England look to bounce back from last week’s disappointment as they host Australia at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham this afternoon. Steve Borthwick’s side had the chance to beat New Zealand in a dramatic finish, but George Ford’s penalty hit the post and he then missed a drop-goal attempt with the final kick,
An unchanged XV has been named, though there is a shift at centre with Henry Slade moving inside and Ollie Lawrence handed the 13 shirt. England have an extremely strong recent record against Australia, winning 10 of the last 11 matches between the two sides.
Australia, meanwhile, are in poor form, losing five of their last games. They finished bottom of the Rugby Championship earlier this year, with just one win to their name, and crashed out of the World Cup in the pool stage in 2023. Former Irish head coach Joe Schmidt is now leading the Wallabies and he has a big job on his hands. Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog below, featuring expert analysis from Simon Collings at the ground!
England vs Australia latest news
PENALTY! England 5-3 Australia | Noah Lolesio 10′
15:21 , Matt Verri
Australia up and running, kick sent safely through the middle of the posts.
Considering how the first ten minutes has gone, Australia can be delighted they are only a couple of points down.
England 5-0 Australia
15:20 , Matt Verri
9 mins: Australia’s first chance to break, as they turn it over on halfway. McReight led the charge but he didn’t have enough support.
Advantage though, with England penalised for offside. And we’ll go back for that as the ball goes loose.
Lolesio points to the posts.
Simon Collings at Twickenham
15:18 , Matt Verri
That all started from Smith’s great kick. Australia in reverse after that and then could never get into forward gear.
Excellent from England.
England 5-0 Australia
15:17 , Matt Verri
Smith can’t add the extra two points from the right touchline.
Great start from England, they’ve been dominant in the opening minutes and have their reward.
Cunningham-South pulled out the Cole Palmer celebration…
TRY! England 5-0 Australia | Chandler Cunningham-South 5′
15:16 , Matt Verri
Smith with a lovely kick through, it bounces up kindly for Lawrence and England are back in the 22.
And it’s a sensational try!
Worked wide, great hands and Cunningham-South is the man there to go over in the corner.
England 0-0 Australia
15:13 , Matt Verri
2 mins: Good start this from England. Intensity there from the off, they’ve worked their way to just outside the Australia 22.
Genge bundles on, before England spill it forward and Australia will have a scrum, and a chance to clear their lines.
KICK-OFF!
15:11 , Matt Verri
Up and running at Twickenham!
15:09 , Matt Verri
Anthems done, with a minute’s silence also observed ahead of Remembrance Day.
Kick-off next!
Here we go!
15:04 , Matt Verri
Teams are out. Ella-Mobbs Trophy on the line – there really is a trophy for everything.
Time for the anthems.
Ten minute warning!
15:01 , Matt Verri
Players will very shortly be in the tunnel.
All the expectation is that this turns into a fairly comfortable afternoon for England, setting the stage for next weekend’s clash against South Africa.
Need to make a quick start and ensure that isn’t derailed early…
Borthwick’s pre-match thoughts…
14:51 , Matt Verri
The England head coach has insisted his side will not be taking Australia lightly this afternoon.
“Australia are a side that are developing, as we are,” Borthwick said.
“They’ve got an incredible coach in Joe Schmidt, a powerful pack and speed in the back line, as we have.
“I’m expecting a great game today.”
Simon Collings at Twickenham
14:45 , Matt Verri
A lot of eyes on Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii today. Can confirm – watching him in the warm-up – he’s an absolute giant of man.
Ridiculous size for a 21-year-old, and he can shift, too.
Stage is set!
14:42 , Matt Verri
Not long now, kick-off coming up in just under 30 minutes…
Suaalii the big hope for Australia
14:33 , Matt Verri
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii will start his first ever game of professional rugby union this afternoon. You heard.
The 21-year-old has switched from rugby league and, with the Lions touring Australia next year, Joe Schmidt has decided to throw him in at the deep end.
Schmidt said: “I guess for us, there’s four Test matches left this year before we embark on a massive Lions tour next year.
“So if not now, when? It’s unlikely it’ll go perfectly, but it will be a benchmark that he can build from.”
Simon Collings at Twickenham
14:23 , Matt Verri
Time for England to hit top form.
Hosts have arrived!
14:10 , Matt Verri
Big crowds already outside Twickenham as the England squad stroll in…
England dominating head-to-head
14:03 , Matt Verri
This is a fixture England have enjoyed in recent years.
A win for Australia in Perth in 2022 is the only time they have beaten England since 2015 – a run of one victory in 11 matches.
Four straight Twickenham defeats since then.
