2016 England rugby union tour of Australia

In June 2016, England played a three-test series against Australia as part of the 2016 mid-year rugby union tests.[1] They played the Wallabies across the three weeks of the June International window, 11 June–25 June, and contested the Cook Cup, which England had previously won eight times to Australia's twelve. The series was part of the fourth year of the global rugby calendar established by the International Rugby Board, which runs through to 2019.[2]

2016 England rugby union tour of Australia
Coach(es)	Eddie Jones
Tour captain(s)	Dylan Hartley
Top test point scorer(s)	Owen Farrell (66)
Top test try scorer(s)	9 players with 1 try
Summary	P W D L
Total	03 03 00 00
Test match	03 03 00 00
Opponent	P W D L
Australia	3 3 0 0
Tour chronology
Previous tour	New Zealand 2014
Next tour	Argentina 2017

England won all three matches—the first time it had won a test series in Australia. After defeating the hosts in the second match, England retained the Cook Cup and achieved second place in the World Rugby Rankings,[3] demoting Australia to fourth. Australia had not lost every match in a home series since being "whitewashed" by South Africa in 1971.[4]

The Australian media joked about the England rugby team after the third test as the United Kingdom had voted to leave the European Union just two days earlier. [5]

Fixtures

Date and time	Venue	Home	Score	Away
11 June 2016, 20:00 AEST (UTC+10)	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane	Australia	28–39	England
18 June 2016, 20:00 AEST (UTC+10)	AAMI Park, Melbourne	Australia	7–23	England
25 June 2016, 20:00 AEST (UTC+10)	Allianz Stadium, Sydney	Australia	40–44	England

Squads

Note: Ages, caps and clubs are as per 11 June, the first test match of the tour.

England

On 22 May, Eddie Jones named a 32-man squad for England's tour of Australia. An additional 5 players (Dave Attwood, Luther Burrell, Ollie Devoto, Matt Kvesic, Tommy Taylor) were also named ahead of the test match against Wales on 29 May, the day after the Aviva Premiership final between Saracens and Exeter Chiefs.[6] Ben Te'o, whose mother is English, was named in the squad, despite playing for Irish province Leinster, since he will be moving to Worcester Warriors for the 2016/17 season, making him eligible for selection.

On 30 May, Luther Burrell replaced Manu Tuilagi in the touring squad after Tuilagi withdrew from the squad due to injury.[7]

Coaching team:

• Head coach: Eddie Jones
• Defence coach: Paul Gustard
• Attack/Skills coach: Glen Ella
• Forwards coach: Steve Borthwick

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club/province
Luke Cowan-Dickie	Hooker	20 June 1993 (aged 22)	3	Exeter Chiefs
Jamie George	Hooker	20 June 1990 (aged 25)	6	Saracens
Dylan Hartley (c)	Hooker	24 March 1986 (aged 30)	72	Northampton Saints
Dan Cole	Prop	9 May 1987 (aged 29)	62	Leicester Tigers
Ellis Genge	Prop	16 February 1995 (aged 21)	1	Leicester Tigers
Paul Hill	Prop	2 March 1995 (aged 21)	2	Northampton Saints
Matt Mullan	Prop	23 February 1987 (aged 29)	10	Wasps
Kyle Sinckler	Prop	10 March 1993 (aged 23)	0	Harlequins
Mako Vunipola	Prop	13 January 1991 (aged 25)	32	Saracens
Maro Itoje	Lock	28 October 1994 (aged 21)	4	Saracens
George Kruis	Lock	22 February 1990 (aged 26)	15	Saracens
Joe Launchbury	Lock	12 April 1991 (aged 25)	32	Wasps
Courtney Lawes	Lock	23 February 1989 (aged 27)	46	Northampton Saints
Jack Clifford	Flanker	22 February 1993 (aged 23)	6	Harlequins
Teimana Harrison	Flanker	5 September 1992 (aged 23)	1	Northampton Saints
James Haskell	Flanker	2 April 1985 (aged 31)	68	Wasps
Chris Robshaw	Flanker	4 June 1986 (aged 30)	48	Harlequins
Billy Vunipola	Number 8	3 November 1992 (aged 23)	26	Saracens
Danny Care	Scrum-half	2 January 1987 (aged 29)	59	Harlequins
Ben Youngs	Scrum-half	5 September 1989 (aged 26)	58	Leicester Tigers
Owen Farrell	Fly-half	24 September 1991 (aged 24)	40	Saracens
George Ford	Fly-half	16 March 1993 (aged 23)	23	Bath
Luther Burrell	Centre	6 December 1987 (aged 28)	14	Northampton Saints
Elliot Daly	Centre	8 October 1992 (aged 23)	3	Wasps
Jonathan Joseph	Centre	21 May 1991 (aged 25)	22	Bath
Henry Slade	Centre	19 March 1993 (aged 23)	2	Exeter Chiefs
Ben Te'o	Centre	27 January 1987 (aged 29)	0	Worcester Warriors
Jack Nowell	Wing	11 April 1993 (aged 23)	15	Exeter Chiefs
Anthony Watson	Wing	26 February 1994 (aged 22)	21	Bath
Marland Yarde	Wing	20 April 1992 (aged 24)	8	Harlequins
Mike Brown	Fullback	4 September 1985 (aged 30)	49	Harlequins
Alex Goode	Fullback	7 May 1988 (aged 28)	20	Saracens

