After a simple enough win over Tonga last weekend, England face off against Dave Rennie's wounded Wallabies at Twickenham this weekend.
England v Australia
13 November 2021
Twickenham
19:30
To Win Match
England 1/6 | draw 33/1 | Australia 4/1
Handicap
England (-12.5) 9/10 | Australia (+12.5) 9/10
A hurting Wallabies outfit will look to bounce back from their recent loss against Scotland when they visit Twickenham to tackle England on Saturday.
Dave Rennie’s side fell 13-15 at Murrayfield last weekend in a scrappy encounter that brought an end to their five-match winning streak. While many predicted a much higher-scoring, free-flowing affair in Edinburgh, the contest proved to be a cagey one with the Scots sealing the result thanks to a Finn Russell penalty 12 minutes from full-time.
After their battering in this year’s Bledisloe Cup series, Australia proved against the world champion Springboks and Argentina that they can produce entertaining and effective rugby — helping them ascend the world rankings to claim the No 3 spot. Further losses this November will see that place slip away.
Coming up against England, the forward and set piece battles will be vital. Eddie Jones’ men are a much more physical bunch than Scotland and they may look to the likes of Courtney Lawes and Ellis Genge for advantage line gains.
You cannot do that @Sladey_10! 🥵
— Autumn Nations Series (@autumnnations) November 6, 2021
He sets up @MarcuSmith10 who took England beyond 50!
🌍 Enjoy watching the #AutumnNationsSeries on @primevideosport - live in the UK! #ENGvTON pic.twitter.com/0EodZKam1q
Jones has been looking toward some fresh faces in the lead-up to the next World Cup, with 20-somethings Marcus Smith, Alex Dombrandt and Freddie Steward seemingly in line to spearhead the next generation of English talent. In particular, many are calling for Smith to be deployed at 10, with skipper Owen Farrell outside him at 12. An exciting prospect indeed, but it remains to be seen how much time that combo will get in the saddle.
Verdict: Australia 4/1
The Australians’ settled combinations could be England’s undoing — especially after their disappointing loss last week. While the hosts are right in wanting to experiment with new names, they may experience growing pains here.
For those not feeling as brave, I reckon you can’t go wrong backing the Wallabies on this double-digit handicap.
