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Farrell's technique, squad depth: A look back on England's autumn

Kyle Sinckler of England runs with the ball during the Quilter International match between England and Australia at Twickenham Stadium on November 24, 2018 in London, United Kingdom.

England brought down the curtain on their Quilter International campaign with a 37-18 victory over Australia at Twickenham.

It means Eddie Jones' side finish November with three wins from four Tests, after seeing off South Africa and Japan, and narrowly losing out against the All Blacks.

What will Jones have learned from the four games? We look at some of the talking points from the campaign.

England are still not an 80-minute team

England have played brilliantly during parts of the autumn, but rarely have they consistently performed this autumn. Against the Springboks in their first Quilter International, Jones' side were taken apart in the first half, and if not for the Boks' misfiring lineout, could have been out of the game by half-time.

As it was, England fought back in the second half and registered an important win. A week later they took on the All Blacks, and for the first 30 minutes had completely outclassed the back-to-back world champions, taking a 15-0 lead through tries from Chris Ashton and Dylan Hartley. However, England failed to register any more points in the 50 minutes that remained, and lost 16-15.

Against Japan it was another poor first half, going into the break 15-10 down before finally seeing off the Brave Blossoms comfortably.

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Highlights from England's win over Australia at Twickenham Stadium

Unfortunately for Jones, his side still did not produce consistently against the Wallabies in their final outing of the autumn. Despite making a solid start to the game, and going ahead 13-3, Australia were allowed back in the game, and could even have gone into the break ahead, eventually levelling things for a 13-13 half-time scoreline.

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Ultimately England were the far better team on Saturday, but Jones may be slightly concerned that his charges are unable to stamp their mark on a game and keep their foot on the throat of the opposition.

Will Farrell's tackling technique come back to haunt England?

Owen Farrell was not penalised for his contentious tackle on South Africa's Andre Esterhuizen at the end of their match
Image: Owen Farrell was not penalised for his contentious tackle on South Africa's Andre Esterhuizen at the end of their match

Against the Springboks, Owen Farrell caused controversy by failing to wrap his arm in a tackle on Andre Esterhuizen in the final play of the game. After consulting the TMO, the referee was satisfied that Farrell had shown enough intent to wrap his arm in the tackle, and did not penalise the England fly-half.

Farrell was visibly relieved when the final whistle blew, but the experience doesn't seem to have encouraged any change in his technique.

Seconds before half-time in the game against the Wallabies, second rower Izack Rodda made a charge for the England tryline.

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England co-captain Owen Farrell says his side were at it from the start after beating Australia 37-18 at Twickenham.

Farrell flew up and appeared to have made a similar challenge on the Australian in order to stop a certain try, though referee Jaco Peyper said there was nothing wrong with the tackle.

Debate will no doubt rage on throughout the week, but regardless of whether the latest incident was a penalty, Farrell's technique could potentially cause problems for England in the future.

There is no doubting his talent, his influence on the team, and his world-class goalkicking, but there is also no doubting the fact that he has been fortunate to twice get away with game-changing moments without so much as a penalty.

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Australia coach Michael Cheika says that Australia 'should move up to the northern hemisphere' to be able to get decisions off referees after his side's defeat to England at Twickenham

England are building depth

Some of the stars of England's autumn campaign were not regular starters for the team at the beginning of this year. Sam Underhill was sensational against New Zealand, Mark Wilson has been a more than capable replacement for the injured Billy Vunipola, and Kyle Sinckler has had a November to remember.

Against the Boks, Sinckler made an enormous hit on the giant Eben Etzebeth to set the tone for the English forwards, and was similarly physical against the All Blacks.

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Will Greenwood and man-of-the-match Kyle Sinckler discuss England's performanceagainst Australia.

However, the prop saved his best performance for the game against the Wallabies, carrying with intent, and helping his side provide the perfect scrum platform that led to Jonny May's opening try.

With just 10 months to go before all the teams descend on Japan, Jones will be pleased with the way his squad depth has improved over the autumn.

With players like the Vunipola brothers still to be added to this team, and players such as Nathan Hughes and Joe Launchbury to push for places, you'd have to think that England are well placed to have a highly competitive squad when things kick off at the 2019 World Cup.

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