Australia

On 26 May 2016, Michael Cheika named a 39-man extended squad for their June test series against England.[8]

On 30 May 2016, Reece Hodge was called up to the squad to replace the injured Mike Harris.[9]

On 3 June 2016, Michael Cheika named a final 33-man squad for the test series, with Adam Coleman, Liam Gill, James Hanson, Leroy Houston, Eto Nabuli and Joe Powell missing out on the final cut.[10]

On 12 June, Matt Toomua joined the squad as un-listed member of the squad after recovering from his knee surgery.[11] Liam Gill also joined the squad after David Pocock was ruled out of the rest of the series.[12][13]

On 20 June, Ben McCalman was ruled out of the last test of the series due to injury and was replaced by Leroy Houston in the squad.[14]

On 23 June, Adam Coleman was named in an extended match-day 23 for the final test, despite not being in the initial 33-man squad.[15]

Coaching team:

• Head coach: Michael Cheika
• Defence coach: Nathan Grey
• Forwards coach: Mario Ledesma
• Backs/Attack coach: Stephen Larkham

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club/province
Stephen Moore	Hooker	20 January 1983 (aged 33)	102	Brumbies
Tatafu Polota-Nau	Hooker	26 July 1985 (aged 30)	61	Waratahs
Allan Alaalatoa	Prop	28 January 1994 (aged 22)	0	Brumbies
Greg Holmes	Prop	11 June 1983 (aged 33)	24	Queensland Reds
Sekope Kepu	Prop	5 February 1986 (aged 30)	63	Bordeaux Bègles
Scott Sio	Prop	16 October 1991 (aged 24)	16	Brumbies
James Slipper	Prop	6 June 1989 (aged 27)	74	Queensland Reds
Toby Smith	Prop	10 October 1988 (aged 27)	3	Melbourne Rebels
Rory Arnold	Lock	1 July 1990 (aged 25)	0	Brumbies
Sam Carter	Lock	10 September 1989 (aged 26)	12	Brumbies
Adam Coleman	Lock	7 October 1991 (aged 24)	0	Western Force
James Horwill	Lock	29 May 1985 (aged 31)	61	Harlequins
Dean Mumm	Lock	5 March 1984 (aged 32)	44	Waratahs
Rob Simmons	Lock	19 April 1989 (aged 27)	60	Queensland Reds
Will Skelton	Lock	3 May 1992 (aged 24)	14	Waratahs
Scott Fardy	Flanker	5 July 1984 (aged 31)	30	Brumbies
Liam Gill	Flanker	8 June 1992 (aged 24)	15	Queensland Reds
Michael Hooper	Flanker	29 October 1991 (aged 24)	51	Waratahs
Sean McMahon	Flanker	18 June 1994 (aged 21)	6	Melbourne Rebels
David Pocock	Flanker	23 April 1988 (aged 28)	55	Brumbies
Leroy Houston	Number 8	10 November 1986 (aged 29)	0	Queensland Reds
Ben McCalman	Number 8	18 March 1988 (aged 28)	47	Western Force
Wycliff Palu	Number 8	27 July 1982 (aged 33)	57	Waratahs
Nick Frisby	Scrum-half	29 October 1992 (aged 23)	0	Queensland Reds
Nick Phipps	Scrum-half	9 January 1989 (aged 27)	39	Waratahs
Bernard Foley	Fly-half	8 September 1989 (aged 26)	27	Waratahs
Christian Lealiifano	Fly-half	24 September 1987 (aged 28)	16	Brumbies
Karmichael Hunt	Centre	17 November 1986 (aged 29)	0	Queensland Reds
Samu Kerevi	Centre	27 September 1993 (aged 22)	0	Queensland Reds
Tevita Kuridrani	Centre	31 March 1991 (aged 25)	31	Brumbies
Matt Toomua	Centre	2 January 1990 (aged 26)	31	Brumbies
Dane Haylett-Petty	Wing	18 June 1989 (aged 26)	0	Western Force
Rob Horne	Wing	15 August 1989 (aged 26)	29	Waratahs
Luke Morahan	Wing	13 April 1990 (aged 26)	1	Western Force
Taqele Naiyaravoro	Wing	7 December 1991 (aged 24)	1	Waratahs
Israel Folau	Fullback	3 April 1989 (aged 27)	38	Waratahs
Mike Harris	Fullback	8 July 1988 (aged 27)	10	Melbourne Rebels
Reece Hodge	Fullback	26 August 1994 (aged 21)	0	Melbourne Rebels

Matches

First test

11 June 2016 20:00 AEST (UTC+10)

Australia	28–39	England
Try: Hooper (2) 8' m, 58' m Folau 15' m Kuridrani 70' c Con: Foley (1/4) 71' Pen: Foley (2/2) 36', 77'	Report[16]	Try: Joseph 31' c Yarde 45' c Nowell 79' c Con: Farrell (3/3) 32', 47', 80' Pen: Farrell (6/7) 20', 27', 30', 40', 56', 66'

Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane [17] Attendance: 48,735 Referee: Romain Poite (France)

FB 15 Israel Folau RW 14 Dane Haylett-Petty OC 13 Tevita Kuridrani IC 12 Samu Kerevi LW 11 Rob Horne  28' FH 10 Bernard Foley SH 9 Nick Phipps  77' N8 8 David Pocock OF 7 Michael Hooper  69' BF 6 Scott Fardy  67'  69' RL 5 Rob Simmons  24' LL 4 Rory Arnold  47' TP 3 Greg Holmes  56' HK 2 Stephen Moore (c)  56' LP 1 Scott Sio 53' to 63'  65' Replacements: HK 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau  56' PR 17 James Slipper  65' PR 18 Sekope Kepu  56' LK 19 James Horwill  24' LK 20 Dean Mumm  47' FL 21 Sean McMahon  67' SH 22 Nick Frisby  77' FH 23 Christian Lealiifano  28' Coach: Michael Cheika

FB 15 Mike Brown RW 14 Anthony Watson  69' OC 13 Jonathan Joseph IC 12 Luther Burrell  28' LW 11 Marland Yarde FH 10 Owen Farrell SH 9 Ben Youngs  69' N8 8 Billy Vunipola  71' OF 7 James Haskell BF 6 Chris Robshaw RL 5 George Kruis  59' LL 4 Maro Itoje TP 3 Dan Cole  65' HK 2 Dylan Hartley (c)  71' LP 1 Mako Vunipola  65' Replacements: HK 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie  71' PR 17 Matt Mullan  65' PR 18 Paul Hill  65' LK 19 Joe Launchbury  71' LK 20 Courtney Lawes  59' SH 21 Danny Care  69' FH 22 George Ford  28' WG 23 Jack Nowell  69' Coach: Eddie Jones

Man of the Match: James Haskell (England) Touch judges: Craig Joubert (South Africa) Glen Jackson (New Zealand) Television match official: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Notes:

• Rory Arnold, Nick Frisby, Samu Kerevi and Dane Haylett-Petty (all Australia) made their international debuts.
• Mike Brown (England) earned his 50th test cap.
• England win back-to-back tests in Australia for the first time since 2003, while winning in Brisbane for the first time ever.
• The 39 points scored by England, are the most points scored by England against Australia.

Second test

18 June 2016 20:00 AEST (UTC+10)

Australia	7–23	England
Try: Moore 34' c Con: Foley (1/1) 35'	Report[18]	Try: Hartley 18' c Farrell 74' c Con: Farrell (2/2) 19', 75' Pen: Farrell (3/4) 30', 51', 79'

AAMI Park, Melbourne [17] Attendance: 29,871 Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)

FB 15 Israel Folau RW 14 Dane Haylett-Petty  69' OC 13 Tevita Kuridrani IC 12 Samu Kerevi  60' LW 11 Rob Horne FH 10 Bernard Foley SH 9 Nick Phipps  69' N8 8 Sean McMahon  50' OF 7 Michael Hooper BF 6 Scott Fardy RL 5 Sam Carter LL 4 Rory Arnold 33' to 40'  50' TP 3 Sekope Kepu  46' HK 2 Stephen Moore (c)  54' LP 1 James Slipper  46' Replacements: HK 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau  54' PR 17 Toby Smith  46' PR 18 Greg Holmes  46' LK 19 Dean Mumm  33'  40'  50' N8 20 Ben McCalman  50' SH 21 Nick Frisby  69' CE 22 Christian Lealiifano  60' WG 23 Luke Morahan  69' Coach: Michael Cheika

FB 15 Mike Brown RW 14 Anthony Watson  76' OC 13 Jonathan Joseph IC 12 Owen Farrell LW 11 Jack Nowell FH 10 George Ford SH 9 Ben Youngs  65' N8 8 Billy Vunipola OF 7 James Haskell  71' BF 6 Chris Robshaw  71' RL 5 George Kruis  55' LL 4 Maro Itoje TP 3 Dan Cole  65' HK 2 Dylan Hartley (c)  71' LP 1 Mako Vunipola  65' Replacements: HK 16 Jamie George  71' PR 17 Matt Mullan  65' PR 18 Paul Hill  65' LK 19 Joe Launchbury  71' LK 20 Courtney Lawes  55' FL 21 Jack Clifford  71' SH 22 Danny Care  65' CE 23 Elliot Daly  76' Coach: Eddie Jones

Man of the Match: Chris Robshaw (England) Touch judges: Nigel Owens (Wales) Mike Fraser (New Zealand) Television match official: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

Notes:

• Chris Robshaw (England) earned his 50th test cap, having started all of his appearances.
• The 16 points England won by is the most they have ever beaten Australia by in Australia, breaking the record of 11 points they set the previous week.
• England retain the Cook Cup for the third consecutive time.
• England win their first ever test series against Australia.
• England win their third consecutive match against Australia in Australia, the first time they have done this.

Third test

25 June 2016 20:00 AEST (UTC+10)

Australia	40–44	England
Try: Foley 12' c Haylett-Petty 20' m Hooper 50' c Folau 57' c Naiyaravoro 80' m Con: Foley (3/5) 13', 51', 58' Pen: Foley (3/4) 27', 40', 71'	Report[19]	Try: Cole 10' c Brown 29' c B. Vunipola 43' m George 66' c Con: Farrell (3/4) 11', 30', 67' Pen: Farrell (6/6) 25', 47', 55', 61', 69', 79'

Allianz Stadium, Sydney [17] Attendance: 44,063 Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

FB 15 Israel Folau RW 14 Dane Haylett-Petty OC 13 Tevita Kuridrani IC 12 Matt Toomua  67' LW 11 Rob Horne  67' FH 10 Bernard Foley SH 9 Nick Phipps N8 8 Sean McMahon OF 7 Michael Hooper BF 6 Scott Fardy RL 5 Rob Simmons  40' LL 4 Will Skelton  51' TP 3 Sekope Kepu  58' HK 2 Stephen Moore (c)  62' LP 1 James Slipper  58' Replacements: HK 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau  62' PR 17 Scott Sio  58' PR 18 Greg Holmes  58' LK 19 Adam Coleman  40' N8 20 Wycliff Palu  51' SH 21 Nick Frisby FH 22 Christian Lealiifano  67' WG 23 Taqele Naiyaravoro  67' Coach: Michael Cheika

FB 15 Mike Brown RW 14 Anthony Watson OC 13 Jonathan Joseph IC 12 Owen Farrell LW 11 Jack Nowell FH 10 George Ford SH 9 Ben Youngs  53' N8 8 Billy Vunipola  74' OF 7 Teimana Harrison  31' BF 6 Chris Robshaw  53' RL 5 George Kruis  61' LL 4 Maro Itoje TP 3 Dan Cole  67' HK 2 Dylan Hartley (c)  63' LP 1 Mako Vunipola  79' Replacements: HK 16 Jamie George  63' PR 17 Matt Mullan  79' PR 18 Paul Hill  67' LK 19 Joe Launchbury  61' LK 20 Courtney Lawes  31' FL 21 Jack Clifford  53' SH 22 Danny Care  53' CE 23 Elliot Daly  74' Coach: Eddie Jones

Man of the Match: Owen Farrell (England) Touch judges: Craig Joubert (South Africa) Mike Fraser (New Zealand) Television match official: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Notes:

• Adam Coleman (Australia) made his international debut.
• England score their most points against Australia in Australia, surpassing the 39 points scored in the first test of this test series.
• Australia lose 3–0 for the first time since they lost their three-test series to South Africa in 1971.
• This was the first time three matches had been played in a series between England and Australia.[17]

