England debutant a bright spark in a disappointing defeat

Watch: Henry Arundell try with first touch in Test rugby

There has been a lot of hype around Henry Arundell over the past few months given the wonder tries that he has scored for London Irish – and he lived up to the billing when making his England debut.

The 19-year-old wing came off the bench to win his first cap in the closing minutes of the first Test against Australia in Perth and he scored a try with his first touch in international rugby!

The match was already lost, with the Wallabies leading 30-14 going into the last minute, but Arundell was quick to show his power and pace when receiving the ball on the wing.

He barged through the attempted tackles of two Australia defenders and then burst away from another couple of Wallabies to score in the corner.

Another England debutant, scrum-half Jack van Poortlviet, followed Arundell’s lead by darting through a gap close to the line to score once the clock was in the red too.

Of Arundell, England coach Eddie Jones told Sky Sports after the match: “He’s going to be a good player. If he keeps learning and keeps working hard, he’ll be a special talent for us.

“The other guy is JvP, who came on at half-back in his first Test and equipped himself well. They are the positives to come out of a loss we’re very disappointed in.”

Those two were bright sparks for England but, as Jones said, to lose 30-28 against a team that suffered injury disruption and had a player red-carded is hugely disappointing.

Darcy Swain was sent off in the first half for a headbutt on Jonny Hill and England dominated for large periods, but they were unable to make that dominance count on the scoreboard.

In contrast, the Wallabies showed tremendous character to fight back and deliver their first win over England since 2015.

It’s set up a fascinating series Down Under.

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