England v Australia LIVE rugby: Wallabies visit Twickenham with hosts in must-win situation

Australia are not the force of old and what was once a fierce rivalry is now anything but with the Wallabies winning just one of their last 11 meetings dating back to 2016.

Only a 30-28 loss in Perth in 2022 interrupts England’s dominance of the fixture and with the tourists finishing bottom of the recent Rugby Championship, there is little evidence that a revival is imminent, even with astute former Ireland boss Joe Schmidt at the helm.

Wendell Sailor, Lote Tuqiri and Israel Folau are among the big-name rugby league stars who became celebrated Wallabies, but Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii is being tipped to outshine them all.

Suaalii makes his first senior appearance in union less than a month after switching from the NRL, where his athleticism, physical prowess and skills marked him out as a special talent from the moment he made his debut as a 17-year-old.

Now 21 and benefiting from a £2.7m contract, cash-strapped Rugby Australia are eager to see if their investment will pay off with the 2025 Lions tour and 2027 home World Cup on the horizon.

Luke Cowan-Dickie will make his first Test appearance for two years if he steps off the bench on Saturday, ending a challenging spell for the Lions hooker.

Neck surgery that went wrong caused nerve damage in his arm that took over a year to heal and he also spent time out with atrial fibrillation, a heart condition.

But having made a full recovery and given up gaming – Call of Duty was his poison – as well as alcohol, he is poised to add ballast to England’s scrum at a stage of the game where it was found wanting against New Zealand.

“Cohesion and clarity” is the principle underpinning Steve Borthwick’s selection policy, resulting in an unchanged side being picked to take on the Wallabies.

The only adjustment is a midfield positional switch that sees Ollie Lawrence move to outside centre, where he is at his most dangerous for Bath, and Henry Slade take the number 12 jersey.

It is a variation designed to bring out the best in Lawrence in attack, both in the volume and impact of his carries.

Following a 24-22 defeat to New Zealand in last Saturday’s opener, England are already on the back foot in their pursuit of an acceptable return from the autumn.

Australia’s visit to Twickenham is must-win territory given that world champions South Africa provide the campaign’s box office fixture a week later.

Three victories in the four Tests – Japan complete the series on November 23 – would be a respectable pass mark, anything less and Steve Borthwick will face urgent questions over the team’s direction of travel.

Jamie George recognises Danny Care’s damning assessment of Eddie Jones’ England regime but insists the Australian’s contribution to the national team is reflected in his success.

Danny Care, who won 101 caps until his international retirement earlier this year, is highly critical of Jones in his autobiography Everything Happens for a Reason, claiming that “everyone was bloody terrified of him”.

The Harlequins scrum-half added that Jones’ England environment was “like living in a dictatorship, under a despot who disappeared people”.

For England, Australia lurk like a snake in the outback. Many an unfortunate trekker has learned the hard way of taking one’s eye off the ball: a moment of complacency, an unchecked boot, pain aplenty or worse.

Test rugby’s bite can be just as deadly. Steve Borthwick’s side are already counting the cost of a year of missed opportunities, their proclamations of progress somewhat evident but harder to believe as the failings recur. In each of their last three outings, England were in control against New Zealand at some point in the second half only to let the opportunity slip. The figures are stark – three points in an aggregate hour across the final quarters of each encounter – and even if each has had its own characteristics, there is recognition in the ranks that it is time to step up.

“We can’t be making excuses. As players we have to step up and be more consistent,” flanker Tom Curry said this week, a sometime circuitous talker entirely forthright.

Read our Rugby Correspondent Harry Latham-Coyle’s full preview ahead of a must-win clash for England:

The failings are becoming all too familiar for England — having seized control of the contest after half time, the final quarter arrives and victory slips from their grasp. In each of their three recent Tests against New Zealand, Steve Borthwick’s side have led the All Blacks after the interval and come out on the losing side on 80 minutes.

The circumstances of each has been slightly different and George Ford was the width of a post away from snatching victory at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on Saturday, but it has become a concerning trend.

The good news for Borthwick is that his side have played well in each of their last six games; the bad news is that England have won just two of them. If the hope is that regression to the mean will ensure they come out on the right side of a close game soon enough, the fear is that any dip in their level, perfectly natural in elite sport, will mean that they will no longer be able to stay in the fight to set up match-winning opportunities.

The endgame scenarios in each defeat have differed but one common flaw can be found. It is just over 12 months since South Africa dismantled England’s scrum to turn an arm-wrestle of a World Cup semi-final their way, the “Bomb Squad” detonating Borthwick’s bench forward unit.

Something similar happened on Saturday against an All Blacks scrum that is probably the second best in the world – while the starting pack held up well, with Ellis Genge and Will Stuart on top against the sizeable duo of Tamaiti Williams and Tyrel Lomax, replacement Fin Baxter was twice penalised on the loosehead after his introduction while a creaking set-piece was key to Ford’s misfire in the final moments.

Joe Schmidt throws rugby league convert Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii straight in from the start as the former Sydney Rooster makes his first senior appearance in union.

His inclusion at outside centre is the lone change to the starting side that ended the Rugby Championship, meaning there is no place for either Samu Kerevi or Will Skelton, who have returned to the squad ahead of the Autumn Nations Series. Harry Wilson continues as captain in a well-balanced back row.

Australia XV: 1 Angus Bell, 2 Matt Faessler, 3 Taniela Tupou; 4 Nick Frost, 5 Jeremy Williams; 6 Rob Valetini, 7 Fraser McReight, 8 Harry Wilson (capt.); 9 Jake Gordon, 10 Noah Lolesio; 11 Dylan Pietsch, 12 Len Ikitau, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 14 Andrew Kellaway; 15 Tom Wright.

Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 James Slipper, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 20 Langi Gleeson; 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Max Jorgensen.

Steve Borthwick sticks with the same starting side beaten by New Zealand last weekend, though Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence swap shirts in the centres.

On the bench, Luke Cowan-Dickie is set for his first cap under Borthwick after being recalled in the place of Theo Dan, while Ollie Sleightholme comes in for Ben Curry as England revert to a traditional five/three forwards-to-backs split.

England XV: 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Jamie George (capt.), 3 Will Stuart; 4 Maro Itoje, 5 George Martin; 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 7 Tom Curry, 8 Ben Earl; 9 Ben Spencer, 10 Marcus Smith; 11 Tommy Freeman, 12 Henry Slade, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso; 15 George Furbank

Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Alex Dombrandt; 21 Harry Randall, 22 George Ford, 23 Ollie Sleightholme