The most perplexing thing about Borthwick’s England selection – Andy Goode

It’s a surprise to see Fin Smith overlooked but Steve Borthwick has picked a team full of attacking talent capable of exposing the Wallabies.

George Ford has been rewarded for his excellent performances and leadership in Argentina over the summer but Smith was picked ahead of him for the British & Irish Lions, was the man in possession of the number 10 shirt prior to that and has started the season on fire.

It’s even more perplexing given Smith’s Northampton halfback partner has been picked to start and there are a pair of Saints in the centres as well but perhaps it’s Ford’s kicking game that has got him the nod.

It’s becoming an increasingly important area of the game generally, Australia have utilised it well with the likes of Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii to the fore and England have picked one of the tallest backlines I can remember.

Freddie Steward and Tom Roebuck are two of the very best under a high ball, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso has a prodigous leap on him and both centres are a few inches over six foot, so we’re likely to see boot put to ball a fair bit at Allianz Stadium.

I like the decision to give Freeman another run at outside centre after he started there in the rout of Wales in March as England are blessed with so many options on the wing but he hasn’t started there at all for Northampton in the past 12 months.

From that point of view you have to feel for Ollie Lawrence, who started 14 straight Tests prior to suffering his Achilles injury and has looked good for Bath since working hard to get back fit again.

His clubmate Guy Pepper was probably the biggest surprise in the starting XV but he’s earned his shot on form in the Prem over the past year and offers a bit more height than the other back row options.

He was player of the match in Bath’s Prem semi-final and final victories in June and should provide an extra lineout option as well as the ball-carrying and breakdown ability he possesses.

Freeman and Pepper are exciting selections but they both have extremely tough assignments when you look at their opposite numbers as Suaalii and Rob Valetini are among the very best in the world in their position.

Outside of that, almost all of the match-ups look to be in England’s favour on paper and the bench should give the home side an extra edge with no fewer than six British & Irish Lions waiting in the wings as part of their own version of a bomb squad.

Ellis Genge and Will Stuart are the first choice props and should have some joy against Tom Robertson and Allan Alaalatoa and there’s a gulf in quality between the England replacements and some of the fresh faces on the Wallabies’ bench.

As well as it being a sign of Borthwick adapting to the direction of travel of the modern game, the make-up of the bench is a bit of an acknowledgement that England struggled to close games out this time last year.

They lost to the Wallabies right at the death, as well as falling to defeat to the All Blacks and Springboks late on after leading earlier in the game, and it’s something that’ll have been spoken about among players and coaches.

Whenever you see an Australia side without Will Skelton in it, there’s always a little sigh of relief but the pack looks good with Angus Bell, Taniela Tupou, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson and Valetini all top operators.

They don’t look as strong in the backs though and I think England will target Harry Potter, while Tane Edmed lacks experience at fly-half and Andrew Kellaway has played more wing than he has full back in recent times.

Borthwick looks at the opposition a bit more than a lot of other coaches and there’s no doubt he’s done so ahead of this weekend with a view to England having the edge in the kicking game.

Australia beat the world champions at Ellis Park a couple of months ago and will fancy their chances of notching up another November win in London but momentum is huge in sport and it feels like this England team has it at the moment.

It might be close for a while but winning tight games is a habit England are in now and I think they’ll win by seven with the impact of a pride of six Lions coming off the bench making the big difference.