Where to watch England vs Australia
You can watch England vs Australia on TNT Sports 1 at 3.10pm on Saturday
Match prediction & best bet
England -12
2pts 10-11 Betfair, Paddy Power
England vs Australia predictions
England came under fire for failing to close out against New Zealand last week when they were leading with five minutes to go, but they get the chance to hit back against Australia on Saturday.
Since the low point of a 33-13 defeat to the Wallabies at Twickenham which ended their 2015 World Cup campaign, England have triumphed in ten of 11 Tests against Australia, with their only defeat coming by two points in the first match of a series in 2022 that England went on to win.
Their last five victories away from Australian soil – four at Twickenham and one in Japan – have all been by double-figure margins and a 12-point line looks well within their reach.
Australia are still trying to find their feet under coach Joe Schmidt and his latest selection surprise looks a huge gamble.
Schmidt has selected rugby league star Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii to start at outside centre in what will be the 21-year-old’s first game of professional rugby union.
Clearly Schmidt had to do something after a rugby championship campaign in which they won just one match – by a single point in Argentina – and four of their five defeats came by 18 points or more. There is no doubting Suaalii’s huge talent, but it feels like a rushed move against a more settled England side, and starting at number 13 is a far tougher role than playing on the wing, as most successful league converts have done.
For all the criticism that came England’s way, individual performances were generally good against the All Blacks, and having a game of that magnitude under their belts this autumn should put them at an advantage.
England’s blitz defence gets a tweak as centres Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence swap positions but they take on an Australia side who were comfortably the lowest scorers in the Rugby Championship with 11 tries in five matches.
A double-figure handicap may seem high given that England have not been scoring freely, but this should be a more open game than this year’s three tight Tests against the All Blacks, and England can run out convincing winners.
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