Preview: Australia vs England
Everything you need to know ahead of England's clash with Australia on Saturday.
Courtney Lawes will captain the side that sees the returns of Danny Care, Billy Vunipola and Owen Farrell to the starting lineup. Farrell comes back into the fold for the first time since England's most recent victory over the Wallabies in November 2021, while Care earns his first international appearance since 2018 and Vunipola his first since the 2021 Six Nations. There are also potential debuts off the bench for the trio of Guy Porter, Jack van Poortvliet and Henry Arundell.
Dave Rennie has opted for a very Brumbies-heavy side for the first Test. There are debuts for both 33-year-old lock Caderyn Neville, who becomes the third-oldest debutant since World War ll, and hooker David Porecki. Michael Hooper will once again captain the side while Quade Cooper, Samu Kerevi and Marika Koroibete all return after missing the Autumn internationals. Nic White partners with Cooper at halfback in an experienced 9-10 combination.
Australia currently sit sixth in the world rankings one place behind England in fifth after a year that featured many ups and downs. Rennie's team managed to secure back-to-back victories against the world champion Springboks but followed it up with three consecutive losses to Bledisloe Cup rivals New Zealand. In total they secured seven victories and seven losses from 2021 with a mixed bag of performances.
Meanwhile England will be hoping for an improvement on their recent 52-21 defeat to the Barbarians in their preparation game for this tour. However, Eddie Jones' side head to Australia for the first time since their 3-0 Test series win in 2016 bolstered by the knowledge they are on their longest win streak against this opposition with eight consecutive victories against the Wallabies.
England have only managed to win on Australian soil a total of six times and will face a Dave Rennie side determined to put a stop to their recent run of results by securing victory against the English for the first time since the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Teams
England
15. Freddie Steward, 14. Jack Nowell, 13. Joe Marchant, 12. Owen Farrell, 11. Joe Cokanasiga, 10. Marcus Smith, 9. Danny Care, 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Jamie George, 3. Will Stuart, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Jonny Hill, 6. Courtney Lawes (C), 7. Tom Curry, 8. Billy Vunipola.
Finishers
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17. Mako Vunipola, 18. Joe Heyes, 19. Ollie Chessum, 20. Lewis Ludlam, 21. Jack van Poortlviet, 22. Guy Porter, 23. Henry Arundell.
Australia
15. Tom Banks, 14. Andrew Kellaway, 13. Len Ikitau, 12. Samu Kerevi, 11. Marika Koroibete, 10. Quade Cooper, 9. Nic White, 1. Angus Bell, 2. David Porecki, 3. Allan Alaalatoa, 4. Darcy Swain, 5. Caderyn Neville, 6. Rob Leota, 7. Michael Hooper (C), 8. Rob Valetini.
Replacements
16. Folau Fainga’a, 17. Scott Sio, 18. James Slipper, 19. Matt Philip, 20. Pete Samu, 21. Jake Gordon, 22. Noah Lolesio, 23. Jordan Petaia.
Views from camp
Jonny Hill: "They've got some good players in key positions; Nic White, Quade Cooper, Samu Kerevi. White has done really well after going back to Australia, he's moved them on as a country.
"If you want to beat a good side you've got to beat them at what they're good at so they're going to be aiming to do that. Whether they do it or not who knows? But watching the Brumbies play throughout the season and from what I've seen, their maul has been really impressive so we're going to have to be right on it.
"For us it's about us starting fast. If we start fast they'll be thinking number nine is on the way maybe, but from my point of view I've only played in one of those eight games so as a pack and a team we just want to set the tone for the series. If they're good enough on Saturday they'll win, I don't think the records matter on the day. We'll give them all the respect they deserve by going flat out. I'm expecting the best version of the Wallabies over the next three weeks. We've prepared very well and we're ready for the challenge."
