Saturday, December 3, England v Australia, Twickenham, London, 2:30pm kick-off (Live on Sky Sports 2 from 1:30pm)
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Eddie Jones has made two changes to his England side to face Australia in the final Autumn International on Saturday
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Number 8 Nathan Hughes and winger Marland Yarde come into the XV for the Twickenham clash
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Kane Douglas has earned a recall as one of four changes to Australia’s team
ENGLAND face Australia at Twickenham on Saturday (2:30pm) – so here’s everything you need to know about the game.
England Team News
Wasps No.8 Nathan Hughes starts his first game for England, replacing Billy Vunipola after the Sarries powerhouse was injured during last weekend’s victory over Argentina.
Harlequins speedster Marland Yarde returns to the right wing in a side which contains 607 caps while the bench remains unchanged.
“We’ve had a great week’s preparation and we can’t wait to get to Twickenham on Saturday with the crowd right behind us,” said Jones.
“The great thing about our team is that no-one is irreplaceable. We’ve had seven influential players missing throughout the autumn but we’ve been able to fill that gap and that’s the sort of team we are developing.
“We want to make the game into a physical contest but we also need to be flexible and adaptable like we were against Argentina.”
England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 George Kruis, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Teimana Harrison, 21 Danny Care, 22 Ben Te’o, 23 Henry Slade
Australia Team News
Australia head coach Michael Cheika has recalled Lopeti Timani to the number eight jersey for their fixture against England on Saturday.
Timani has been catapulted back into the starting line-up, shifting David Pocock to blindside flanker, returning to their back-row combination that faced Wales and Scotland.
Kane Douglas starts in the second-row for the fifth time this season, teaming up with Rob Simmons, while Rory Arnold has been left out of the 23.
Playmaker Nick Phipps will take over the starting half-back role with Will Genia refused a release from Stade Français, returning the Wallabies to the halves combination they used in June.
Allan Alaalatoa has been ruled out of the clash, with Tom Robertson named on the bench as reserve tighthead.
Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Reece Hodge, 11 Sefa Naivalu, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Lopeti Timani, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 David Pocock, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Tolu Latu, 17 James Slipper, 18 Tom Robertson, 19 Dean Mumm, 20 Sean McMahon, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Quade Cooper, 23 Henry Speight
England v Australia key battle
England v Australia head-to-head
Played 47, England 21, Australia 25, draw 1
England v Australia odds (Paddy Power)
Head-to-head: England 1/4, Argentina 3/1, draw 25/1
Handicap Betting: England (-9) 10/11, Draw (-9) 20-1, Australia (+9) 10/11
England v Australia form guide ….
England: WWWWW
Australia: LWWWL
England v Australia Prediction
RUCK Predicts: England by 7
England v Australia Referee
Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
England v Australia Line-Ups
England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 George Kruis, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Teimana Harrison, 21 Danny Care, 22 Ben Te’o, 23 Henry Slade
Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Reece Hodge, 11 Sefa Naivalu, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Lopeti Timani, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 David Pocock, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Tolu Latu, 17 James Slipper, 18 Tom Robertson, 19 Dean Mumm, 20 Sean McMahon, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Quade Cooper, 23 Henry Speight
