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'If you go through the motions against Australia, you are going to get unpicked'
By Josh Raisey
England got their Autumn Nations Series off to the perfect start on Saturday with a comfortable 69-3 win over Tonga. Meanwhile, Australia had their five match unbeaten streak snapped by Scotland at BT Murrayfield on Sunday with a narrow 15-13 loss. The two sides now face each other first the first time since their 2019 Rugby World Cup quarter-final encounter in which England triumphed 40-16.
The hosts will be boosted by the return of captain Owen Farrell, who missed the win over Tonga due to a false positive on a Covid test. Eddie Jones now faces the problem of fitting him into his starting XV with Marcus Smith, who produced an eye catching cameo against Tonga.
When, where and how to watch the match
The match will kick-off at 17:30 (GMT) on Saturday November 13th at Twickenham and will be broadcast live on Amazon Prime.
Head-to-head
England are currently on a seven-match winning streak against the Wallabies, which is the longest either side has enjoyed across their 51 contests. Since taking the reins at Twickenham in 2016, Jones is yet to lose against the country of his birth, guiding England to all seven wins in this streak. Overall, they have both won 25 matches against each other, with one draw.
The hosts could also make history with a win on Saturday, as it would mark the first time in the 112-year history of Anglo-Australian affairs that England lead the head-to-head battle.
Match odds from bet365
bet365 have the handicap on England at -12. There are also 19/4 odds that England win the match with a margin between 6-10 points and 11/2 odds of a margin between 1-5.
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Prediction
Following England's win, former England scrum-half Matt Dawson urged Jones to start Smith at No.10, stressing that he will be key to overcoming an Australia side who are ranked third in the world.
"Are we going to get a better chance to see what Smith can do than at home against Australia, where you are going to have to unlock them?" the 2003 World Cup winner said.
"If you go through the motions against Australia, you are going to get unpicked. They proved in the Rugby Championship, where they twice beat South Africa, that they are not the team of three or four years ago.
"Looking at the video of Saturday's game, the Wallabies are going to have to look at Tuilagi, Henry Slade, Adam Radwan and Jonny May. They have got a lot to think about.
"All of a sudden, if you put Smith in there, they have to pay attention and spend a lot of their week studying what England can do."
*Odds accurate as of 8/11/21.
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