England vs Australia
2019 Rugby World Cup quarter-final
Venue: Oita Stadium
Date: Saturday, 19 October, 2019
Kick-off: 8:15am BST
England will be looking to right the wrongs of four years ago when they meet Australia for a place in the Rugby World Cup semi-final on Saturday.
At the last World Cup, in 2015, England lost a must-win pool stage game against the Aussies that saw them dumped out on home soil.
Under Eddie Jones, however, they have won all six of their meetings against the Wallabies, and will be favourites to make it seven out of seven in Oita.
England topped Pool C by winning all three of their completed games with bonus points, and then had what would have been the group decider with France called off because of Typhoon Hagibis.
Australia, meanwhile, had to settle for second place in Pool D after losing a crunch game of their own, against Wales.
Team news and line-ups
England
Eddie Jones has sprung a big selection shock by switching Owen Farrell from inside centre to fly-half and dropping George Ford to the bench, with Manu Tuilagi stepping inside to 12 and Henry Slade coming into midfield.
It was England's preferred 10-12-13 trio during the Six Nations and is no doubt designed at least in part to counteract the threat of imposing Wallabies centre Samu Kerevi.
No8 Billy Vunipola is fit to start after overcoming an ankle knock suffered against Argentina, while brother Mako replaces Joe Marler at loosehead.
Courtney Lawes is preferred to George Kruis in the second row.
England XV: Daly; Watson, Slade, Tuilagi, May; Farrell, Youngs; M Vunipola, George, Sinckler; Itoje, Lawes; Curry, Underhill, B Vunipola
Finishers: Cowan-Dickie, Marler, Cole, Kruis, Ludlam, Heinz, Ford, Joseph
Australia
Australia coach Michael Cheika has opted to move 19-year-old Jordan Petaia from the wing to outside centre, where he will partner Kerevi.
Reece Hodge returns from his three-match suspension and Kurtley Beale is retained at 15 after passing the necessary return to play protocols following a head knock sustained against Georgia.
Captain Michael Hooper forms his usual scavenging partnership with David Pocock and Allan Alaalatoa gets the nod over Sekope Kepu at tighthead.
Will Genia and Christian Lealiifano are paired together at half-back, while there is no place in the matchday squad for Dane Haylett-Petty.
Australia XV: Beale; Hodge, Petaia, Kerevi, Koroibete; Lealiifano, Genia; Sio, Latu, Alaalatoa; Rodda, Arnold; Pocock, Hooper, Naisarani
Replacements: Uelese, Slipper, Tupou, Coleman, Salakaia-Loto, White, Toomua, O'Connor
Score prediction: England 23-19 Australia
Jones' men have had the Wallabies' number in recent times, but things are never quite that simple in tournament rugby.
Still, England should have a little too much.
Betting tips via Betfair | UK users only | Subject to change
Match odds
- England to win: 3/10
- Draw: 25/1
- Australia to win: 13/5
Click here to find the latest match odds and place a bet.
TV channel and live stream, and online coverage
The match will be televised live on ITV1 and ITV1 HD with build-up starting at 7:30am BST.
TV license payers can also stream the match online via the ITV website and the ITV Hub.
You can also follow all the action with Standard Sport's LIVE blog with Will Macpherson in Oita.
Head to Head record and history (h2h)
The two sides have met 50 times, with Australia currently edging the overall head-to-head 25-24, with one draw.
However, England's current six-game winning streak is the longest in the rivalry's history. They have met six times in Rugby World Cups, winning three apiece.
