Aussies hold off England A

England A 22-26 Australia

Australia's Petero Civoniceva tries to force his way through

World champions Australia were given a mighty scare by England's youngsters in a thrilling game at Griffin Park.

The Kangaroos lead 26-6 after 49 minutes with tries from Danny Buderus, Matt Sing, Robbie Kearns and Michael Crocker.

But England A hit back with second-half touchdowns from Martin Aspinwall, Martin Gleeson and Andy Lynch.

Craig Fitzgibbon kicked 10 points for Australia, with Chris Thorman replying with six points for the home side.

England's first try was a spectacular 60-metre effort came from Ade Gardner, who profited from a handling error by Aussie captain Darren Lockyer.

We had them on the rocks and were that close England's Rob Burrow

"We didn't play well," said Australia coach Chris Anderson.

"We dropped a lot of ball and created a lot of opportunities but didn't come up with the tries. It was a disappointing performance as far as us growing as a team."

Anderson praised the England team but felt his side had let them back in the game.

"At 26-6, the game should have been dead," he said.

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England A: Briscoe, Calderwood, Gleeson, Aspinwall, Gardner, Thorman, Burrow, Lynch, Diskin, Parker, Tickle, O'Loughlin, McGuire. Reps: Higham, Sculthorpe, Hock.

Australia: Lockyer, Sing, Hegarty, De Vere, Lewis, Gower, Kimmorley, Clinton, Buderus, Civoniceva, Simpson, Fitzgibbon, Ricketson. Reps: Crocker, Kearns, Waterhouse, Mason.

Referee: G Black (New Zealand).