Schmidt has faith in debutant Sua’ali’i ahead of Australia clash with England
England welcome Australia to Allianz Stadium, Twickenham as the Autumn Nations Series rolls on with the hosts desperately needing to get a victory on the board.
England have played well in each of their last six Tests but won only two of those matches, with a pair of late losses in New Zealand over the summer and last week’s heartbreaking defeat to the same All Blacks on home soil meaning they are in the midst of a frustrating losing streak.
Defeat to a flawed Wallabies side struggling to find their feet under new coach Joe Schmidt – having won just one of six games to finish bottom of the Rugby Championship – would raise serious questions about the Steve Borthwick project, giving this game a must-win feel for the hosts.
Borthwick has opted for an unchanged starting XV from a week ago, although Luke Cowan-Dickie and Ollie Sleightholme come on to the bench, while Australia give a debut to rugby league convert Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii at outside centre, as the 21-year-old plays his first-ever match in union.
Follow all of the action from Allianz Stadium, Twickenham in our live blog below:
England v Australia – live updates from Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
The changes Steve Borthwick could make to solve England’s scrum woes
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.
Luke Baker9 November 2024 12:30
Australia team news
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.
Luke Baker9 November 2024 12:17
England team news
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
Luke Baker9 November 2024 12:05
When is England vs Australia?
England vs Australia is due to kick off at 3.10pm GMT on Saturday 9 November at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on TNT Sports 1, with coverage on the channel from 2pm GMT. Subscribers can stream the action via discovery+.
Luke Baker9 November 2024 11:55
England v Australia LIVE
Good afternoon and welcome along to The Independent’s LIVE coverage of England’s fascinating Autumn Nations Series clash with Australia.
The November action got underway with a thriller between the All Blacks and England last weekend and a narrow defeat for Steve Borthwick’s men means they head into this contest at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham in desperate need of a win to stop an alarming recent pattern of playing well but losing matches.
Against an Australia side that is a shadow of their former selves and struggling for results under new coach Joe Schmidt, England are arguably in must-win territory.
Kick-off is at 3.10pm GMT.
(Getty Images)
Luke Baker8 November 2024 11:15
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