England collapsed to another heartbreaking defeat in their Autumn Nations series when Max Jorgensen scored three minutes into extra time to snatch a 42-37 victory for Australia at the Allianz Stadium.

Marcus Smith appeared to have orchestrated a successful fightback for Steve Borthwick’s side by creating two tries for Ollie Sleightholme, only for a rollercoaster climax to leave him hitting the field in despair.

It looked as if England had finally gained the upper hand when Maro Itoje stepped up in the 77th minute to cancel out Andrew Kellaway’s breakaway try two minutes earlier, but the Wallabies were not finished.

As the match was about to enter its 83rd minute, they created the opportunity for Jorgensen to score with rugby league superstar Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i involved in a stylish union debut .

It was a cruel ending, but England paid the price for a poor defensive performance and lost both of their autumn matches so far after losing 24-22 to New Zealand a week earlier .

South Africa are the next visitors to Twickenham in seven days’ time, but this grudge match must be tackled without Tom Curry, the open side who was knocked out to Rob Valetini.

The game was delayed for several minutes while Curry received treatment and the Sale forward was eventually able to leave the field, but he now faces a 12-day layoff period.

Australia’s initial comeback coincided with his 23rd-minute departure and England were also disrupted by the introduction of Immanuel Feyi-Waboso with half an hour to go after picking up an injured leg. the lead as he faced Jeremy Williams.

Aided by England’s deficiencies in defence, the Wallabies, ranked ninth in the world, were excellent after recovering from a poor start which saw England score after just four minutes.

Smith’s low kick was collected by Ollie Lawrence and when the ball was recycled the home forwards came into action with Jamie George, Ellis Genge and Ben Earl combining to create Chandler Cunningham-South.

A Noah Lolesio penalty halted their momentum until Smith propelled them forward again with a sharp break, creating the opportunity for Cunningham-South to crash over a free kick.

Curry departed after his collision with Valetini and moments later the Wallabies showed their advantage in a 26th minute Tom Wright try made possible by Sua’ali’i drawing George Furbank and Sleightholme before finding his fullback side with a no-look pass. over it.

Two Smith penalties kept England in control, but their swagger was fading and Australia were next to strike as they exploited a fractured home defense for Harry Wilson to land, with Tate McDermott the creator.

McDermott, who had replaced starting scrum-half Jake Gordon, was the catalyst as the Wallabies continued their rampage and after almost scoring again, Lolesio landed a penalty to give them a lead at the interval.

Australia’s growing dominance continued in the second half with lock Williams completing an acrobatic finish into the left corner in the 49th minute and when Lolesio scored with a penalty they were 10 points ahead.

England needed to hit back quickly and they did so when Smith’s grubber was hit by Sleightholme, who soon after took an elbow to the head and had to recover.

Smith was moved to full-back to accommodate the arrival of George Ford, but his desire to play persisted as he sent Lawrence charging into space for Sleightholme to cross again.

The final moments devolved into an exchange of tries that thrilled the crowd, but ended with the England players holding their heads in disbelief.