7 November 2009 - Twickenham Stadium
ENGLAND v AUSTRALIA
Match Preview

What’s most disappointing about these Autumn Internationals from an England perspective, before the series has even started, is the lack of continuity from one season to the next for Martin Johnson’s men. After struggling badly this time last year with heavy defeats against the Southern hemisphere teams, England improved steadily with strong performances in the Six Nations culminating in them finishing second in the competition. A big performance against Argentina at Old Trafford followed by a narrow two-point loss away in Salta, without any of the their Lions contingent, and the impression was that England under Johnson were not only improving but starting to settle as a team.

A lack of continuity and stability has plagued the national team for years since 2003; the last thing Johnson will have wanted is to have to start from scratch once again this November. But it is what it is, the injury situation that has struck approximately two thirds of England’s first choice team is extremely unfortunate but it offers a fair number of players an opportunity to press their claims and to put in big performances.

Of course there is one major boost for England this weekend. Jonny Wilkinson, after a string of impressive performance for Toulon in the Top 14, has returned to the England team and has once again taken on the mantle of orchestrating their efforts on the pitch.

Often the return of stars can be over-emphasised but with Wilkinson, particularly given England's current situation, the return of the 2003 World Cup winner has rightly taken on massive proportions in the media buildup. Injury free and, according to his teammates, more relaxed than ever, Wilkinson will win his 71st test cap this weekend.

"I could have woken up this morning not knowing where I was, but I knew from how I felt that there was something big going on this weekend," said flyhalf Wilkinson.

"It's always special because they're always up there at the top of the world game. When I think about Australia, I think of a certain professionalism, and a major strength in that tactically they can work better than any other team.

"You have to be 100 percent on your toes. As soon as you're not, they'll pull you apart."

Steve Thompson will make his first international start since 2006 when England line up against Australia in the Investec Challenge international at Twickenham on Saturday.

Brive hooker Thompson is joined by fellow 2003 Rugby World Cup winners Jonny Wilkinson (Toulon) and Lewis Moody (Leicester Tigers) in the team to face the Wallabies. Thompson, Wilkinson and Moody will win their 49th, 71st and 54th caps respectively.

At the start of their international careers are uncapped duo Courtney Lawes and Ayoola Erinle, both recent call-ups in Johnson’s updated EPS squad. The former being rewarded for eye-catching displays both for Northampton Saints this season and for England in the IRB Toshiba Junior World Championship final last summer.

With injuries to Riki Flutey and Mike Tindall, Shane Geraghty claims the inside centre jersey after impressing this season with  Northampton Saints, albeit in the fly half position, with Dan Hipkiss lining up outside him. Finally with Delon Armitage, England’s star player of last season out injured, Johnson has opted to switch in-form winger Ugo Monye to full back, with experienced campaigner Mark Cueto and the promising huge Bath winger Matt Banahan on the wings.

The return of George Smith to the starting XV, and the selection of an entirely new midfield combination featuring Digby Ioane and Quade Cooper, are the key changes to the Wallabies starting line-up. Smith, the game's fifth most capped player, has swapped roles with the Western Force 21-year-old David Pocock from last week.

Ioane plays his sixth Test match, but his first at centre, after making a successful return from injury on the wing last weekend against the All Blacks. The powerful 24-year-old converted to the midfield for the Queensland Reds this year, making 10 appearances at centre before his efforts were curtailed by a shoulder injury that required surgery to correct.

He teams up with his state colleague Cooper, who has won selection for his eighth Test, but just his second at inside centre, after starring with 16 points from the fly-half position during Tuesday night's 36-5 win over Gloucester.

Danny Care will likely benefit from having such a hugely experienced number 10 outside him in Jonny Wilkinson, and the scrum half needs to put in a controlled intelligent game from 9. Assuming the England pack can provide quicker ball than usual, fans will be hoping to see the likes of Wilkinson and Geraghty standing flat on the gainline, directing the show.

Monye will get the supporters off their feet if he can use his pace to great effect by joining the line and cutting good angles off the likes of Geraghty. If Banahan is given quality ball, he should be able to use his power, strength and offloading ability to terrorise the Wallaby defenses, both on the wing and in the midfield, sucking in defenders and allowing the attack to continue. A couple of cross field kicks aimed towards the giant winger wouldn’t be the biggest surprise either, were it to happen on Saturday. And finally with Cueto’s established ability as a good footballer and a quality finisher, England’s ‘back three’ should be able to thrive on the Twickenham pitch come Saturday afternoon, although once again this comes down to the quality of ball they’re likely to receive. Stopping the likes of veteran George Smith interfering and slowing ball down won’t be easy and England will need to display far more dynamism at the breakdown if they have any hope of getting good quality ball.

A tough match for the fans and pundits to predict: a young inexperienced Wallaby outfit with players getting shifted around in the backline against a brand new England starting XV missing more than a few key players playing their first match of the season. Australia will have the match against New Zealand and the fact that they are battle hardened in their favour, whereas England should feel fresher and home advantage will of course help their cause. A tight game to call, and a tight game is likely at Twickenham on Saturday afternoon.

Australia v England - Historical Notes

• This is the 37th Test match between Australia and England. Australia has won 21 and England 14 while the 1997 contest in London resulted in a 15-15 draw.
• England holds a narrow 10 wins to eight advantage with one drawn, from the 19 matches played on English soil. This includes victories in three of the last five matches played.
• Flanker George Smith will advance ahead of Chris Latham, with 12, as the second most capped Australian player against England, behind George Gregan who featured on 16 occasions.
• The two teams compete for the Cook Cup, which was established in 1997. The cup is named after Captain James Cook and is currently held by Australia.
• Although the links between the countries are undoubtedly close, the intensity of the rivalry between the two is a relatively modern phenomenon. This is evidenced by the fact that only six Tests had been played prior to the 1970s. Australia and England have twice met in Rugby World Cup finals, sharing the spoils one apiece, each having prevailed on the other's home turf.

England: U Monye; M Cueto, D Hipkiss, S Geraghty, M Banahan; J Wilkinson, D Care; T Payne, S Thompson, D Wilson, L Deacon, S Borthwick (capt), T Croft, L Moody, J Crane.
Replacements: D Hartley, D Bell, C Lawes, J Haskell, P Hodgson, A Goode, A Erinle.

Australia: A Ashley-Cooper; P Hynes, D Ioane, Q Cooper, D Mitchell, M Giteau, W Genia; B Robinson, S Moore, B Alexander, J Horwill, M Chisholm, R Elsom (capt), G Smith, W Palu.
Replacements: T Polota Nau, M Dunning, D Mumm, D Pocock, L Burgess, R Cross, J O'Connor.

Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)