England v Australia - teams and prediction

PREVIEW: Australia is back on English soil for the first time since 2021 when England beat them in that Nations Series.

This year’s Nations Series featuring the Wallabies will garner significant interest, with the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour to Australia now on the horizon

England have emerged victorious in 10 of their last 11 Test matches against Australia, with their only loss during this stretch being a narrow 28-30 defeat in 2022.

This dominant head-to-head record suggests that England has the upper hand, especially as Australia enters this clash on a three-game losing streak – the longest that Joe Schmidt has faced as head coach of an international team.

England captain Jamie George admits Wallabies’ shooting star Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii is an unknown quantity for them, but he’ll be urging his side to ensure Australia’s new cross-code recruit “knows what Test rugby is all about.”

Suaalii will partner in midfield with Len Ikitau on his inside, as he prepares for his first game of senior rugby, five years since he last played the code as a schoolboy star.

George was respectful about the youngster’s introduction, admitting that coach Joe Schmidt’s giving Suaalii the green light proved to him that he was ready for action.

“Joe Schmidt is someone that I’ve been a massive fan of, I respect hugely in terms of his understanding and knowledge and I know that if he wasn’t ready to play, then he wouldn’t be playing,” George said.

“So that’s something that we’ve got to be very aware of. There’s this element of the unknown, but at the same time, we’ve got to make sure we’re as clued up as we possibly can be.

“And we also need to make sure that he knows what Test match rugby is all about.”

Five famous fixtures against Australia 🖐️

Click below to re-live those iconic Test matches 👇

ADVERTISEMENT

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) November 7, 2024

While Australia has introduced this untested centre partnership, explaining how Suaalii and Ikitau had interchanged positions in training, the English midfield pairing of Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence has also been switched, with the latter shifted to the outside to try to test out the newbie.

England assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth suggested it was a flexible pairing and only a “slight tweak” to the partnership of a pair who’ve won 94 caps between them.

He said the hosts wanted to get “great strike runner” Lawrence on the ball more. “We’re trying to get him on the ball in as much space as possible in transition, we missed a few chances to do that (in the narrow loss to New Zealand) and hopefully we’ll get more opportunities and we won’t miss them.”

Of Suaalii, he added: “It will be really interesting, won’t it? I don’t think Joe Schmidt, the world-class coach that he is, puts him in unless he’s ready.

“He’s played at school and has been ready for this move for a while. He’s obviously an incredible athlete and talent, which is why he’s come over with the reputation and the price tag he’s got.”

Kevin Sinfield, the former rugby league great now running England’s defence, is the man they’ll turn to figure out how best they nullify Suaalii’s formidable attacking gifts.

“We’ll look at him in his rugby league. Kev (Sinfield) will give us a good insight there and we’ll make to sure we do our due diligence in the next couple of days,” said Wigglesworth.

Joe Schmidt accepts it’s not going to be easy, speculating it won’t be perfect, and admits, yes, it’s a risk.

But the Wallabies coach hopes the long-term rewards they’ll glean from thrusting Suaalii into one of the most eagerly awaited international rugby debuts in years at Twickenham could end up paying huge dividends for the Australian game.

Wrighty turning on the after-burners against @englandrugby ⚡️#Wallabies pic.twitter.com/wTEaepKTqu

— Wallabies (@wallabies) November 8, 2024

“Everything’s a risk, but I would challenge that with ‘everything’s an opportunity’ – and it’s a fantastic opportunity for a young man who’s really excited about getting the chance,” said Schmidt, adamant that, first and foremost, he expected the recent Roosters’ flyer to “hit the ground running”.

“For us, there are four Test matches left this year before we embark on a massive Lions tour next year. So if not now, when? It makes some sense. It’s unlikely that it’ll go perfectly, but it will be a benchmark that he can build from.

“People would say, is it a risk? Well, it’s another opportunity, isn’t it? You’ve just got to be excited about the opportunity at Twickenham. There are not many places more special.

“It’s a really special stadium to play in, and I think the cauldron that it is, it’s a good grounding, a good experience for any of our players – including Joseph Suaalii.”

“But he’s a really level-headed kid, and so that gives us some confidence he will cope. But we’ve got to find out sometime…

“He’s been excellent (in training) and that’s part of what gives us confidence not to wait another week or two weeks, or until next year.

“We just thought, particularly with Hunter Paisami picking up an injury, and Samu Kerevi coming into camp late, that (Ikitau/Suaalii) was the best combination for us.”

Schmidt was also keen to remind his audience of Suaalii’s union background, even if it was only coming through the schoolboy ranks.

“Most guys who come in, they’re relatively shy. He’s a very humble young man but is very forthright about his preparation, and that gives us confidence.

“He played a lot of rugby through the age grades, through the pathway of Australian under-18s and he knows a number of the players through those teams as well.

Players to watch:
For England: It’s worth highlighting the impressive physicality and performances of Harlequins players Chandler Cunningham-South and Fin Baxter. Though early in their England careers, both players have shown remarkable promise and could very well represent the future of English rugby. Cunningham-South, in particular, has been a dominant force in the back row, and if he continues on this path, he could become one of the greats in the sport. Fullback George Furbank has been outstanding for his club, Northampton Saints. However, he has yet to fully reach that same level with the national team. It’s clear that coach Borthwick sees untapped potential in him, and if Furbank can bring his aggressive, dynamic running style to the international stage, he’s definitely one to watch, with much more to offer.

For Australia: Suaalii’s selection makes his duel Ollie Lawrence interesting, but there are questions about Lawrence’s as the centre has always lined up in the 12 shirt for England. This time there is a 13 on his back. There will be pressure on Noah Lolesio and Jake Gordon to get their side in the right areas of the pitch. The Wallabies’ kicking game has improved slightly as the year has gone on, but it is still a concern, particularly opposite Marcus Smith and Spencer, who were very good in that facet of play last weekend.

Prediction:

@rugby365: England by 15 points

Teams:

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

Australia: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suallii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Dylan Pietsch, 10 Noah Lolesio, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson, 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Jeremy Williams, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Matt Faessler, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 James Slipper, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Tate McDermot, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Max Jorgensen

Date: Saturday, November 9
Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London
Kick-off: 15.10 GMT (02.10 AEDT Sunday, November 10)
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Paul Williams (New Zealand)
TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

Additional source @AAP