TEST MATCH RUGBY: Cook Cup

13.11.2010
Australia v England at Twickenham

Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)

Preview
Australia defeated Leicester 26-15 on Tuesday in a mid week fixture that has seen Australian back up hooker Huia Edmonds been ruled out of this test due to injury. This will be the only change to the Australian scrum following the win over Wales. England will probably be a more formidable scrum than the Welsh. The Australian scrum has been rugby news for some time. It certainly didn't stand up to the English onslaught in June but performed well during the Tri Nations and exceptionally well against the All Blacks in Hong Kong. It will be a well watched feature of this match.

Martin Johnson would have to be happy the way his English team performed against the All Blacks in the second half. They will need to play the full eighty minutes if they hope to defeat the Aussies

Last Five Encounters
19.06.2010 England 21-20 in Sydney (Cook Cup)
12.06.2010 Australia 27-17 in Perth (Cook Cup)
07.11.2009 Australia 18-9 at Twickenham (Cook Cup)
15.11.2008 Australia 28-14 at Twickenham (Cook Cup)
06.10.2007 England 12-10 in Marseilles (World Cup, Quarter Final)

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table-Australia 1st, England 8th

IRB Rankings
Australia 87.89 (2nd), England 81.62 (5th)

Prediction: England to stir the pot, and win by 7 points

Teams

England
15 Benjamin Foden, 14 Christopher Ashton, 13 Michael Tindall, 12 Shontayne Hape, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Tobias Flood, 9 Benjamin Youngs, 8 Nicholas Easter, 7 Lewis Moody, Capt. 6 Thomas Croft, 5 Thomas Palmer, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Daniel Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements
16 Steven Thompson, 17 David Wilson, 18 Simon Shaw, 19 Hendrie Fourie, 20 Daniel Care, 21 Charles Hodgson, 22 Delon Armitage.
Head Coach: Martin Johnson

Australia
15 Kurtley Beale, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matthew Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Benjamin McCalman, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (capt), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Mark Chisholm, 3 Benjamin Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements
16 Saia Faingaa, 17 James Slipper, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 Richard Brown, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Lachie Turner.
Head Coach: Robbie Deans