George: We will take Australia on
13:51 , Matt Verri
Jamie George has insisted England will be on the front foot and looking to attack Australia this afternoon.
“My messaging to the team, Steve’s messaging the team, we’re going to want to go out and play with courage and be brave and take teams on and never sit back,” the England captain said.
“The challenge is, can we continue to do that for 80 minutes?
“There’s a fine line between being relentless and almost reckless. We’re very clear about how we want to go about things. I think the more time that we spend together, the better we’re going to get. Whoever we’re playing, we want to take them on.
“If you worry about that expectation too much [you can] start sitting back and being fearful of failure rather than going out there and taking teams on. We will take Australia on on Saturday, that has been the message all week.”
Still to come…
13:42 , Matt Verri
England could really do with a win this afternoon, because it’s not going to get any easier.
World champions South Africa are the visitors to Twickenham next weekend – that really will be a test of where England are.
And to round off the Autumn Nations Series, England face Japan, who are led by some guy called Eddie Jones. Should be fun.
Cunningham-South a clear fan favourite
13:31 , Matt Verri
It was a tackle that got everyone at Twickenham off their seats and, when the replay was shown on the big screens, a collective gasp reverberated around the stadium.
New Zealand lock Tupou Vaa’i will have only seen Chandler Cunningham-South out of the corner of his eye, before the England flanker hit him with a ferocious tackle.
Vaa’i hit the deck, the ball fell forward and Cunningham-South threw his hands in the air in an effort to whip up the crowd.
The Twickenham faithful duly responded and, while it is still early days in Cunningham-South’s England career, the 21-year-old is quickly becoming a fan favourite.
So close and yet…
13:23 , Matt Verri
England could well have beaten New Zealand a week ago.
They led by eight points with 15 minutes to go, five points with five minutes to go… and then George Ford missed two chances to win it.
Standard Sport prediction
13:13 , Matt Verri
England showed plenty of promise in their narrow loss to New Zealand, and Australia are a weaker opposition.
The Wallabies are clearly a team in transition under Schmidt and head to Twickenham looking to avoid a fourth defeat on the spin.
England to win, by 20-plus points.
Australia team news
13:06 , Matt Verri
Australia have handed a rugby union debut to Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii at centre, drafting the rugby league convert straight into the side.
The 21-year-old has yet to play a game of union having been long pursued by Rugby Australia to make the switch of codes after playing league for Samoa. He will partner Len Ikitau in the midfield in the only change from defeat to New Zealand last time out.
Australia XV: Wright, Kellaway, Sua’ali’i, Ikitau, Pietsch, Lolesio, Gordon; Wilson, McReight, Valetini, Williams, Frost, Tupou, Faessler, Bell
Replacements: Paenga-Amosa, Slipper, Alaalatoa, Salakaia-Loto, Gleeson, McDermott, Donaldson, Jorgensen
England team news
12:54 , Matt Verri
Steve Borthwick has named an unchanged XV from the narrow defeat to New Zealand, though has made a positional switch in midfield and two changes among the replacements.
Henry Slade has been given the nod at inside centre, moving Ollie Lawrence to 13, perhaps in anticipation of Samu Kereviwhile’s return for Australia, while Ben Spencer moves to scrumhalf for just the second time.
Perhaps more notably, Borthwick has reverted to a 5-3 split in favour of forwards over backs among his replacements. Luke Cowan-Dickie gets a spot on the bench ahead of Theo Dan as hooker cover for captain Jamie George. It is the first time Borthwick has named Cowan-Dickie in a matchday squad and points towards a beefing up of their scrum options.
Northampton winger Ollie Sleightholme is also on the bench, meaning there is no space for flanker Ben Curry.
England XV: Furbank, Feyi-Waboso, Lawrence, Slade, Freeman, Smith, Spencer; Earl, Curry, Cunningham-South, Martin, Itoje, Stuart, George (c), Genge
Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Baxter, Cole, Isiekwe, Dombrandt, Randall, Ford, Sleightholme
How to watch England vs Australia
12:47 , Matt Verri
TV channel: The game will be broadcast on TNT Sports 1, with coverage starting at 2pm GMT ahead of a 3.10pm kick-off.
Live stream: Subscribers will be able to watch on a live stream via the Discovery+ website and app.
LIVE coverage: Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s dedicated match blog!
Good afternoon!
12:40 , Matt Verri
Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of England vs Australia!
It’s the second match of the Autumn Nations Series for England, after last weekend’s narrow defeat to the All Blacks. Can they bounce back?
We’ll have all the latest updates and build-up ahead of kick-off, which comes at 3:10pm GMT from Twickenham, which we have to at least show an interest in calling the Allianz Stadium.