‘We’ve done it before’: Max Jorgensen looks ahead to England challenge

More than 81,000 fans watched from the stands at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium as the Wallabies and England played out a 42-37 thriller two years, which was decided by some Len Ikitau brilliance and lightning-quick pace from Max Jorgensen.

Maro Itoje had crashed over inside the final five minutes to put England in front, but the Wallabies dared to dream as the clock ticked beyond 80 minutes. The Aussies spread the ball left in the 84^th minute, executing a game-defining play to perfection.

Fraser McReight drew in some defenders with clever link-up play before Ikitau delivered a famous flick pass to ‘Jorgo’ in space. The winger flew down the left sideline at the home of rugby, before swan diving over the try line for go-ahead points.

England claimed some revenge with a clinical result against the Wallabies at the same venue 12 months ago, and now a new chapter in this storied sporting rivalry will be written in the November Nations Championship window.

The Wallabies left Australia’s shores last weekend, making the long-haul trip to the United Kingdom before their final four Tests of the season. Jorgensen described Allianz Stadium as a “daunting place” but is drawing belief from that famous night in 2024.

“Two years ago, 2024, it was a pretty special night for the whole team,” Jorgensen told reporters this week.

“It’s pretty cool to win at Twickenham, the home of rugby. It’s a hard place to win. To do it in that fashion was pretty cool.

“Obviously, a disappointing one last year, didn’t really go our way, not how we hoped. We want to take those learnings into this week and hopefully put out a really good performance.”

Jorgensen added: “Just having that feeling and knowing you can win at Twickenham, that you’ve done it before. It can be a daunting place, 85,000 singing, chanting. It’s a different type of atmosphere than you get over in Australia.

“To have that confidence of knowing we’ve done it before and that we can do it is definitely good.”

The Wallabies are looking to bounce back from two Bledisloe Cup defeats, with the All Blacks sweeping the series 2-0. Bit before that, the Aussies were six games unbeaten, with new coach Les Kiss overseeing five of those.

Joe Schmidt’s final game in charge was a 57-10 demolition of Italy in Perth, before Kiss guided the side to famous results against Japan and Argentina. It was the first time the Wallabies had secured a series win away to Los Pumas, having drawn the second Test.

“Had a good training day today, some good stuff out there and the boys are feeling really good,” Jorgensen explained.

“A couple of disappointing losses against the All Blacks. We had six straight games where we’re playing some really good footy so we’re building on that, taking the harsh learnings from the All Blacks and then taking those learnings into this week.”