England welcome Australia to Allianz Stadium, Twickenham as the Autumn Nations Series rolls on with the hosts desperately needing to get a victory on the board.
England have played well in each of their last six Tests but won only two of those matches, with a pair of late losses in New Zealand over the summer and last week’s heartbreaking defeat to the same All Blacks on home soil meaning they are in the midst of a frustrating losing streak.
Defeat to a flawed Wallabies side struggling to find their feet under new coach Joe Schmidt – having won just one of six games to finish bottom of the Rugby Championship – would raise serious questions about the Steve Borthwick project, giving this game a must-win feel for the hosts.
Borthwick has opted for an unchanged starting XV from a week ago, although Luke Cowan-Dickie and Ollie Sleightholme come on to the bench, while Australia give a debut to rugby league convert Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii at outside centre, as the 21-year-old plays his first-ever match in union.
Follow all of the action from Allianz Stadium, Twickenham in our live blog below:
Australia team news
Joe Schmidt throws rugby league convert Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii straight in from the start as the former Sydney Rooster makes his first senior appearance in union.
His inclusion at outside centre is the lone change to the starting side that ended the Rugby Championship, meaning there is no place for either Samu Kerevi or Will Skelton, who have returned to the squad ahead of the Autumn Nations Series. Harry Wilson continues as captain in a well-balanced back row.
Australia XV: 1 Angus Bell, 2 Matt Faessler, 3 Taniela Tupou; 4 Nick Frost, 5 Jeremy Williams; 6 Rob Valetini, 7 Fraser McReight, 8 Harry Wilson (capt.); 9 Jake Gordon, 10 Noah Lolesio; 11 Dylan Pietsch, 12 Len Ikitau, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 14 Andrew Kellaway; 15 Tom Wright.
Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 James Slipper, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 20 Langi Gleeson; 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Max Jorgensen.
Luke Baker9 November 2024 12:17
England team news
Steve Borthwick sticks with the same starting side beaten by New Zealand last weekend, though Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence swap shirts in the centres.
On the bench, Luke Cowan-Dickie is set for his first cap under Borthwick after being recalled in the place of Theo Dan, while Ollie Sleightholme comes in for Ben Curry as England revert to a traditional five/three forwards-to-backs split.
England XV: 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Jamie George (capt.), 3 Will Stuart; 4 Maro Itoje, 5 George Martin; 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 7 Tom Curry, 8 Ben Earl; 9 Ben Spencer, 10 Marcus Smith; 11 Tommy Freeman, 12 Henry Slade, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso; 15 George Furbank
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
Luke Baker9 November 2024 12:05
When is England vs Australia?
England vs Australia is due to kick off at 3.10pm GMT on Saturday 9 November at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on TNT Sports 1, with coverage on the channel from 2pm GMT. Subscribers can stream the action via discovery+.
Luke Baker9 November 2024 11:55
England v Australia LIVE
Good afternoon and welcome along to The Independent’s LIVE coverage of England’s fascinating Autumn Nations Series clash with Australia.
The November action got underway with a thriller between the All Blacks and England last weekend and a narrow defeat for Steve Borthwick’s men means they head into this contest at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham in desperate need of a win to stop an alarming recent pattern of playing well but losing matches.
Against an Australia side that is a shadow of their former selves and struggling for results under new coach Joe Schmidt, England are arguably in must-win territory.
Kick-off is at 3.10pm GMT.
Luke Baker8 November 2024 11:15
