England beat the Wallabies on Sunday morning (AEDT) not just because they were the better team, but because they could play according to their game plan for longer. Image: ABC Grandstand

The Roar: Ah, the Wallabies. They giveth, and they taketh away. Often in the same match.

So it was again, for the fourth time this year, that a chronic lack of plan B proved their great undoing in the final match of the season. A little over a week ago, a 2016 record of eight wins-seven losses looked very possible, and there’s no doubting Wallabies fans would’ve been thrilled after the way the year started.

The sporadic signs of improvement over the back-half of the year would’ve genuinely pointed in the right direction with an 8 and 7 record, and though the Cook and Bledisloe Cups were long gone, the season would’ve finished in much better health than it started. Heck, even seven wins-either losses probably would’ve have been swallowed in time, for much the same reason.

But 6 and 9 doesn’t quite wash, does it?

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