England team: Steve Borthwick makes midfield switch and two bench changes ahead of ‘massive challenge’ against Wallabies
Henry Slade moves in one position for England while Luke Cowan-Dickie is on the bench.
England head coach Steve Borthwick has made a tweak to his midfield in an otherwise unchanged starting team for their Autumn Nations Series clash with Australia.
The alteration sees Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade switch positions after the 24-22 All Blacks defeat, as Lawrence now wears jersey 13 and Slade is at inside centre.
Marcus Smith continues as the starting fly-half after his impressive performance last weekend, with Ben Spencer retained at scrum-half for the Twickenham match.
Back three retained
The England back three is also as it was from the New Zealand game as Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Tommy Freeman and George Furbank line up to take on the Wallabies.
Up front Jamie George will captain England, supported by vice-captains Maro Itoje, Ben Earl, Ellis Genge and George Ford, who is included among the replacements.
George will start at hooker with Genge at loosehead prop and Will Stuart at tighthead while Itoje links up with George Martin in the second-row at Allianz Stadium.
Completing the starting line-up is a back-row trio of Chandler Cunningham-South on the blindside flank, Tom Curry at openside flanker and Earl at number eight.
Loose Pass: England substitutions the ‘game-changer’ All Blacks needed
There are two changes to the bench from last Saturday’s narrow loss against New Zealand, with Luke Cowan-Dickie and Ollie Sleightholme poised to make their first appearances of the Autumn Nations Series. They join Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall and Ford among Borthwick’s replacements.
“Facing Australia is always a massive challenge, and we’ll work diligently this week to ensure we’re physically and tactically prepared to take on the Wallabies,” said Borthwick.
“The passion and energy from the crowd at Allianz Stadium last weekend was absolutely brilliant, from the opening whistle to the final moments, and we can’t wait to be back at home this Saturday.”
England team to face Wallabies
England: 15 George Furbank, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Tommy Freeman, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Alex Dombrandt, 21 Harry Randall, 22 George Ford, 23 Ollie Sleightholme
Date: Saturday, November 9
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
Kick-off: 15:10 GMT
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (GRU), Paul Williams (NZR)
TMO: Glenn Newman (NZR)
