‘Absolutely stupid’: Wallabies fume over contentious yellow card in England clash

After suffering a two-point loss last weekend, the visitors started 13-0 at Suncorp Stadium with England number 8 Billy Vunipola diving in the fourth minute.

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England were on the attack again soon after, with five-eighth Marcus Smith throwing a cut pass to Tommy Freeman on the left wing in the 21st minute.

But Perese stepped in, desperately jumping to his right with an outstretched hand and dropping the chance for an interception – much to the frustration of the Aussie fans.

However, boos echoed around the room after the 25-year-old was shown a yellow card for a deliberate chaining, leaving the Wallabies with 14 men for 10 minutes.

“It’s not clear and deliberate,” former All Black Andrew Mehrtens said in a commentary to Stan Sport.

“I absolutely disagree with that.”

Australian legend Tim Horan continued: “I don’t know what else you’re supposed to do.

“There’s no movement to hit that ball, he’s trying to get it in.

“That’s the absurdity we’re seeing right now, there’s just no common sense applied to some decisions.”

To add salt to the wound, star center Owen Farrell kicked in a penalty to extend England’s lead to 16-0.

Injured Wallabies winger Andrew Kellaway fumed: “What is he supposed to do? He goes for the ball. As a fan, I would hate to see it. The only people who seem happy about it are England.

Fortunately, the Wallabies managed to score a try before the half-time break, with prop Taniela Tupou scoring Australia’s first points in the 36th minute.

England returned to the hangars with a 19-7 lead, but Australia’s woes only worsened in the second half, with the Wallabies dropping like flies as the hosts were ravaged by injuries.

Either way, Australia cut the deficit to just five points after center Samu Kerevi dived untouched in the 48th minute.

But it was too little too late for the Wallabies, who eventually suffered a 25-17 defeat to set up a tantalizing series decider in Sydney next weekend.

“We wanted to get out fast,” England captain Courtney Lawes said after the eight-point win.

We had to earn it. We set the tone early on. We managed to stick to it. »

Kerevi said: “I think we were our own worst enemies there. England played exceptionally well. They played to their strengths. Congratulations to them.

Wallabies captain Michael Hooper continued: “It was always going to be tough, but we wanted to hold on. They were throwing punches and going down our throats pretty well. We managed to stop the bleeding and get back into the game. The fight in this team … was really nice.

Earlier, the Wallabies were showered with praise for singing the Australian national anthem in the Yugambeh language in recognition of NAIDOC week.