STAR RUGBY PREVIEW Sun: England v Australia

With just a year to go until the World Cup, both England and Australia have plenty to work on as they meet at Twickenham this afternoon, writes WILLIAM KEDJANYI.

⭐ ENGLAND VS AUSTRALIA MARKETS ⭐

England vs Australia
Nations Championship – Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
Sunday 15:10 – Live on ITV1 and ITVX

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🏉 ENGLAND v AUSTRALIA PREVIEW

The hosts are at a crossroads, with an underwhelming Six Nations followed by a hefty defeat to South Africa in the summer (one that was expected) and then wins against Fiji (73-8) and Argentina (31-24). There have been reports of satisfaction in the England camp, with a deep dive from the Times on England’s players having clear-the-air talks with Steve Borthwick, and a number of key coaching departures also.

These next three weeks will be crucial – England will be desperate to avoid a repeat of the last World Cup cycle when Eddie Jones was sacked with just nine months to go before the 2022 tournament – with a number of teething problems to fix that include, in particular, indiscipline and issues at the breakdown.

Australia, who will host the next World Cup, have won five of seven games under Les Kiss, including a remarkable victory against South Africa, although the gap between them, the All Blacks, was made clear in the Bledisloe Cup, when they lost two tests 50-19 (away) and 43-21 (home).

The Wallabies will be looking to turn their ability to create moments of magic – something which English fans could tell you about after their victory here in 2024 – into more consistent overall performances in time for the next World Cup whilst also putting up a better showing on their travels this year than they did in 2025, having lost all four of their autumn internationals 12 months ago.

⭐ ENGLAND VS AUSTRALIA MARKETS ⭐

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ENGLAND v AUSTRALIA: TEAMS

🌹 ENGLAND XV
Starting XV: 1. Fin Baxter, 2. Jamie George, 3. Joe Heyes, 4. Maro Itoje (c), 5. Alex Coles, 6. Ollie Chessum, 7. Ben Curry, 8. Ben Earl, 9. Jack van Poortvliet, 10. Fin Smith, 11. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 12. Seb Atkinson, 13. Henry Slade, 14. Tommy Freeman, 15. George Furbank
Replacements: 16. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17. Ellis Genge, 18. Will Stuart, 19. George Martin, 20. Greg Fisilau, 21. Henry Pollock, 22. Ben Spencer, 23. Marcus Smith

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🦘 AUSTRALIA XV
Starting XV: 1. Angus Bell, 2. Billy Pollard, 3. Allan Alaalatoa, 4. Josh Canham, 5. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 6. Jeremy Williams, 7. Fraser McReight, 8. Harry Wilson (c), 9. Ryan Lonergan, 10. Declan Meredith, 11. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12. Len Ikitau, 13. Isaac Henry, 14. Max Jorgensen, 15. Tom Wright
Replacements: 16. Josh Nasser, 17. Isaac Aedo Kailea, 18. Taniela Tupou, 19. Rob Valetini, 20. Carlo Tizzano, 21. Tate McDermott, 22. Ben Donaldson, 23. Filipo Daugunu

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ENGLAND v AUSTRALIA: LAST FIVE GAMES

HEAD-TO-HEAD
NOV 2025 AUTUMN NATIONS SERIES – England 25-7 Australia
NOV 2024 AUTUMN NATIONS SERIES – England 37-42 Australia
JUL 2022 TEST SERIES – Australia 17-21 England
JUL 2022 TEST SERIES – Australia 17-25 England
JUL 2022 TEST SERIES – Australia 30-28 England

🌹 ENGLAND
JUL 2026 NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP – Argentina 24-31 England
JUL 2026 NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP – Fiji 8-73 England
JUL 2026 NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP – South Africa 45-21 England
MAR 2026 SIX NATIONS – France 48-46 England
MAR 2026 SIX NATIONS – Italy 23-18 England

🦘 AUSTRALIA
OCT 2026 BLEDISLOE CUP – Australia 21-43 New Zealand
OCT 2026 BLEDISLOE CUP – New Zealand 50-19 Australia
SEP 2026 INTERNATIONAL – Australia 42-38 South Africa
SEP 2026 INTERNATIONAL – Argentina 28-28 Australia
AUG 2026 INTERNATIONAL – Argentina 21-27 Australia

⭐ ENGLAND VS AUSTRALIA MARKETS ⭐

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WHERE’S THE BETTING VALUE IN ENGLAND v AUSTRALIA?

England are 1/3 to begin this crucial period with a win and 21/20 to give up a 9.5 point handicap, with starsports.bet, looks like the best bet in this Test.

Across eight tests in 2026 England have picked up 14 yellow cards — plus Henry Arundell’s second against Scotland that became a 20-minute red. They are also conceding more penalties – 11.25 a match – than any other team in 2026 test matches, which is consistently hampering Borthwick’s side. Among top-tier nations, only Wales have lost more rucks per 80 minutes than England in 2026, whilst they’ve also lost 4.38 rucks per match in possession too, again, the worst of any nations championship side.

Steve Borthwick has responded to this challenge by selecting Ben Curry at openside, and the return of Maro Itoje to proceedings will help. There’s a physical edge too with Ben Earl and Ollie Chessum also available, and the reuniting of the Borthwick has rekindled his “Pom Squad” that was so crucial to 11 straight wins in 2025, loading the bench with pace and power – George Martin is named as a substitute alongside Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Will Stuart, Henry Pollock and Marcus Smith.

However, Australia have speed at the breakdown in abundance with Fraser McReight and Harry Wilson and Les Kiss has largely gone pound-for-pound with a heavy hitting bench also that includes Carlo Tizzano, the Western Force’s breakdown specialist.

Both sides have plenty of backline talent – England’s powerful back three of George Furbank, Tommy Freeman, and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso are more than capable of causing havoc if Fin Baxter and Henry Slade can find them space to work in whilst the Wallaby threat of Tom Wright, Max Jorgensen, and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii needs no introduction.

The visitors have prepared for an arm wrestle between the packs but will be more than happy if today’s encounter becomes the open game that England had against Argentina in the summer, or indeed that many Premiership games have become, helped by a bonus points system that rewards those teams who score four tries regardless of the amount they concede.

With good weather set for Twickenham this afternoon, the conditions are there for a high-scoring game, something which would be no surprise. The Wallabies have let loose this year – seven of their eight games have seen 60 points or more, whilst England’s encounters with France and South Africa produced 94 and 66 points.

The 17/20 with starsports.bet on over 58.5 points may be the best way to play a game that’s sure to tell us a whole lot about both sides, with England too short in the match odds given the risk of a yellow card changing the match situation.

⭐ ENGLAND VS AUSTRALIA MARKETS ⭐

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RECOMMENDED BETS
BACK Over 58.5 points 3pts at 17/20 (⭐ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)

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PROFIT/LOSS (NOV 2026): -17.00 points

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