James Haskell, Nigel Owens and Clermont Auvergne feature in Stuart Barnes' talking points from the weekend's rugby action.
1. There is nowhere else to start than the Australian Rules city that is Melbourne. In front of a mere 30,000 spectators, England came up with an unbelievably heroic rearguard action to withstand wave after wave of Australian pressure.
To make so many tackles and have so little possession and win is something quite remarkable. England will not want to make a habit of playing in such a style but once in a while it makes for a memorable occasion.
Yes, England's defence was daunting but this was a triumph of the will as much as anything. It was an unforgettable 80 minutes of rugby.
2. I saw the Wales game before the England Australia match kicked off but my hotel room didn't have the channel required to watch the Ireland South Africa match as I typed late into the night for my newspaper bosses.
It seems Ireland gave a great account of their selves. However, I want to watch the game before making any comment, so the Ellis Park game will have to wait until I am safely back in England.
As for Wales, it was the same old, same old. They were competitive for 40 minutes but New Zealand ran away from them in a brilliant 10-minute spell of attacking rugby. The late consolation tries mean nothing, the All Blacks have a habit of slacking off when the job is done.
The gap is greater than some would have you believe; that is the gap between New Zealand and Wales and New Zealand and the rest.
3. The high point of the weekend from a skills point of view must have been Waisake Naholo's try. Kieran Read's pick up from the base and lofted pass to Aaron Smith was poetry. Smith's pass to the winger was as slick as you'd expect from the world's best No 9 and the winger sauntered over. Beautiful.
4. On the subject of No 8's, who the hell is going to wear that jersey when the Lions meet New Zealand in a year's time?
Billy Vunipola produced an absolutely monstrous second-half performance in Melbourne but that other Tongan, Wales' Talupe Falatau, was as ubiquitous as ever. If both stay fit the highlight of the 2017 tour is going to be the two of them combining to take on the man who's still the world's best, Mr Kieran Read.
5. I wonder whether James Haskell will be in contention. If he keeps his present standards up he'll walk into any team in the world but if he keeps playing as he is, the bloke won't be walking without the aid of a stick. He hobbled from the field in Melbourne as one of England's heroes of the hour.
His career has been long, it has sometimes been distinguished, at other times a little embarrassing but I hope 'the Hask' makes sure he keeps the DVD of these Tests and the press cuttings to go with them. When he is old and grey and full of sleep and nodding by the fire, he'll relish watching these games back.
6. I bumped into another of England's rocks in the lift Sunday morning. Chris Robshaw has had an interesting year to say the least.
He's taken more than his fair share of stick, plenty of it from me. But there he was, magnanimous in his man-of-the- match moment, extending the hand in friendship. Already impressed by the gesture I was blown away when he admitted that the body ached and so did the head.
England may be after a 3-0 series win in Sydney next week, but that didn't stop Eddie Jones allowing them to let their hair down. God knows to a man they deserved it.
7. Not such a great evening for World Cup final referee, Nigel Owens. The Welshman running the touchline intervened in the second half and informed Craig Joubert that Owen Farrell had shouldered Aussie fly-half, Bernard Foley out of his path with Foley innocently running backwards.
Notified, the referee watched the incident and came to the conclusion that the Australian had checked Farrell's chase and deserved a barge out the way. The penalty was duly awarded but England's way. Rarely has the great Owens' opinion been treated with such disdain.
8. In the first Test, Steve Borthwick earned his corn. Neal Hatley has done well with the England scrum in both Tests to date while Paul Gustard has been garlanded with praise for the mighty defensive effort Saturday night. Jones has pulled it together masterfully.
At the Sydney Football Stadium we await some Ella magic. Glen has played a subordinate role until now but with the series sealed it would be great to see some stylish attacking play. The breakdown ball still needs to be quicker if England are to bruise Australia as much with their running as their tackling.
9. In the spirit of World Rugby and their new-found commitment to rugby nations from all tiers, a mention here for the Monaco Sevens. Ireland beating Samoa counted as quite the giant-killing in the sevens code but the most interesting result was the win for Germany over Canada.
10. Staying in France (not technically, but you jet-set readers know what I mean) my eye nearly leaked a tear for my favourite French team, Clermont Auvergne. Once again the friendliest and most passionate team in France have found a way to inflict maximum damage upon selves and supporters.
27-27 at full-time against Racing in the Top 14 semi, they sneaked a six point lead only to see Daniel Carter convert a try three minutes from the end of extra time to send them back despairingly to the Auvergne as the Carter show rolls onto Barcelona.
Lyon was an anti-climactic afternoon for the great man, will Catalonia be the scene of a mass Parisian homage?