Preview: England v Australia

Revenge will be in the air this Saturday when the wounded Wallabies arrive at HQ looking to retain the Cook Cup trophy in England.

Revenge will most definitely be in the air this Saturday when the wounded Wallabies arrive at HQ looking to retain the Cook Cup on English soil.

Once again in this fixture, the scrum becomes the pre-game focal point as Wales were the latest nation to get the better of the outfit donning Gold.

So why did the Wallaby trio hold up well in the Tri-Nations and not in Cardiff? Well the second Test of the 2009 British & Irish Lions tour is a good yardstick to go off, as Matthew Rees and Adam Jones' inclusion certainly made more of an impact than Lee Mears and Phil Vickery did.

Like Wales, England were also strong up front against their opening southern opponents, and that doesn't bode well for the Wallabies. However, this week Martin Johnson has opted not to stick with the out-and-out bulk of Steve Thompson alongside Dan Cole and Andrew Sheridan, who all put in impressive set-piece performances against the All Blacks. Instead he rewards Dylan Hartley for his abrasive spell in the second-half. Some say he should be banned following an act on Richie McCaw…I leave to you to be the judge.

Hartley is the only change to the starting line-up made by Johnson while lock Simon Shaw takes the place of Dave Attwood in the number 18 jersey. The Wallabies meanwhile have gone for all but one of the XV that escaped the Millennium Stadium with an efficient win.

Then it was over to Welford Road on Tuesday with Robbie Deans admitting in the post-match he was impressed by that pack, but it cannot be downplayed just how the scrum could affect how things pan out on Saturday. We have witnessed in the past that English rugby's HQ is buzzing when their eight is moving forward so Australia must step up to the plate if they are to allow Quade Cooper decent ball upon which to work his magic.

Another man enjoying his rugby at present is Kurtley Beale. It seems strange to label it as a 'second coming' as he is still only 21, but the Waratahs full-back has found something he didn't have when he was thrown into the mix for his franchise back in 2007. Pace to burn and an eye for what is going on around him nowadays, he has also attracted praise from his own team-mate Drew Mitchell who is loving Beale's 'instinctive' mindset.

Maybe he is the missing piece of the jigsaw for Australia, a squad that is developing into serious World Cup contenders ahead of next year. A further boost is a favourable draw as – going on form – they should avoid both New Zealand and South Africa until the big finale.

England also cannot be written off in 2011 if we are to study recent improved performances – last week's effort proving that June 19's victory in Sydney was no fluke. Despite this, Australia go into Saturday's game as favourites with the bookies and one would have to agree rightly so. But whether they can front up at scrum-time and go some way better than their humiliation in Cardiff is the aching doubt. We all know they have the answers wider out.

Ones to watch:

For England: Not long ago he insisted that his bad temper was well-and-truly behind him. But last Saturday's antics proved that Dylan Hartley still has a job controlling himself. This week he gets a start and will be looking to get under the skin of his opponents. Australia may be the ones looking to get amongst him though and rightly so as if Hartley doesn't keep his cool then South African official Craig Joubert might be reaching for his pocket.

For Australia: I have already mentioned him. Kurtley Beale has made the number fifteen jersey his own over the past few months and possesses a step, pace and intelligence that saw Wales the latest to struggle with him. If he's on his game then England are in trouble.

Head-to-head: You've guessed it, the front-rows. Dan Cole has shown time and time again for Leicester that he can mix it with the best and the return of Andrew Sheridan has been a blessing in the same way that Ben Alexander's comeback has been to the Wallabies.

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

Prediction: A tough one to call, but I can see David Pocock shining. Australia by 6!

The teams:

England: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Shontayne Hape, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody (capt), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements: 16 Steve Thompson, 17 David Wilson, 18 Simon Shaw, 19 Hendrie Fourie, 20 Danny Care, 21 Charlie Hodgson, 22 Delon Armitage.

Australia: 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (capt), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Mark Chisholm, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Huia Edmonds, 17 James Slipper, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 Richard Brown, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Lachie Turner.

Date: Saturday, November 13
Venue: Twickenam, London
Kick-off: 15:30 (14:30 GMT)
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Christophe Berdos (France), Simon Mcdowell (Ireland)
Television match official: Jim Yuille (Scotland)

By Adam Kyriacou