Wallabies player ratings vs England | Nations Championship 2026

Only 10 of the Wallabies’ matchday 23 featured when Australia lost 25-7 at Allianz Stadium this time last year, but the end result was the same, if not much worse, as the visitors fell to a hugely disappointing 45-22 defeat.

Tries for wingers Max Jorgensen and replacement Filipo Daugunu and blindside Jeremy Williams were scant consolation for a well-beaten outfit whose lack of consistency at fly-half and centre remains an Achilles heel less than 12 months out from a home World Cup.

Here’s how we rated Australia’s players:

1. Angus Bell  – 5
Can feel slightly hard done by for receiving a yellow card in the 32nd minute for a hip-drop tackle on Feyi-Waboso. But it ultimately cost his side 14 points. Otherwise, you got what you expected from the loosehead – some scrum penalty wins and some losses and a few bullocking runs through the middle.

2. Billy Pollard – 5
Lost three lineout throws when Australia badly needed possession in a good area to get a foothold in the game, and made little impact as a carrier or defender.

3. Allan Alaalatoa – 5
Solid enough shift at scrum time but fairly anonymous in open play and was subbed off 45 minutes into the match.

4. Josh Canham – 7.5
Missed an early tackle on Feyi-Waboso but was Australia’s most effective forward on the whole. Put pressure on England’s throw with his lineout defence and was a towering presence on Australia’s own throw. Brilliant turnover near own tryline just when England were threatening to pile on the misery temporarily gave the men in green and gold some relief.

5. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto – 4
For such a big unit, Salakaia-Loto disappointingly failed to impose himself in physical confrontations and was hooked after 46 minutes.

6. Jeremy Williams – 6
This was Williams’ first Test start at blindside, having has only played a handful of professional games in the position, and he got more involved as the game wore on after a relatively inconspicuous first half on both sides of the ball. Showed good poacher’s instinct to drop on a loose ball and score his fourth Test try.

7. Fraser McReight – 5
Not the 50th cap performance that he’d have dreamt of. Unable to exact his influence at the breakdown or threaten to add to the five tries he has scored this year. Won five turnovers at Twickenham in 2025, but didn’t get a single one this time around.

8. Harry Wilson (c) – 6
Another head down, drive into contact performance from Wilson, who was leading Australia for the 30th time. Australia’s top tackler and carrier but the numbers weren’t exactly off the charts.

9. Ryan Lonergan – 5
The leading points scorer amongst Nations Championship teams this year, Lonergan got Australia on the board with a straightforward penalty in the 12th minute, moments after receiving some treatment for a neck injury. Was charged down from the restart inside his own 22, though, and he was not exactly error-free thereafter, with a missed tackle on Feyi-Waboso allowing England the momentum they needed to score their second try through Ollie Chessum.

10. Declan Meredith – 4
Failed to get the Wallabies attack to fire and almost embarrassed himself when he was slow to get back to defend a kick through from England. Tommy Freeman beat him in the chase but to the relief of the rookie fly-half, the England winger knocked on in the in-goal area. Will have sore ribs to remind him of an otherwise forgettable afternoon after being on the receiving end of a huge hit from Joe Heyes.

11. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii – 6
Continues to be wasted chasing kicks. Australia seem to have forgotten the super-powers that made the cross-code convert Player of the Match on debut at Twickenham in this fixture two years ago, and remain fixated on his aerial prowess instead. Was choke tackled in his first carry and defensively exposed on several occasions, but did liven up as an attacking threat as the game broke up.

12. Len Ikitau – 5.5
Not the return to the team he’d have wanted after missing the second Bledisloe Cup Test. As always, Ikitau was a willing carrier but was stopped on the gainline for the most part. And defensively, the Wallabies’ midfield was all at sea, again. Ikitau was left isolated when Immanuel Feyi-Waboso burst through with just 80 seconds gone for a ‘try’ that was subsequently disallowed for a forward pass and things didn’t get much better from there.

13. Isaac Henry – 5
Took the first kick-off cleanly but that was about as good as it got until a good run in the 50th minute which spared him a sub-5 rating, Has to take his share of the blame for a defence that was cut open far too easily and a kick out on the full summed up his afternoon.

14. Max Jorgensen – 6
Australia’s last-gasp matchwinner in 2024 gave the Wallabies the spark they needed with a 60-metre intercept try on the stroke of half-time. It was the Wallabies’ first visit ball in hand into the England 22, and the first time that the English-born wing had an opportunity to show his class on his 13th consecutive Test start. Was driven into touch by Henry Slade when he’d have have backed himself to score late on.

15. Tom Wright – 5.5
Good hands to put in Filipo Daugunu for his try just past the hour. Before that, he lit up up Twickenham with a few flashes of stepping brilliance and made an important tackle on a rampaging Feyi-Waboso in the first half, but will be frustrated that he wasn’t able to offer more. Being nutmegged by Henry Pollock will take some living down, and he has to take his share of the blame for Australia conceding a record number of points to England.

Bench: 5
Under-powered Australia brought on the likes of Taniela Tupou and Rob Valetini to try and get them so go-forward, but it was second-half try-scorer Filipo Daugunu who made the most impact, good and bad. He scored a try and then conceded one when offloading a present of a pass to Ben Spencer. Ben Donaldson came on at half-back and made one line break but lost the ball when thinking about an offload, and then threw a wild pass into touch.