Lawes praises England fighting spirit as they seal superb series win in Australia

England were 21-17 winners over the Wallabies at the Sydney Cricket Ground, meaning they sealed a 2-1 series victory, battling back brilliantly after losing the first Test.

With fellow Saints Lewis Ludlam and Tommy Freeman also playing key roles, Lawes was delighted with the performance his his team as they defended superbly to claim the win.

England weren't at their best and trailed for much of the first half, but they built a 21-10 lead through tries by Freddie Steward and Marcus Smith either side of the break.

Australia threw everything they had at England in a bid to get back into the game, but Eddie Jones's side stood firm, with skipper Lawes leading from the front.

“It was tough," said Lawes. "I’ve spoken through the whole tour about how, as a team, we want to have that feeling of playing for each other.

“When you are in those kind of scenarios, that’s the only thing that gets you through.

"Your body is broken, you’ve played for 11 months, you’re at the end of a tough tour and you’re under the cosh.

“What are you going to do? You’re going to dig in for your mates. I think we showed what it means to us.”

Lawes also revealed that he and his team-mates were revved up by claims made by Australia that they had been targeted off the ball as part of baiting tactics used by England.

“They give us a good bit of fuel in the press to be fair. They were talking smack about us. That motivated us a bit,” admitted Lawes.

“It’s all good fuel for our tank and any good team uses that as motivation.”