England's autumn hinges on Australia result - Andy Goode
Whether England like it or not, the success or otherwise of their autumn campaign as a whole all hinges on the result against Australia.
Win and it has been a success, lose and it will be viewed as a failure with just a controversial victory over South Africa and a less than impressive win over Japan to show for their efforts.
In reality, they’ve done significantly better than a lot of people thought they would after six defeats in seven games prior to November and a defeat doesn’t mean the end of the world but, there’s no getting away from it, this result will dictate whether people are looking ahead to the Six Nations with a sense of positivity or looking back and putting a negative spin on things.
Eddie Jones has spoken about the English way of playing and being excited about the style of play that his side is going to show moving forwards but, if I’m honest, I can’t really define how England play at the moment in terms of a clear strategy.
Hopefully we’ll see some more evidence of it against the Wallabies, especially in attack, but I’d settle for a win of any kind over a coming out on the wrong side of an 80-point thriller.
All three of England’s autumn Tests have been a game of two halves. They were dominated in the first half against the Springboks and awful against Japan before half-time but turned both games around in the second half and the opposite was true against the All Blacks.
Last week against Japan they were rudderless until Owen Farrell came on and the scoreline flattered them in the end but they were trying things behind the scenes, as well as on the pitch, in preparation for the World Cup and that can all be forgotten if they end the autumn on a high.
It did expose George Ford, who struggled again to boss the game without another figure like an Owen Farrell or a Matt Toomua alongside him, and there were things to learn from the game but they’ll want to put it behind them and move on.
With the injuries England have and the performances so far this autumn, there weren’t too many selection dilemmas or discussion points this week but Jamie George starting at hooker jumps out from the team sheet.
He started all three Tests for the Lions in New Zealand but the only two Tests he’s started for England when Dylan Hartley’s been around before now have been against Samoa and Japan.
He deserves a run of starts after being the country’s form hooker for a long time and this feels like a watershed moment as he’s preferred to Hartley for the first time against a tier one nation.
He’s still named Hartley as a co-captain, despite the fact that he’s on the bench, but that’s a gimmick and it feels like a changing of the guard in terms of the captaincy as well.
It’s good to see Courtney Lawes picked in the second row and nobody picked out of position and the only concern for me is who’s covering full back if Elliot Daly goes down injured early on.
I know he’s not in the squad and there’s been enough written about that already but the lack of cover at 15 makes it even harder to understand why Danny Cipriani isn’t on the bench on Saturday because he can genuinely cover there as well as fly half.
The sickness in the Wallabies camp won’t have helped their preparation, and the withdrawal of David Pocock is a massive blow to them but as the English we should have learned over the years never to underestimate Australia.
The omission of Kurtley Beale from the match day 23 is a surprising one and picking Matt Toomua at 10 and Bernard Foley at 12 is an interesting decision but I don’t think that’ll affect them too much as the pair of them will interchange a lot.
It does tell us that Cheika is struggling to settle on who he goes for in the most important position in the team, though. He experimented with Beale at fly half for a few games in the Rugby Championship, which didn’t work, and he’s still scratching around.
Whether it’s Dan Carter, Jonny Wilkinson, Johnny Sexton and the list goes on, every really successful team I can remember has had a number 10 who is the absolute fulcrum of the side and that would be the main concern for Australia.
They know their season finishes after today and it will be a case of one final push before hitting the beach but the last game of the autumn is always tough for the Southern Hemisphere sides as their energy reserves have just about been emptied.
This is their 10th Test in the last three months so it’s been a long stretch for them. I’ve been in that position as a player when you’re at the end of your tether and almost can’t wait for the season to end but there’s nothing like a clash with England to encourage them to raise themselves one last time.
Sam Underhill had a huge game against the All Blacks and his battle with Michael Hooper, who has been one of the best opensides in the game for a number of years, will be one of the key battles as far as determining which team will come out on top.
England have won their last five games against Australia since the crushing disappointment at the 2015 World Cup and there is an expectation now that these games will end in victory.
Hopefully England can put in a good performance but we’re less than a year out from the World Cup and it’s about winning games now. It’s all about the result. If they beat Australia, it’s been a positive autumn. Winning is a habit and England need to get back in the habit.
Comments on RugbyPass
The shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to comments