England are set to start Gloucester’s Billy Twelvetrees alongside George Ford and omit Owen Farrell from their lineup to face Australia at Twickenham on Saturday. Tom Wood and Dylan Hartley are also in line to return to the pack.
Ford will definitely keep his place at fly-half having performed well against Samoa and Twelvetrees appears poised for a significant role at inside-centre after making a positive contribution as a second-half replacement for Farrell last Saturday.
“Billy Twelvetrees impressed me from the bench, he did well and brought good energy to the team,” Stuart Lancaster said. “He’s worked hard on the feedback we gave him when he came back into camp and he’s a genuine prospect for us at 12.”
With the 21-year-old Ford having “earned the right” to play in the No10 shirt for a second successive week, it seems Farrell will have to be content with a place on the bench. There will definitely be no place in the matchday 23 for the Bath pair of Semesa Rokoduguni and Kyle Eastmond or the Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care, all of whom have been released back to their clubs to prepare for Friday’s Premiership game between the sides.
England remain hopeful Courtney Lawes will be fit despite hyper-extending a knee against Samoa. The Northampton lock will be unable to train until Thursday but Lancaster is “cautiously optimistic” he will make it. Billy Vunipola will not be involved after being concussed on Saturday, prompting Exeter’s Thomas Waldrom to be summoned to the squad’s training base in Bagshot as a precaution.
Australia will be without their injured centre Tevita Kuridrani for the game, the last match between the countries before they meet in Pool A at next year’s Rugby World Cup. “I’m sure both sides, in the back of their minds, will have one eye on it but this Saturday it is all about this game,” Lancaster said.
“What happened last week or what happens next week is irrelevant. When the World Cup comes around in 10 months’ time, both teams will be different.
“We need to build on our performance against Samoa and learn the lessons from the previous two games. Any team coming to Twickenham for the last game of their series, after a long hard season, will be highly motivated, I’m sure.”
Lancaster also welcomed the response of the Northampton flanker Tom Wood, who was left out in favour of James Haskell against Samoa. “It often helps selection when you give someone an opportunity and then you have someone as competitive as Tom who never likes missing one minute of training, never mind one minute of international rugby,” he said.
“There was definitely a reaction from Tom in training and when he came on against Samoa. A fired-up and motivated Tom Wood is a pretty useful weapon to have in your armoury.”
