn that dominance into heavy scoring, though, with England never more than 10 points adrift.
England reached the break just three points behind and opened up a defendable lead with the help of tries from Marland Yarde and Ben Youngs.
Sekope Kepu went over to give the Wallabies a fighting chance, but Jonathan Joseph made sure of the win with his second try of the match six minutes from time.
Australia got off to a shaky start as Bernard Foley missed a straightforward penalty inside the opening three minutes, perhaps put off by a helicopter that lingered long enough over the stadium to become a sufficient distraction.
England survived a scare soon after when Owen Farrell, running back towards his own try line to collect a bouncing ball, came under pressure from David Pocock, but the Australia flanker was shown to have knocked on when the decision went to the television match official (TMO).
The resulting scrum — a source of much debate in the build-up – produced the first try of the match.
England, which had the put-in, lost the ball and the visitors quickly spread wide left to tee up Sefa Naivalu for a simple run-in.
Foley – chopper gone – made no mistake on this occasion and Australia continued to dominate, seeing another touchdown ruled out by the TMO.
A Foley penalty took the Wallabies into double figures, before Farrell split the posts to get England off the mark.
Such had been the dominance of Australia in the early stages, that even the slightest sniff of a chance was greeted with an optimistic roar from the Twickenham crowd.
Australia escaped with its advantage intact after Yarde gave chase to George Ford kick, but it marked the beginning of a spell of England pressure.
Farrell chipped another three points from the Wallabies' lead after 28 minutes, before England's opportunistic opening try completed a turnaround for Jones's men.
Wallaby prop Kepu badly fumbled the ball, with Farrell swooping to punt downfield and Joseph won the race to collect and touch down under the posts.
Two more Foley penalties before the break ensured England's joy was short lived – for the time being at least.
The home side patiently worked through the phases at the beginning of the second period and Joseph's grubber kick – a throughball any Premier League playmaker would have been proud of – played in Yarde for a try that Farrell converted.
Youngs's quick thinking to find a way through a static Australia defence then put daylight between the sides as England moved 27-16 in front, and another Farrell penalty only strengthened the grip on the game.
Kepu atoned for his earlier error by pulling a try back for Australia, but Foley's conversion attempt was wayward and Joseph's interception try in the closing stages capitalised on a late yellow card for Australia winger Dane Haylett-Petty.
England pushed for more late on, but will be more than satisfied by becoming only the third tier-one nation to play 10 or more matches in a calendar year and win them all – a feat Australia has never achieved.
