Investec Challenge Series

England v Australia

15/11/08 - KO 2.30pm

Match Preview

If you can’t get tickets for Twickenham on Saturday, don’t bother heading to the pubs in London. There won’t be any staff because the Wallabies are in town. They turn up with a major score to settle, despite the team and management playing it down, the Rugby public in Australia are looking for revenge for that night in Marseille just over a year ago.

English Rugby has had yet another re-birth since that night and arrived in the delivery room last week with more of a pop than a bang, but with early signs that this time things really are changing for the better. Australia seemed to struggle in Italy, but with a raft of changes for this week’s game, we probably shouldn’t read too much into that.

Much of the press attention has so far been focussed on the front row confrontation, perhaps understandably as this was probably the battle which was most responsible for England’s RWC quarter final victory, with Sheridan seeing off both Al Baxter and Matt Dunning. No doubt England will be hoping for more of the same this week, but I hope they are not banking on being so dominant this time. Sheridan has been some way short of that kind of form all season, and under Michael Foley, the Wallabies pack has improved significantly. Let’s hope that Graham Rowntree’s public questioning of Sheridan’s low intimidation levels, can provide the motivation to see him destroy the Aussie pair all over again. One of the more pleasing aspects of the PI game was England’s total dominance of the line-out, they will do very well to repeat the feat against Australia, who have recalled Nathan Sharpe, still, in my opinion, one the best line-out men around.

Englands Tom Palmer during a Photo Call at Penny Hill Park Hotel, Bagshot, - photos Empics 

Couple that with the fact that Martin Johnson has decided to go for what is perhaps a more balanced pair of locks, with the extra bulk of Tom Palmer replacing the athleticism of Nick Kennedy, and Borthwick, Mears and Croft look set for a much more challenging afternoon. The Back row matchup should be very interesting, England remain unchanged and seem to have good balance here Easter at the base for some nous and good old fashioned hard graft, Croft on the blind for work rate and pace and Rees at open to tackle everything and dog it out on the ground. As for the Aussies, we know all about George Smith, one of the best pinchers of ball on the ground that there is, but the other two are perhaps not so well known in England. Richard Brown at No8 is known as the Western Force’s “Mr Perpetual Motion”, very hard worker, decent carrier and as a former Wallabies 7’s player, not short on pace either. Hugh McMeniman on the blind side is another hard grafter with good pace, he has just returned from an injury so remains to be seen if he has got full match fitness back yet, but could be a danger.

Despite the press coverage on the forward battle, and England’s traditional dominance over the Aussies here, I think the battles in the backs are likely to more interesting this time, and hopefully less stacked in Australia’s favour. Two young 9’s largely unknown to the opposition makes for an interesting start. Then we get to the headline men. With Berwick Barnes picking up an injury against Italy, Robbie Deans has gone for Giteau at 10. Despite being undoubtedly one of the most talented players in the game, I personally think that many of Giteau’s talents are wasted at 10. Perhaps that should be lessened, rather than wasted. Danny Cipriani has promised us a much better performance than the self scored 5 he gave us last week. Both have a liking for the unpredictable and the daring, which could either delight or frustrate. With Giteua stepping up to 10, so Mortlock steps up to 12 providing a great opportunity for us to see if Riki Flutey is the proverbial ‘real deal’. At 13 we have almost mirror images the much maligned Jamie Noon and yet another Australian League convert Ryan Cross. On their day both strong direct runners, but not, perhaps, best known for their handling skills. Also a similar mix to both back 3’s, one guy with a bit of experience, Sackey for England and Mitchell for Australia, partnered by 2 young rookies. England’s back 3 was the biggest plus from last week, looking dangerous in attack and also coping with no real fuss with the power of the PI runners. It will be interesting to see if they can cope as well with similar power coupled with bit of Aussie guile.

Much maligned Jamie Noon tackles Irelands Andrew Trimble 

This should be a close one. I hope England have the nerve to continue the good work they started against PI, and not revert back into the safety first shell. I am honour bound to go for an England win, and despite both defences being very capable, there could be a few tries on offer. A victory over Australia is always pleasurable, particularly for those of us based over here, but this time I really do believe that in England’s fourth restart in 5 years, that the performance is more important than the result. Though I doubt I will be thinking that for 80 minutes late on Saturday night. And just think what a victory could do for confidence with South Africa and New Zealand to come.

                   Bring It On!

15. D Armitage (London Irish)

14. P Sackey (Wasps)

13. J Noon (Newcastle)

12. R Flutey (Wasps)

11. U Monye (Harlequins)

10. D Cipriani (Wasps)

 9. D Care (Harlequins)

 8. N Easter (Harlequins)

 7. T Rees (Wasps)

 6. T Croft (Leicester)

 5. T Palmer (Wasps)

 4. S Borthwick (Saracens, capt)

 3. P Vickery (Wasps)

 2. L Mears (Bath)

 1. A Sheridan (Sale Sharks)

Australia team:

15. A Ashley-Cooper (Brumbies)

14. P Hynes (Queensland Reds)

13. R Cross (Western Force)

12. S Mortlock (Brumbies) captain

11. D Mitchell (Western Force)

10. M Giteau (Western Force)

 9. L Burgess (NSW Waratahs)

 8. R Brown (Western Force)

 7. G Smith (Brumbies)

 6. H McMeniman (Queensland Reds)

 5. N Sharpe (Western Force)

 4. M Chisholm (Brumbies)

 3. A Baxter (NSW Waratahs)

 2. S Moore (Queensland Reds)

 1. B Robinson (NSW Waratahs)

Replacements: T Polota-Nau (NSW Waratahs), M Dunning (NSW Waratahs), D Mumm (NSW Waratahs), W Palu (NSW Waratahs), S Cordingley (Queensland Reds), Q Cooper (Queensland Reds), D Ioane (Queensland Reds)

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