Jack Nowell: "The way you get back into the England side is by playing well for your club so the first thing I was thinking about was getting back for Exeter. For me it's never a given to be here, I quite like it like that, it keeps me more grounded.
"I'm looking forward to playing Nic White. Everyone goes on about how involved he is all the time but I've only seen that from him being part of our team, his aggression, so I'm looking forward to seeing what it's like playing against that.
"Winning is the thing that made the 2016 tour so good. The last Test was one of the big ones I remember because it would've been very easy for us to sit back a bit and there were plenty of times where we were camped on our own line for about 10 or 20 minutes, managing to win that game was big."
Previous encounters
13 November 2021: England 32-15 Australia - Twickenham Stadium, London
19 October 2019: England 40-16 Australia - Oita Stadium, Oita, Japan
24 November 2018: England 37-18 Australia - Twickenham Stadium, London
18 November 2017: England 30-6 Australia - Twickenham Stadium, London
3 December 2016: England 37-21 Australia - Twickenham Stadium, London
25 June 2016: Australia 40-44 England - Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
18 June 2016: Australia 7-23 England - Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne
11 June 2016: Australia 28-39 England - Lang Park, Brisbane
3 October 2015: England 13-33 Australia - Twickenham Stadium, London
29 November 2014: England 26-17 Australia - Twickenham Stadium, London
Key stats
England have won their last eight competitive matches against Australia, their longest streak to date against the Wallabies.
Australia's last victory against England came in the 2015 World Cup group stage in a 33-13 victory for the Wallabies that knocked England out of the competition.
England and Australia have played a total of 52 matches over the course of the 113 year history of the fixture with Australia winning 25 and England winning 26 and one draw between the teams.
England have only managed to win in Australia on 6 occasions, the first coming back in 2003, with the 2016 Summer tour being the first and only time an English side has secured a series win on Australian soil.
Australia won seven of their 14 matches in 2021 in a run that included back-to-back victories over the Worlc champion Springboks. However, they have lost their last three internationals to Scotland, England and Wales.
Michael Hooper captains the Wallabies for the 66th time while Quade Cooper returns to the side for the first time since last October's fixture with Japan.
Australia still hold the record for England's largest ever Test defeat as the Wallabies claimed a 76-0 victory in Brisbane in 1998.
Related topics
- Attack
- T - Tries
- M - Metres carried
- C - Carries
- DB - Defenders beaten
- CB - Clean breaks
- P - Passes
- O - Offloads
- TC - Turnovers conceded
- TA - Try assists
- PTS - Points
- Defence
- Tackles - Tackles
- MT - Missed tackles
- TW - Turnovers won
- Kicking
- K - Kicks in play
- C - Conversions
- PG - Penalty goals
- DG - Drop goals
- Set plays
- TW - Throws won
- LW - Lineouts won
- LS - Lineout steals
- Discipline
- PC - Penalties conceded
- RC - Red cards
- YC - Yellow cards
England beaten by Australia in Perth
Despite two late tries England were beaten 30-28 by the Wallabies in their opening Test in Perth.
Tom Curry was the catalyst behind England's first penalty inside the opening five minutes, forcing a turnover on fly-half Noah Lolesio - who was promoted to start after Quade Cooper sustained an injury before the match - and Owen Farrell, back in the fold for the first time since November 2021, nudged the 30 metre kick to hand England a 0-3 lead.
Eddie Jones' charges entered a period of set piece dominance, and rhythm in attack, as Marcus Smith and Farrell combined well to unlock Joe Cokanasiga and Jack Nowell out wide. A break from Curry on the 20 minute mark saw him scythe through the Aussie defence, and lift a pass into the onrushing Joe Marchant, who would have scored if not for a superb cover tackle courtesy of Marika Koroibete. A penalty from the resulting attacks enabled Farrell to momentarily extend the lead to 0-6, but Lolesio got one back for the Wallabies with an effort of his own moments later.
