Category: Rugby

With hosts stung by agonising losses and Wallabies eager to impress before Lions tour, much is at stake for both sides

Some games shape entire seasons and, for both England and Australia, another one is looming. Nail the Wallabies convincingly and the home side will believe their fortunes are finally reviving. Permit the visitors a morale enhancing first win in south-west London since the 2015 Rugby World Cup, on the other hand, and the horizon will darken swiftly.

England have already lost five of their past seven internationals dating back to Murrayfield in February. Next week the current world champions are due at Twickenham and, after a brief subsequent reunion with Eddie Jones’s Japan, the first two rounds of next year’s Six Nations championship pit Steve Borthwick’s team against, respectively, Ireland and France.

New Zealand ended Ireland’s 19-match winning streak at Lansdowne Road, running out deserved 23-13 victors over the world ranked number one side in a scrappy encounter.

• Captain rallies team to ‘go out and play with courage’
• England are odds-on to beat struggling Wallabies

Jamie George has called on his England side to have the bravery to stick to their guns and go for the jugular against Australia rather than go into their shells after making a losing start to their autumn campaign.

England will be seeking an 11th win in 12 matches against Australia, who arrive at Twickenham ranked ninth in the world, but Steve Borthwick’s side have lost four of their past five matches after slipping to a third straight defeat by the All Blacks last weekend.

Steve Borthwick’s side need to find another gear and a different mindset to end their frustrating run of narrow defeats

All year England have been a team who find themselves in arm wrestles and last weekend was no different. They get themselves into tight matches that are still in the balance in the final few minutes – it has almost become the trademark of this team. They’ve played eight matches against tier-one nations and the aggregate margin has been 27 points. The biggest margin has been against Scotland, when they lost by nine, but the rest have been decided by a score or less.

That tells me that England have adopted a certain mindset this year but, based on the evidence, they are not very good at winning tight matches. The ledger reads won three, lost five so my question is, do England need to find a way to get better at winning tight matches? Or do they find another way to win matches? My opinion is that they should go for the latter.

• England mood now ‘much more inclusive’ says captain
• ‘Eddie was someone who never wanted to sit still’

The England captain, Jamie George, has insisted that a toxic environment is not a necessary price to pay for success after admitting Eddie Jones’s regime could be “challenging” and that he understands where Danny Care is coming from after his explosive claims about the Australian’s setup.

George, who was appointed England captain at the start of the year, was a mainstay of Jones’s squad and is adamant that the current set-up is “much more inclusive” but did concede “it hasn’t always been that way” in a nod to Care’s comments in his autobiography that the previous environment was like “a dictatorship”. George did, however, laud Jones’s coaching credentials.

• Sua’ali’i picked at outside centre after recent code switch
• Joe Schmidt hopes he ‘can hit the ground running’

Joe Schmidt has only made one change to Australia’s starting XV ahead of this weekend’s Test against England, but it’s a big one. Joseph Sua’ali’i, 21 years old and 6ft 5in, has been picked to start his first ever game of professional rugby union. Sua’ali’i hasn’t played the code since he was a schoolkid, but, with only four Tests on this tour left before Australia’s first against the British & Irish Lions next year, Schmidt’s running short of time to find out if Sua’ali’i’s up to international rugby union after his A$5m (£2.54m) switch from rugby league.

Schmidt admits it’s a risk. “Everything is,” he said. “The thing that gives me confidence is how well Joseph prepares himself. He’s a very professional young man. He’s had plenty of experience both playing rugby union, and as a professional in rugby league. So hopefully he can hit the ground running.”

Former Roosters star Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii is reportedly set to debut for the Wallabies at centre against England just under two months after switching codes from rugby league.

• Back in line to feature against England on Saturday
• ‘He’s got a lot of talent and will get the opportunity’

Jason Robinson, the most successful cross-code rugby player of the modern era, is backing Australia’s newest league convert to make an instant impact if he is parachuted into Saturday’s Test against England. Joseph Sua’ali’i is in line to feature in a Wallaby jersey for the first time and could even start despite not having played a single game of professional union.

Australia are desperately hoping the 21-year-old Sua’ali’i will be the catalyst who transforms their recent fortunes, not just in their forthcoming November Tests but in next year’s three-Test series against the British & Irish Lions. If the former Sydney Roosters back does make his debut at Twickenham, Robinson is among those who believe he may surprise a few people.