Friday, November 22, 2024

England v Australia: Hosts name unchanged XV to face Wallabies at Allianz Stadium

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England have named an unchanged starting XV to face Australia in the Autumn Nations Series at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.

Marcus Smith retains his place at fly-half after impressing in the narrow defeat by New Zealand, while Jamie George continues to lead the side at hooker.

There is a positional swap in the centre partnership, with Henry Slade moving to inside centre and Ollie Lawrence wearing the 13 shirt.

The bench is also reshuffled as hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie replaces Theo Dan, while head coach Steve Borthwick has opted for another back as wing Ollie Sleightholme comes in for flanker Ben Curry.

Cowan-Dickie will make his first England appearance since November 2022 if he is introduced off the bench.

England will be looking to end a run of three defeats when they face the Wallabies after surrendering an eight-point lead late on against the All Blacks.

“Facing Australia is always a massive challenge, and we’ll work diligently this week to ensure we’re physically and tactically prepared to take on the Wallabies,” said Borthwick.

“The passion and energy from the crowd at Allianz Stadium last weekend was absolutely brilliant, from the opening whistle to the final moments, and we can’t wait to be back at home this Saturday.”

England have won 10 of their last 11 meetings with Australia since their tournament-ending defeat in the 2015 World Cup at Twickenham.

The Wallabies, meanwhile, have lost their last three matches under head coach Joe Schmidt.

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