England v Australia: Five talking points ahead of the Twickenham clash
By Keith Moore
Last Updated: 18/11/17 9:19pm
Five talking points ahead of England's autumn internationals clash with Australia, live on Sky Sports Action from 2pm on Saturday.
England got their autumn campaign off to a winning start against Argentina, but it wasn't the most convincing performance under Eddie Jones, who was visibly frustrated as his troops struggled their way to a 21-8 win.
Australia were better value for their hard-fought 29-21 victory over Wales in Cardiff, with Jones referring to them as "probably the form team in the world at the moment", but the Wallabies will know that England pose a bigger threat this weekend at Twickenham.
We look at five talking points ahead of Saturday's game...
Hungry Lions
England welcome back two key players ahead of the all-important showdown with the Aussies. Owen Farrell is part of the run-on side, while fellow British and Irish Lion Maro Itoje takes his place on the bench after Jones opted to give starting berths to Courtney Lawes and Joe Launchbury.
The two Saracens were rested for England's Test against Argentina, but this week Farrell returns at inside centre, with Henry Slade dropping to the replacements bench.
"He is a good communicator and a great competitor," Jones said of Farrell. "We will need to compete really hard against Australia and there is nobody better at that than Owen."
The depth of resources available to Jones in the second row is evident in Itoje's selection on the bench. Lawes had a storming game against the Pumas last week, making the most tackles by any England player with an impressive 24 hits on Argentina ball-carriers, while Launchbury made a big impact from the bench.
George Kruis - another Lion in England's ranks - drops out of the 23 completely.
Itoje and Farrell were this week shortlisted for World Rugby's Player of the Year award, and will no doubt be looking to stamp their mark at Twickenham after missing out on game time last week.
History and hot form
England and Australia have met 48 times in total, with the Wallabies slightly ahead of Saturday's opponents over the course of history with 25 wins to England's 22, and one draw in 1997.
Between 2003 and 2010 England only won three of their 10 games against Australia, one of which was the thrilling extra-time win in the 2003 World Cup final in Sydney.
However, in recent times England have enjoyed dominance over the Aussies. Saturday's hosts have won eight of the last 10 Tests between the two teams - crucially one of those losses came in the 2015 World Cup - and whitewashed the Wallabies in a three-Test series in Australia in June last year.
Jones and Michael Cheika have faced off four times in this fixture - all in 2016 - with Jones coming out on top on all four occasions.
However, Australia are in the throws of a resurgence, prompting Jones' comments about them being the form team in the world, and are the most recent side to beat Steve Hansen's All Blacks after a 23-18 win in Brisbane last month.
In fact, the Bledisloe Cup could easily be back in Australia's hands were they not beaten by a last-gasp Beauden Barrett try in Dunedin during the Rugby Championship earlier in the year.
Can England continue their purple patch against Australia, or will the Wallabies' momentum carry them to victory?
Underhill v Hooper
Sam Underhill performed well in his first start for England on home soil, making 21 tackles against the Pumas - second only to Lawes for England overall.
Underhill's ability to stop runners in their tracks with a low centre of gravity makes him a vital component in England's defence, and this weekend he comes up against a No 7 who is heavily utilised in his side's attack.
Against Wales, Michael Hooper carried the ball 10 times, the most by an Australian forward at the Principality Stadium and second overall to centre Samu Kerevi, and also scored a try against Warren Gatland's side.
Hooper does his fair share of work without the ball - his 14 tackles and three turnovers putting him top of the Wallaby pile in both categories - but it is his link play with the Aussie backs that makes him such a threat.
It's a case of contrasting styles in the No 7 berth this weekend, and the battle at the breakdown should prove very interesting as a result of it.
England's rapid back three
Returning Leicester winger Jonny May forms a lightning back three alongside Anthony Watson and Elliot Daly - possibly the fastest trio fielded by England - and they have been given the license to counter-attack by Eddie Jones.
May missed the win over Argentina due to injury, but in training this week set a new personal best top speed of 10.49 metres per second over 40 metres.
"I was gobsmacked that I did it really because I had just tweaked my hammy the week before," May said.
"It was a 40 or 50-metre sprint. It was a rehab run. I was shocked. I didn't think I would go anywhere that fast. I knew I had to run flat out to test the hamstring."
But when quizzed as to whether he was the quickest of the England backs, May told Sky Sports News: "I don't know about that. We all like to try and be as fast as we can be."
Australia's tactical kicking will need to be pinpoint, as the counter-attacking abilities of England's triumvirate could pose problems if given the ball with space to wander.
However Australia's back three are no slouches themselves, with Kurtley Beale, Marika Koroibete and Reece Hodge picked to start, which surely sets Twickenham up for a blistering showdown between the two sets of backs.
Beale factor
Beale is playing full-back for the Wallabies due to the absence of Israel Folau who has been rested for the November tour.
The 28-year-old returns to England following a stint with Wasps, which he says improved him as a player, and also reinstated his passion to play at the highest level.
"I learned a lot from my experience here at Wasps," Beale said. "Understanding different styles of games and plays.
"Being away lit the fire in the belly to put on the gold jersey again. While I can still represent my country at the highest level, I felt I needed to give myself every chance to do so.
"As a player you always want to be playing at the pinnacle, and Test match rugby is the ultimate."
The 69-cap Wallaby has been in fine form since returning to Australia, and says his experience gives him the confidence to play his natural game.
"You understand what is required to play at this level. I haven't changed too much, I have just been myself and add to the group wherever I can."
Beale will need to play a strong leadership role from the back, with his wingers boasting less than half his Wallaby caps between them. If he is able to get Hodge and Koroibete firing on all cylinders, Australia will be tough for England to handle on Saturday.
Teams
England: 15 Anthony Watson, 14 Jonny May, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs; 1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 3 Dan Cole, 4 Joe Launchbury, 5 Courtney Lawes, 6 Chris Robshaw, 7 Sam Underhill, 8 Nathan Hughes.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Maro Itoje, 20 Sam Simmonds, 21 Danny Care, 22 Henry Slade, 23 Semesa Rokoduguni.
Australia: 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Marika Koroibete, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Reece Hodge, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia; 1 Scott Sio, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 3 Sekope Kepu, 4 Rob Simmons, 5 Blake Enever, 6 Ned Hanigan, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 8 Sean McMahon.
Replacements (one to be omitted): 16 Stephen Moore, 17 Tom Robertson, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Matt Philip, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Lopeti Timani, 22 Nick Phipps, 23 Karmichael Hunt, 24 Henry Speight.
Watch England v Australia live on Saturday from 2pm on Sky Sports Action.