England captain Dylan Hartley fired up for Australia showdown
Thursday 16 November 2017 22:53, UK
Dylan Hartley hopes England can inflict two months of misery on Australia, starting with a win over the Wallabies at Twickenham on Saturday.
The Cook Cup clash is staged five days before the first Ashes Test in Australia and Hartley has been in contact with friend Alastair Cook, who gave a talk to England's rugby team during this year's Six Nations.
"I'm going to watch the Ashes. I want England to win the Ashes and I want us to beat Australia at Twickenham," Hartley said.
Former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones is relishing the renewal of an old rivalry.
"There's nothing better than an Australia versus England sporting contest," England boss Jones said.
"We've had it in cricket, the rugby league was on the other week and I watched that with interest. I'm looking forward to this, it should be a ripper of a game.
"We want Australia to bring their best form to the game. We want to play against them at their best and see how we go."
Leicester wing Jonny May comes into the team this Saturday for the concussed Mike Brown, with Anthony Watson moving to full-back, and Owen Farrell replacing Henry Slade at inside centre.
Joe Launchbury is preferred to George Kruis at lock and Maro Itoje, who alongside Farrell was rested against Argentina, is picked on the bench.
"Maro is so fresh and eager to go. It's like he's had a pre-season, like he's had a break. It's like he's been away to Barbados for three weeks," Jones said.
"We want to physically dominate them. They're probably the most physical side in the world and we want to show we can dominate them up front."
