Woeful Wallabies sink to new Twickenham low with no set-piece and no swagger | Gerard Meagher

On the shivering Twickenham concourses shortly after full time, one well-oiled Australia supporter took it upon himself to congratulate his forlorn compatriots for at least turning up. Alas, there were 15 of them conspicuous by their absence.Make no mistake, and take nothing away from England, but this was a woeful Wallabies performance, as bad as anything served up in recent memory – the kind that will shake executives to the core with a home World Cup tournament less than 12 months away.It was once the case that the visit of Australia would strike fear into the hearts of the Twickenham faithful. Not any more: green and gold supporters come here in hope rather than expectation. Hope that the stunning 42-37 victory in 2024 might be repeated. The reality is that the past two visits to south-west London have been desperate experiences for the Wallabies. Last year they at least had the excuse that, because the fixture was taking place outside of the official international window, they were understrength due to player availability. No such straw to clutch at here, shipping a record number of points against England.There was none of the counterattacking swagger that they are capable of and little of the ball‑carrying thrust that some of their heavyweights can produce – at least not until the game was well and truly up. As has been the case for more than a decade, they do not have a fly-half of international quality, capable of managing the side through difficult away fixtures such as this, and their set piece fell to pieces.It is hard to assess the Wallabies without looking through the prism of the World Cup next year and the temptation is to write them off. Australia are the hosts and it is a generational opportunity to boost a sport that is on its knees. On this evidence, the head says that they will be also-rans, the heart hopes that this result proves an aberration. The reality is that the global game is a better place when the Wallabies are cocksure, strutting their stuff and showcasing those intrinsic ball‑handling talents.Let’s look for the positives, of which there were few. We can hope that the pay dispute between the Wallabies and Rugby Australia is settled sooner rather than later. This was a first hit out up north and they cannot be much worse against Scotland next week. Even once the month is over, there is still time to get things right before the World Cup. There will be a Rugby Championship in its entirety next year before the tournament begins. Perhaps Australia have come north determined to hide their light under a bushel.Max Jorgensen and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso tussle for a high ball. Photograph: Garry Bowden/ShutterstockIt is easy to say in hindsight but Les Kiss got his tactics badly wrong here and again the hope is that he does not do so to quite the same extent this time next year. Surely the best chance Australia had was to turn this contest into the sort of “you score, we score” fare served up in the first half of New Zealand’s victory against Scotland on Saturday. Instead, the Wallabies approached this contest as if determined to come back into the sheds at half-time with both sides still scoreless.Until Max Jorgensen’s intercept try on the stroke of half-time, Australia had been into England’s 22 just once. That solo entry came in the 37th minute. A lineout from which the Wallabies promptly coughed up the ball.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionThat Rob Valetini, Taniela Tupou and Filipo Daugunu had been left on the bench hinted strongly at a hope to turn the screw in the final quarter. By that stage England were out of sight and the impact of Australia’s bench was limited. Daugunu showed his power to score the Wallabies’ second try, Valetini made a few dents but the error count did not drop after the replacements came on.Fraser McReight, winning his 50th cap, was talked up in the buildup for his vaunted threat at the breakdown but he was ineffective, repeatedly questioning the referee, Pierre Brousset, as to why. Ryan Lonergan was ponderous at scrum-half, charged down once by Maro Itoje and often kicking too long. When he found his range, Joseph Suaalii was a threat under the high ball but that aside, Australia barely fired a shot.“We just didn’t get our game going at all,” said Kiss, which will be of little comfort to supporters. Gallows humour will not keep them turning up for ever.