England and Australia will contest the Ella-Mobbs Trophy held by the Wallabies when their 116-year rivalry is renewed on Saturday.
Revenge is the order of the day for England, who had been dealt a crushing loss to Australia when the 2 sides met on this contest final 12 months. On that day, Steve Borthwick’s facet led because the clock ticked previous 80 minutes, solely to look at as Max Jorgenson scored a attempt to settle the match.
England are on a brighter spell now, although. They’ve received their final seven video games stretching again to the memorable 26-25 victory over France within the Six Nations.
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In the meantime, Australia are licking their wounds after a one-sided British and Irish Lions tour that resulted in a 3-0 collection win for the guests, in addition to the Rugby Championship the place they emerged with only one win of their six video games.
Listed below are the principle speaking factors forward of this weekend’s Autumn Nations Sequence conflict.
Choice assertion
Steve Borthwick has cemented his fame as a daring selector by making a number of audacious picks.
Tommy Freeman’s transition from wing to exterior centre begins in earnest, rookie flanker Man Pepper retains out two British and Irish Lions and there are six of Andy Farrell’s summer season vacationers on the bench.
Add in George Ford’s presence at fly-half forward of Fin Smith and Marcus Smith — one other two Lions — and Borthwick has as soon as once more proven his willingness to make massive calls.
Preparation mismatch
“We have 4 periods, they have 4 months. That is reality,” mentioned Borthwick earlier this week as he mirrored on his lack of preparation time for a four-match autumn collection that additionally options fixtures towards Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina.
The Wallabies have performed 11 matches to date this 12 months in comparison with England’s eight, the newest of which was final Saturday’s 19-15 victory over Japan in Tokyo
Nevertheless, James O’Connor, Len Ikitau, Tom Hooper and Will Skelton are unavailable as a result of the sport falls exterior the worldwide window and Australia head coach Joe Schmidt counters that he’s taking a look at England’s schedule enviously.
“This 12 months now we have 15 Take a look at matches throughout 20 weeks, in eight nations, in 10 totally different time zones. I would be glad to swap that for 4 coaching periods, to be trustworthy,” he mentioned.
Borthwick’s bomb squad
England have loaded their bench with 4 Take a look at Lions and two additional members of the squad that inflicted a 2-1 collection defeat on the Wallabies throughout the summer season.
Borthwick’s choice is to deploy the six-strong ahead contingent en masse, creating the potential for a South Africa-style second-half assault up entrance.
Tom Curry, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Ellis Genge are among the many heavyweights who will be a part of the motion in some unspecified time in the future and it’s hoped their expertise will assist shut out a sport if it goes right down to the wire.
Marked man
Having made the rugby world sit up and take discover, Henry Pollock should now show his stellar debut season was the start and never the tip.
Former England wing Ugo Monye has described the dynamic 20-year-old as a “marked man” following his exploits to date in 2025, which have included his Take a look at debut, heroics on the European stage and choice for the Lions.
Named on the bench towards Australia, Pollock might be seeking to make an explosive influence within the second half figuring out the competitors for locations within the again row is fierce.
Aussie resilience
On paper an Australia facet with points at fly-half and lacking some key personnel ought to fall quick at Twickenham, even when they’re within the midst of a revival beneath Schmidt.
However final November’s conflict on the similar venue, in addition to their comebacks within the latest Rugby Championship, demonstrates the Wallabies’ means to rescue misplaced causes.
It was Jorgensen’s time beyond regulation strive that secured a dramatic 42-37 win towards England 12 months in the past and the gifted wing is current within the No. 14 jersey as soon as once more.
