Steve Borthwick has stuck by his starting England team to face Australia on Saturday but freshened up his bench in an effort to avoid another late collapse following last weekend’s agonising defeat by New Zealand.
Borthwick’s only change to his starting XV is to swap Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence around in midfield, moving the Exeter Chief to inside-centre and handing the Bath man the No 13 jersey.
On the bench, Luke Cowan-Dickie has been named as the replacement hooker, getting the nod in place of Theo Dan, and is set for his first England appearance since Eddie Jones’s last game in charge in November 2022. Ollie Sleightholme is also handed a place on the bench as Borthwick reverts to a 5-3 split with Ben Curry dropping out of the squad.
Sleightholme made two appearances off the bench on the summer tour of Japan and New Zealand but will make his Twickenham bow when he comes on. Against New Zealand, England were eight points ahead in the final quarter for the third match in succession against the All Blacks but they threw away another winning position as Borthwick turned to his bench to close the game out rather than press home the advantage.
Starting XV George Furbank (Northampton), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter), Ollie Lawrence (Bath), Henry Slade (Exeter), Tommy Freeman (Northampton), Marcus Smith (Harlequins), Ben Spencer (Bath); Ellis Genge (Bristol), Jamie George (Saracens, capt), Will Stuart (Bath), Maro Itoje (Saracens), George Martin (Leicester), Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins), Tom Curry (Sale), Ben Earl (Saracens).
Replacements Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale), Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Dan Cole (Leicester), Nick Isiekwe (Saracens), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins), Harry Randall (Bristol), 22) George Ford (Sale), 23) Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton).
Jamie George captains the side again from hooker with Ellis Genge and Will Stuart the props. Maro Itoje and George Martin comprise the second row with Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Curry and Ben Earl once more in the back row. Ben Spencer makes his second start at scrum-half despite a shaky first half against the All Blacks with Marcus Smith again at fly-half. Tommy Freeman, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and George Furbank make up the back three.
On the bench, Fin Baxter and Dan Cole join Cowan-Dickie as front-row cover while Nick Isiekwe, Alex Dombrandt and Harry Randall keep their spots in the 23, as does George Ford who missed two late kicks against the All Blacks last Saturday.
“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.”
