Playing in front of 3000 spectators, Australia held on for a nail-biting 8-7 win in a match that went down to the wire.

It was Australia's third straight win in the annual Test after victories against Chile and New Zealand in the past two years.

The Poms came out swinging in the opening chukka, putting two goals on the board before Australia scored a goal in the dying seconds to halve the deficit at the first break.

Play was interrupted during the first chukka after Aussie No.2 Rob Archibald copped a ball to the upper right arm.

After on-field assistance from medical officers he remounted his horse to a round of applause and play was underway again.

A tit-for-tat game emerged in the remaining chukkas with neither team able to gain a break.

Going into the last chukka Australia were up 7-6, scoring an eighth goal with to stretch the lead by two, however the English hit back to get within one as the clock wound down to a tense finish.

With just 14 seconds left on the clock England was awarded a penalty, and with 3000 people watching on with hearts in their mouths, the shot went wide and the final horn sounded to a thundering cheer.

Australian captain Glen Gilmore said it was a tough 431/2 minutes of play with both teams attacking and defending well.

He saluted the English team's determination throughout and praised his team for its tenacity.

"I'm happy we stuck it out and capitalised on any weaknesses the English team had," he said.

"It would have been good to get more goals on the board but the English defence did well to stop us."