Michael Hooper says Australia half-backs ready for English onslaught

Michael Hooper has revealed Australia's half-backs are ready to be targeted by England in Saturday's Cook Cup clash at Twickenham, live on Sky Sports.

Wallabies head coach Michael Cheika claimed Eddie Jones' side will look to "bully" their old rivals and have deliberately hit Will Genia and Bernard Foley late in previous encounters.

"It's something the halves have been working on," Australia openside and captain Hooper said.

"It (hitting late) is certainly to try to slow our ball down. Tactically if your half-back is not at the next ruck, they have more of an opportunity to get a turnover or get pressure on your ball.

"You've got to be careful with doing it because you can give away a penalty. Every time you play in big games there are going to be things like that coming up.

"It's just a tactic that you see not only England do, but a lot of other teams around the world and throughout this year. We are focusing on our things, our job."

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Australia will usurp England in second place in the global rankings if they end a four-match losing sequence in the fixture by winning at Twickenham.

"It's something we haven't spoken about but we know there is a potential to do that," Hooper said. "Our focus has been all year to improve week by week against teams around the world.

"Our focus is what will work against England and it will be a nice bonus if it does happen."

Adam Coleman has been ruled out of the match due to a thumb injury, resulting in a debut for Blake Enever. Among the replacements, Henry Speight drops off the extended bench named on Thursday.

"Blake has been picked for a really clear purpose - to do his stuff around the line-out, being strong in the set piece and just working," Hooper said.