Preview - England v Australia

Saturday's Test between England and Australia bears testament to the old adage that there is no such thing as a 'friendly' in rugby. The Cook Cup clash at Twickenham promises more blood and guts than the good captain himself leaked onto that Hawaiian beach all those years ago.

Elton Flatley: The other kicker ...

Staying with this tenuous seafaring allusion for a moment, both teams are currently looking to right their ships after a long year in the doldrums, and nothing will get those sails billowing like a content hangover on Sunday morning.

Words like 'payback', 'rematch' and 'revenge' have been knocking around West London in the build up to this Test, but this is a game that will tell us more about the future than the past.

Some say England got their sweet chariot back on track when they thumped South Africa last week, but the Boks were hardly the all-conquering force that they had made themselves out to be. Australia will be a far harder nut to crack.

Nothing gets the Wallabies revving like the prospect of a pop at the English, and they would dearly love to rack up their first win at Twickenham since 1998.

Only two players involved in that distant 12-11 Wallaby victory will be on duty on Saturday - and both are Australians.

Those survivors - George Gregan and Chris Latham - will have stressed to their fellow tourists that Twickenham is indeed pregnable, and their young chums would surely concur - after all, they have the memory of that 51-15 thumping they gave the English in Brisbane back in June.

But again, past results mean nothing. Even that small affair played out between these two great rivals in Sydney one year ago needs to be finally consigned to the archives.

Sure, it's nice memory for English fans - but it has proven to be a bit of a burden to the players.

With the dragged-out departure of the old guard finally compete, the recent arrival of some fresh faces and new ideas has invigorated England, and they appear to be looking forward rather than backwards for the first time in 12 months.

Indeed, one gets the sense that Saturday's game has more to do with where England will be in 2007 than what they were doing in 2003, and that can only be healthy for the English game.

Australia, meanwhile, has seen less movement since the Rugby World Cup, and their experience of big-Test rugby could prove key on Saturday.

Indeed, Eddie Jones dismissed the South Africans as naive for failing to adapt to northern hemisphere conditions, and was confident that the new-look England side would receive its first significant test on Saturday.

Jones also insisted that his side had the muscle to unsettle the England pack, and even felt confident enough to reveal exactly where he plans to hit the hosts - Charlie Hodgson's midriff.

"With direct defence like England has you have got to make a dent somewhere and then look to the outside," explained Jones.

"You can't throw the ball wide. You never go round England. They only defend 65 percent of the field, but sides very rarely make outside breaks because that is where they want you to go. You have got to cut that line somewhere.

"I think we have got a fly-half [Elton Flatley] and an inside centre [Matt Giteau] that are reasonable distributors of the ball which means we can attack in close or get some width in our game if we get good ball."

It seems like a fine set of tactics, and Jones's strategy could pay off against a talented but distinctly green-looking England XV.

But as the man who gave his name to Saturday's trophy would agree, even the best-laid plans go awry when you find yourself far from home and in the company of blood-thirsty natives. 

Players to watch:

For England: No matter how many silky touches Henry Paul produces in a game, those rave reviews continue to elude him. Australia have publicly outed him as the hosts' weakest link, and pundits have suggested that he hasn't got what it takes to be a regular England man. The noose appears to be dangling in front of the New Zealand-born centre, but he's talented enough to escape the gallowsmen.

For Australia: Stephen Larkham's injury means that Elton Flatley will be directing traffic for the Wallabies. Flatley hasn't faced England since the 2003 RWC Final (he was the other kicker that night...) and will be looking to use the occasion to press for a permanent berth in the Australia XV.

Head to head: Josh Lewsey (England) v Wendell Sailor (Australia): Big winger Wendell Sailor make a return to the right wing in place of Clyde Rathbone, and will be another man hoping to reclaim his berth in the Wallaby XV. Attempting to thwart those plans will be the cool head and iron resolve of Josh Lewsey. The Englishman's intelligence and grace will make a nice contrast with Sailor's bulk and power - and Andy Robinson will have briefed his man to take advantage of the Australian winger's defensive and tactical frailties.

Prediction: Saturday's encounter is unlikely to a free-running try-fest - England to muscle past a road-weary Wallaby side.
Planet Rugby prediction: England by five points.
sportingodds.com prediction: England by seven points.

Recent results:

In 2004: In Brisbane: Australia won 15-51
In 2003: In Sydney: England won 20-17
In 2003: In Melbourne: England won 25-14
In 2002: In London: England won 32-31
In 2001: In London: England won 21-15
In 2000: In London: England won 22-19
In 1999: In Sydney: Australia won 22-15
In 1998: In London: Australia won 12-11
In 1998: In Brisbane: Australia won 76-0

The teams:

England: 15 Jason Robinson (captain), 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Henry Paul, 12 Mike Tindall, 11 Josh Lewsey, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Andy Gomarsall, 8 Martin Corry, 7 Lewis Moody, 6 Joe Worsley, 5 Steve Borthwick, 4 Danny Grewcock, 3 Julian White, 2 Steve Thompson, 1 Graham Rowntree.
Replacements: 16 Andy Titterrell, 17 Andrew Sheridan, 18 Ben Kay, 19 Andy Hazell, 20 Harry Ellis, 21 Will Greenwood, Ben Cohen.

Australia: 15 Chris Latham, 14 Wendell Sailor, 13 Morgan Turinui, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Elton Flatley, 9 George Gregan (captain), 8 David Lyons, 7 Phil Waugh, 6 George Smith, 5 Daniel Vickerman, 4 Justin Harrison, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Jeremy Paul, 1 Bill Young.
Replacements: 16 Brendan Cannon, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 Radike Samo, 19 Stephen Hoiles, 20 Matt Henjak, 21 Drew Mitchell, 22 Mat Rogers.

Date: Saturday, November 27
Kick-off: 14.30 GMT
Venue: Twickenham, London
Referee: Paul Honiss (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Donal Courtney (Ireland), David Changleng (Scotland)
Assessor: Giovanni Romano (Italy)
Television match official: Malcolm Changleng (Scotland)