Statistics

Key

• Con: Conversions
• Pen: Penalties
• DG: Drop goals
• Pts: Points

England statistics Name Played Tries Con Pen DG Pts Owen Farrell 3 1 8 15 0 66 – – Mike Brown 3 1 0 0 0 5 – – Dan Cole 3 1 0 0 0 5 – – Dylan Hartley 3 1 0 0 0 5 – – Jonathan Joseph 3 1 0 0 0 5 – – Jack Nowell 3 1 0 0 0 5 – – Billy Vunipola 3 1 0 0 0 5 – – Jamie George 2 1 0 0 0 5 – – Marland Yarde 1 1 0 0 0 5 – – Danny Care 3 0 0 0 0 0 – – George Ford 3 0 0 0 0 0 – – Paul Hill 3 0 0 0 0 0 – – Maro Itoje 3 0 0 0 0 0 – – George Kruis 3 0 0 0 0 0 – – Joe Launchbury 3 0 0 0 0 0 – – Courtney Lawes 3 0 0 0 0 0 – – Matt Mullan 3 0 0 0 0 0 – – Chris Robshaw 3 0 0 0 0 0 – – Mako Vunipola 3 0 0 0 0 0 – – Anthony Watson 3 0 0 0 0 0 – – Ben Youngs 3 0 0 0 0 0 – – Jack Clifford 2 0 0 0 0 0 – – Elliot Daly 2 0 0 0 0 0 – – James Haskell 2 0 0 0 0 0 – – Luther Burrell 1 0 0 0 0 0 – – Luke Cowan-Dickie 1 0 0 0 0 0 – – Teimana Harrison 1 0 0 0 0 0 – – Ellis Genge – – – – – 0 – – Alex Goode – – – – – 0 – – Kyle Sinckler – – – – – 0 – – Henry Slade – – – – – 0 – – Ben Te'o – – – – – 0 – – Manu Tuilagi – – – – – 0 – –

Test series statistics Name Team Tries Con Pen DG Pts Owen Farrell  England 1 8 15 0 66 Bernard Foley  Australia 1 5 5 0 30 Michael Hooper  Australia 3 0 0 0 15 Israel Folau  Australia 2 0 0 0 10 Mike Brown  England 1 0 0 0 5 Dan Cole  England 1 0 0 0 5 Jamie George  England 1 0 0 0 5 Dylan Hartley  England 1 0 0 0 5 Dane Haylett-Petty  Australia 1 0 0 0 5 Jonathan Joseph  England 1 0 0 0 5 Tevita Kuridrani  Australia 1 0 0 0 5 Stephen Moore  Australia 1 0 0 0 5 Taqele Naiyaravoro  Australia 1 0 0 0 5 Jack Nowell  England 1 0 0 0 5 Billy Vunipola  England 1 0 0 0 5 Marland Yarde  England 1 0 0 0 5

See also

• 2016 mid-year rugby union internationals
• History of rugby union matches between Australia and England

References

1. "Australia to host England in historic three-Test series in 2016". 19 June 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2017 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
2. "IRB approve new 10-year playing schedule". Rugby Week. 18 May 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
3. "England hold on to win historic series in Australia". Rugby Week. 18 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
4. Stafford, James (25 June 2016). "Australia vs England: Visitors claim historic 'whitewash' of Wallabies in Sydney". Rugby Week. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
5. Daily Telegraph/
6. "Te'o named in England tour squad". englandrugby.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
7. "Burrell called into England tour squad". englandrugby.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
8. "Wallabies squad full of surprises". www.rugby.com.au. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
9. "Hodge wants to make most of Wallabies whirlwind". www.rugby.com.au. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
10. "Hodge survives first Wallabies cut". www.rugby.com.au. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
11. "Wallabies could rush in Toomua for second Test". couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
12. "Pocock ruled out of June Test series". www.rugby.com.au. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
13. "McMahon replaces Pocock in Wallabies reshuffle". www.rugby.com.au. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
14. "McCalman to miss up to six weeks". www.rugby.com.au. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
15. "Skelton hasn't shown his best: Cheika". www.rugby.com.au. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
16. "Australia vs England - Report - Friendly 2016 - 12 Jun, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
17. "Qantas Wallabies to host England in historic 2016 test series". Australia Rugby. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
18. "Australia vs England - Report - Friendly 2016 - 19 Jun, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
19. "Australia vs England - Report - Friendly 2016 - 26 Jun, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.