The dynamic of the Test changed as half time approached - Jonny Hill was shown a yellow card, and Darcy Swain red for a head butt - and the hosts levelled on the stroke of half time, Lolesio bagging his second penalty from in front of the posts. Stats at the break highlighted how tight the Test was: England making 48 more metres, 12 more carries, and beating six more defenders. Whilst Australia boasted the greater share of possession (55%).
Dave Rennie's men started the second half as they ended the first - with a Lolesio penalty - handing them the lead for the first time in the match. But restored to 15 men, England took advantage of the extra player, and soon had the game's first try on 50 minutes. From a five metre lineout rolling maul, the ball was moved back into the arms of Ellis Genge who barrelled over from close range - Farrell missed the extras, but England led 9-11.
Farrell claimed his ninth point on the hour mark, after hooker Jamie George forced the penalty, extending the lead to five. But again the Wallabies battled back with a Jordan Petaia try, and Lolesio's successful conversion made it 16-14 to the hosts.
As full time neared Billy Vunipola was shown a yellow card for what was judged to be a high tackle on Michael Hooper, and replacement Folau Fainga’a scored Australia's second try minutes later. Lolesio's extras made it 23-14. The Wallabies confirmed their first win over England since 2015 through a converted Pete Samu try in the 79th minute - but there was late drama.
Henry Arundell, who came off the bench to make his debut, scored with his first touch of the game - bursting through the tackles of Andrew Kellaway and Len Ikitau, he rounded James O'Connor to dot down in the corner. And following Arundell's lead, scrum half Jack van Poortvliet sniped from the base of a one metre ruck to score on his debut in the final play of the game. Farrell converted both, and the Test ended 30-28.
Reaction
Courtney Lawes: "We had a pretty solid strategy coming out for the second half but we didn’t execute on that front and that let us down. Our defence wasn’t good enough today, but we played plenty of good rugby. We’ve got no end of strong players, so plenty of good things to come. The main things for us is to focus on our discipline and defence."
Eddie Jones: "At 14-9 and with 20 minutes to go we should have put that game away and we didn't so we are very disappointed in that. But the commitment from the players now is that we have to win the series 2-1. We will learn from this game and make sure to not let them off the hook next time.
"The message at half time was to put more pressure on them and we did that in spurts but we let them off, two or three times we were on their line and we didn't finish the move off, and contrary when Australia got into our 22 they finished their movement off. We have to tidy up our ability to finish in attack and defensively we could have gone after them more."
Teams
England
15. Freddie Steward, 14. Jack Nowell, 13. Joe Marchant, 12. Owen Farrell, 11. Joe Cokanasiga, 10. Marcus Smith, 9. Danny Care, 1. Ellis Genge,
2. Jamie George, 3. Will Stuart, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Jonny Hill, 6. Courtney Lawes (C), 7. Tom Curry, 8. Billy Vunipola.
Finishers
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17. Mako Vunipola, 18. Joe Heyes, 19. Ollie Chessum, 20. Lewis Ludlam, 21. Jack van Poortlviet, 22. Guy Porter, 23. Henry Arundell.
Australia
15. Tom Banks, 14. Andrew Kellaway, 13. Len Ikitau, 12. Samu Kerevi, 11. Marika Koroibete, 10. Noah Lolesio, 9. Nic White, 1. Angus Bell, 2. David Porecki, 3. Allan Alaalatoa, 4. Darcy Swain, 5. Caderyn Neville, 6. Rob Leota, 7. Michael Hooper (C), 8. Rob Valetini.
Replacements
16. Folau Fainga’a, 17. Scott Sio, 18. James Slipper, 19. Matt Philip, 20. Pete Samu, 21. Jake Gordon, 22. James O'Connor, 23. Jordan Petaia.
Fixtures & Results
Australia 30 - 28 England
Saturday 9 July - Australia vs England, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (11am BST KO)
Saturday 16 July - Australia vs England, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney (11am BST KO)
