England v Australia: Five talking points ahead of the final autumn international
By Keith Moore
Last Updated: 03/12/16 1:53pm
We look at five talking points ahead of England v Australia at Twickenham this Saturday, live on Sky Sports 2 from 1.30pm.
Scrum wars
Eddie Jones wasted no time getting stuck into the Australian team ahead of this weekend's clash, using the post-match interview after his side's win over Argentina to land the first verbal blow.
"I was concerned about the way they scrummed against France, so we will definitely be meeting the referee," Jones told Sky Sports. "The Australians are invited to come to the meeting."
Michael Cheika hit back with an accusation levelled at England tighthead Dan Cole, who was binned against Argentina following repeated scrum infringements.
"He wants to talk about our scrum because we're cheating in the scrum - an important thing to note is he's got to look at his own players," Cheika said.
"They are the ones who have a prop with a yellow card. That same prop's been infringing the law since his career started probably, if not all of this year."
Cheika's comments about Cole were dismissed by England's scrum coach Neil Hatley, who said: "It seems to be a common theme from an Australian watcher.
"Coley's one of the most respected tightheads in the world. He has been outstanding so far. When people have a go at him he just keeps his head down and maintains his form. I think he's a quality scrummager."
England's scrummaging session in training on Tuesday was overseen by referee Wayne Barnes, and forwards coach Steve Borthwick insisted it is common practice for England to ensure their understanding of the laws is sharp on a regular basis.
"We always have a referee in training. For the last couple of weeks it's been JP Doyle and when we went to Portugal, Greg Garner came out," Borthwick said.
"Every Tuesday and Thursday we have a referee in our sessions and there will be a referee there on Thursday as well. We're grateful for that support from the referees."
Media wars
The scrum has not been the only point of contention between the coaches. In June the pair engaged in a lengthy verbal battle which played out in the media, and Jones believes the build-up to Saturday's game will attract the same attention.
"The Australian media were very disrespectful to us in the summer tour so we're expecting more of their rubbish," Jones said.
Jones and Cheika were team-mates at Randwick in their playing days, but goodwill between the duo appears to have eroded as Cheika accused Jones of tarnishing his legacy in Australia.
"There was a lot of vitriol about Australia, his home nation," said Cheika. "It's where he coached, where the opportunities were given to him to grow up as a coach, and play.
"Personally if you're looking to leave a legacy somewhere, you don't want to hit back at it when you leave."
Jones said on Thursday he has moved on from the back and forth in the press, and has turned his attention solely on his team.
"Michael Cheika has had a lot to say this week," said Jones. "I'm disappointed he is upset, but in terms of where we are - we have just been focusing on our game.
"He's made some comments about legacy, well we don't have anything to do with legacy - it's an uncontrollable part of what happens, so we are not perturbed about that.
"We believe when we went on the Australian tour, [their] staff and players behaved in a very respectable manner. I reinforce again I found the Australian media disrespectful when we went down there, so I don't hide away from those comments.
"He's obviously upset. I am disappointed he is upset, but we will have a cold beer in the dressing room after the game and he is quite welcome to join us. I don't control his emotions."
Opportunity for Hughes
Saracens flanker Billy Vunipola has been ruled out for at least three months after undergoing knee surgery on a torn cartilage suffered during the game against Argentina.
As a result No 8 Nathan Hughes gets his first start for England, after featuring as a replacement against South Africa and Fiji last month.
Hughes impressed against Fiji on November 19, ending the match with eight carries despite only playing for 33 minutes. However, a week later he was dropped from the matchday 23 in favour of Teimana Harrison.
This week, Eddie Jones has promoted Hughes to the starting XV, with Harrison retaining his place on the bench.
Saturday's game presents a huge opportunity for Hughes, with Vunipola set to miss out on the beginning of next year's Six Nations. The Wasps flanker plays a similar ball-carrying role to that of Vunipola, and will want to prove his worth to keep his name at the front of Eddie Jones' mind ahead of 2017.
Wallabies want revenge
In the 2015 World Cup the Wallabies tore England apart in the group stages, sending them crashing out of the tournament. Eight short months later England went to Australia and whitewashed the Wallabies in a three-match tour.
Bernard Foley was England's downfall at Twickenham last October, but after starting in all three of Australia's losses in their own backyard in June, the fly-half is out to return the favour.
"For us it was a very disappointing series," he said. "It was tough to swallow but we had to give real credit to England.
"Looking back on it there was a lack of preparation before that series, coming straight out of the mid-season of Super Rugby, but we have to put that behind us now. We're looking for revenge.
"It's always been in the back of our minds, or there's always been that talking of getting to play England at home, and there's no bigger motivation to finish off the year and to finish strong."
England's depth at wing
At the end of the June series Anthony Watson and Jack Nowell finished as Jones' first-choice wingers, but shortly before the autumn internationals both were ruled out for the remainder of the year with injuries.
Eddie Jones has subsequently used four wingers in November, with Jonny May and Marland Yarde starting against South Africa before Semesa Rokoduguni and Elliot Daly were called up against Fiji.
This week Jones has decided that May and Yarde offer the best balance as a pairing.
"As I've said before, I like one winger with pace which is Jonny May and then we want work-rate - Marland will work hard for us," said Jones.
Jones has always been a fan of Yarde, singing his praises in Australia six months ago.
"Marland is close to our quickest wing," Jones said in June. "Maybe Anthony Watson shades him, but he has got power and he is raw.
"He hasn't had a lot of experience, he hasn't had a lot of coaching, and he's very coachable.
"He is a bit of a character. He has probably blown a bit of his career by being too big for his boots. He's back down to earth now and has the potential to be a really special player for us."
Despite his public admiration for Yarde, Jones has used the Harlequins outside back sparingly, with the likes of May, Watson and Nowell all preferred when fit - but Yarde's battle with Sefa Naivalu this weekend could put him in contention for a starting spot in the Six Nations.
England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs; 1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 3 Dan Cole, 4 Courtney Lawes, 5 George Kruis, 6 Chris Robshaw, 7 Tom Wood, 8 Nathan Hughes.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Teimana Harrison, 21 Danny Care, 22 Ben Te'o, 23 Henry Slade.
Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Reece Hodge, 11 Sefa Naivalu, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps; 1 Scott Sio, 2 Stephen Moore (c), 3 Sekope Kepu, 4 Kane Douglas, 5 Rob Simmons, 6 David Pocock, 7 Michael Hooper, 8 Lopeti Timani.
Replacements: 16 Tolu Latu, 17 James Slipper, 18 Tom Robertson, 19 Dean Mumm, 20 Sean McMahon, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Quade Cooper, 23 Henry Speight.
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