Preview: Australia v England

The Cook Cup is in Sydney this weekend as England again aim to prove they have more than one string to their bow against Australia.

The Cook Cup is in Sydney this week as England once again look to prove they have more than one string to their bow against the Australians.

My, how dismal have things gotten since the now under-pressure Martin Johnson was lacing up his boots at this very venue back in RWC 2003.

But forget the earlier light-hearted Robin Hood suggestion about strings and bows, it is the daggers that are readied for the latter and his coaching staff should England put in more performances like the one that graced Perth. Yet again, precious little was evident in back play but it is the worrying thought of whether they even have ideas in the locker for second and third phase ball that makes it embarrassing to watch Australia demonstrate how overlaps are made.

So why are the Wallabies seemingly streets ahead at this time of year? Well one factor may be that the English are fatigued following a long and arduous season. Granted the Springboks might be clearing their throats and scoffing at such an excuse so that is that one extinguished. Another, the conditions of playing Guinness Premiership rugby during the winter months? We saw a marked improvement from the likes of Bath, Saracens and Leicester when the pitches finally cleared up. Oh yes and that relegation issue is always up for discussion. Excuses I don't believe are valid though.

In stark contrast, the Super 14 has been a real delight to watch over recent months and none more so than when the Reds were running the show. Led by talismanic figures Will Genia and Quade Cooper, here stands a group that have come from the depths of despair five years ago to become a serious threat. Anyone who wants to see what they've accomplished in 2010 would be well advised to take a look at this highlights package.

So there you have it, class from such men as Cooper, differing game styles, league duration, confidence in team-plans and indeed themselves as players have subsequently led to one coach smiling and the other snarling. No need to guess which one fits Robbie Deans' state of mind at the moment. He is now blessed with a genuine squad that will strike fear into their World Cup rivals.
Why? Well, for one there is finally a host of options in the bank unlike in previous years, as the likes of Luke Burgess, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Dean Mumm, Richard Brown, Berrick Barnes, Rob Horne, Lachie Turner and James O'Connor might not even make the starting line-up when it comes to the crunch. Add to that the impressive Anthony and Saia Faingaa, Will Chambers, Peter Hynes, Scott Higginbotham, Mark Chisholm, Matt Hodgson, Stephen Hoiles and others also knocking on the door and the New Zealander is now a decent bet to lead his team to Webb Ellis silverware.

Enough of the future for now though; can the past really return to haunt the Wallabies at the venue where Jonny Wilkinson knocked over those infamous points? It is hard to see a repeat – even after many had jumped on the usual scrummage bandwagon as being Australia's Achilles' heel after last weekend. That tongue-bashing won't cut the Golds too deep however, as they know they were minus Benn Robinson, Ben Alexander, Stephen Moore and Polota-Nau. The latter was a possibility to return in Sydney but his body did not recover after Tuesday's clash at the Bluetongue Stadium so Faingaa continues at number two. Elsewhere, Matt Giteau joins Genia in a return to action with the brains trust expected to make it being a painful evening for the tourists.

What of their changes then? Well Johnson has opted to freshen things up at both lock and scrum-half with Courtney Lawes and Ben Youngs stepping up in place of Simon Shaw and Danny Care respectively. In all honesty, I think both tweaks were the right way to go as the veteran looked somewhat off the pace in Perth while Youngs has been a revelation for the Tigers in 2009/10 and so deserves a chance to stake his claim for a permanent slot.

England badly need a performance to be proud of but unfortunately for them it is likely to be another 80 minutes feeding off the scrum as they still seem to missing something that will once again be highlighted by players who trust their own system and actually stick to it with patient, clinical running. Lose on Saturday and the upcoming Wednesday fixture against New Zealand Maoris will be played with the threat of knives sharper than ever.

Ones to watch:

For Australia: Probably just the one selection headache for the coach and that has been whether to stick with Luke Burgess over a now fully fit Will Genia. Not a doubt in our mind though as the Reds stand-in captain this term can pick holes in defences at will and is expected to be a constant problem for the English.

For England: England's new lock has already stated that he will not his type of game that's seen him become a favourite at Franklin's Gardens. And why not? Courtney Lawes is mobile, clocks up a great deal of tackles and should give his country more bite.

Head-to-head: Same as last week then as the front-rows once again do battle. If the trio of Salesi Ma'afu, Saia Faingaa and Ben Daley can establish some form of parity up front then if will be a tough contest for England elsewhere. They can't be as bad as last week, can they?

Previous results:
2010: Australia won 27-17, Perth
2009: Australia won 18-9, London
2008: Australia won 28-14, London
2007: England won 12-10, Marseille (World Cup)
2006: Australia won 43-18, Melbourne
2006: Australia won 34-3, Sydney
2005: England won 26-16, London
2004: Australia won 21-19, London
2004: Australia won 51-15, Brisbane
2003: England won 20-17, Sydney (World Cup)

Prediction: Wallabies are simply vibrating at a higher frequency right now. Australia by 12!

The teams:

Australia: 15 James O'Connor, 14 Digby Ioane, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (c), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Saia Faingaa, 1 Ben Daley.
Replacements: 16 Huia Edmonds, 17 James Slipper, 18 Mark Chisholm, 19 Matt Hodgson, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Adam Ashley-Cooper.

England: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Shontayne Hape, 11 Chris Ashton, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody (c), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Steve Thompson, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 George Chuter, 17 David Wilson, 18 Simon Shaw, 19 James Haskell, 20 Danny Care, 21 Jonny Wilkinson, 22 Delon Armitage.

Date: Saturday, June 19
Kick-off: 20:00 (11:00 BST)
Venue: Stadium Australia, Sydney
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant