England's eighth straight win over the Wallabies, as it happened

M. Smith	81
J. Blamire	80
M. Smith	72
O. Farrell	64
O. Farrell	48
	42	J. O'Connor
	39	J. O'Connor
O. Farrell	29
	20	J. O'Connor
O. Farrell	17
	14	J. O'Connor
O. Farrell	12
O. Farrell	7
F. Steward	6
	4	J. O'Connor

2	Tries	0
2	Conversions	0
6	Penalty Goals	5
0	Field Goals	0

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The Wallabies will look to get their tour back on track as they take on long term rivals England at Twickenham, London. This is one of the great rivalries in sport let alone rugby and with the Eddie Jones factor in there too, there is a lot at stake for all concerned. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 04:30 am (AEDT).

Both Dave Rennie and Eddie Jones have had to make selection decisions based on injury/illness absence as the two go head to head for the first time as head coaches at international level.

Eddie Jones will feel lucky that he’s got his skipper Owen Farrell back as it turns out his original positive COVID test was in fact a false positive but he’s had to rethink his front row as both Joe Marler and Ellis Genge have come down with the virus and are in isolation.

The side that Jones has selected might not be his first choice but it still has plenty of power and pace to concern the Wallabies. The pack as usual is big and with players like Tom Curry, Sam Underhill, Courtney Lawes and Maro Itoje there is some fantastic talent that could cause Australia trouble all game long.

The really exciting question about England is whether the new backs set up will click. You’ve got plenty of experience at scrum half and inside centre with Ben Youngs and Owen Farrell and then you’ve got new hero Marcus Smith in between them taking on the role of play maker. Can Smith continue his inspiring club form and deliver the same sort of magic on the biggest stage? That’s the question fans are asking themselves as they wonder whether Smith and Farrell can genuinely compliment one another.

One curious decision from Jones is putting Manu Tuilagi on the wing. The powerful centre was expected to line up at either inside or outside centre but Jones says that there’s nothing odd about his decision. “All I see is a powerful player in the best condition of his career who will add to the ball players we’ve got inside. He’ll be able to roam on the field and play like a second or third centre,” explained Jones this week.

Rennie has also been forced into some unexpected decisions. He’s picked James Slipper to start at tighthead prop for the first time since 2012 as both Allan Alaalatoa and Taniela Tupou are still to recover from concussions picked up against Scotland.

As a result, uncapped prop Ollie Hoskins will likely debut from the bench. The 28 year old has been with London Irish for the past few years where he’s played over 100 games and while he’s popular at the club, not many would have predicted that he’d be running out for the Wallabies this weekend at Twickenham.

Kurtley Beale will start at full back and although he has the experience, you have to wonder if he has the pace to cope with England’s back three coming at him.

Prediction
It’s a shame that we’re not seeing these two giants going head to head with their full first choice teams on the field but that doesn’t mean that there will be any less passion.

England at home is always a tough day but with some key players also missing, it becomes brutal. England should win this one and win it comfortably but there’s something about this one that hints as a very, very tight game.

England by 3.

Game information
Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London
Kick-off: 04:30 am (AEDT), Sunday 14th November 2021
Live stream: Stan Sport
Betting: England $1.16, Australia $5.10 – odds via PlayUp
Referee: Jaco Peyper

Teams
Australia
15. Kurtley Beale, 14. Andrew Kellaway, 13. Len Ikitau, 12. Hunter Paisami, 11. Tom Wright, 10. James O’Connor, 9. Nic White, 8. Rob Valetini, 7. Michael Hooper (c), 6. Rob Leota, 5. Izack Rodda, 4. Rory Arnold, 3. James Slipper, 2. Folau Fainga’a, 1. Angus Bell

Replacements
16. Tolu Latu, 17. Tom Robertson, 18. Oliver Hoskins, 19. Will Skelton, 20. Pete Samu, 21. Tate McDermott, 22. Noah Lolesio, 23. Izaia Perese

England
15. Freddie Steward, 14. Manu Tuilagi, 13. Henry Slade, 12. Owen Farrell (c), 11. Jonny May, 10. Marcus Smith, 9. Ben Youngs, 8. Tom Curry, 7. Sam Underhill, 6. Courtney Lawes, 5. Jonny Hill, 4. Maro Itoje, 3. Kyle Sinckler, 2. Jamie George, 1. Bevan Rodd

Replacements: 16. Jamie Blamire, 17. Trevor Davison, 18. Will Stuart, 19. Charlie Ewels, 20. Alex Dombrandt, 21. Sam Simmonds, 22. Raffi Quirke, 23. Max Malins

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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.