England v Australia Predictions

The long-awaiting Autumn Internationals kick of this weekend, with Japan v New Zealand playing prologue to England hosting Australia. With the World Cup on the horizon, there has never been a more important time for all sides to start building a run of form. Stuart Lancaster’s men will be wanting to turn Twickenham into a fortress. The result on Saturday will go some way to determining if the foundations will be laid on quicksand or granite. Here are our predictions:

Alex H-B:

Conditions may well play an important part; poor weather could prevent the Australian backline from firing, giving England the chance to grind out a win through their forwards. Setpieces will be vital; England must ensure that Australia are not able to use scrums and lineouts as a platform for attack. Dominating these areas will give either side a huge advantage; if form is anything to go by, England should have the upper hand in the scrum, but lineouts could still present a problem, especially with Parling out through injury.

It’s hard to know what to expect from a lot of the English players, given their very limited international pedigree. Club form does not always translate to the international stage, especially when Twickenham debutant nerves come in to play. The performance of the new centre partnership of Twelvetrees and Tomkins will be crucial; the 12 and 13 pairing will need to click immediately if they are able to threaten in offence, whilst a strong defensive display will be needed to nullify the star-studded Aussie backline.

The introduction of Marland Yarde to the wing presents another unknown quantity. Australia will prove to be a step up from the games v Argentina during the summer, and England fans will be hoping that the London Irish star marks his first home cap with a try or two. On the other wing we have Chris Ashton, a player who is in desperate need of a shining performance on the international stage in order to see off the challenge of Christian Wade.

This is a tough game to call; Australia are looking to be on an upward curve following a tough Championship, whilst much of this England team are untried. I believe home advantage might just tip it England’s way, but not by more than a score.

Alex D:

Twickenham opens its gates once again this Autumn as Stuart Lancaster looks to guide England to success against their Southern rivals starting with an Australian team on the rise and searching for redemption. Not one month ago this game would be considered almost a given but after a spate of injuries have robbed England of their lions stars as well as Australia’s recent performances against Argentina and the All Blacks makes this game suddenly look a lot harder to call. 

England are looking to show their depth after being shorn of their main scrummaging weapon Alex Corbisiero as well as lineout gurus Geoff Parling and Tom Croft. Also robbed of their biggest running threat Manu Tuilagi into the fray steps Marland Yarde currently six tries from six games in all club competitions for London Irish looking to prove himself in front of an 82,000 strong home crowd. His ability to transfer his domestic form into International colours will be crucial to England’s success. 

Onto a prediction then and despite a resurgent Aus and the wheels of England’s chariot wobbling due to injuries it all points to a close one. Once again it comes down to flair verses grunt with the weather forecast set to hurt the visitors more than the hosts in this game now expected to go right to the wire. England by a nose.