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Australia head to Twickenham after a pasting by the French while England are coming off a big win against Fiji. The Wallabies will be out to get their European Tour back on track as they take on the old enemy on Sunday morning at 1.30am AEDT.
The Wallabies were shambolic against France last Saturday, with no answer for the French scrum and forward dominance in the 33-6 loss.
It was an embarrassing performance from the Wallabies and surely they will be keen to regain some pride in this match.
Under-fire coach Robbie Deans has rang the changes with Berrick Barnes and Digby Ioane coming in for Mike Harris and Pat McCabe. Injury has ruled out Kane Douglas, with Sitaleki Timani in, while Sekope Kepu moves to the bench for Ben Alexander.
Rob Simmons has also been ruled out with suspension while David Pocock is again unavailable with injury.
The Wallabies have been slammed for their inconsistency and their inability to score tries. The pressure on Deans is growing and the competition for 2015 Rugby World Cup placings will only spice this one up.
On the other side of the fence, a newish and young English side come into this game with their tails up. They handed Fiji a 54-12 defeat at Twickenham last Saturday and are looking to introduce a more varied and expansion attacking style of play.
Whether this comes off against Australia is hard to say, considering the English will surely target the misfiring Wallaby scrum. England will seek to crush the Wallaby set-piece, like the French did, and set their dominance from there.
This is an English team in the midst of regeneration, with coach Stuart Lancaster introducing several new faces. Alex Goode will be a threat at fullback, along with wingers Chris Sharples and the returning Chris Ashton, a slayer of Australia in the past. The centres will contain some bulk with Manu Tuilagi and Brad Barritt, while much will be expected of the English front row of Dan Cole, Tom Youngs and Joe Marier.
This will be a pivotal match for the Wallabies, and for the future of Robbie Deans, as well as being a yardstick of the progress of England. Join us for the match and get involved from 1.30am AEDT.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.