Crunch Time For England In Rugby World Cup

England face a make-or-break game against Australia in the Rugby World Cup at Twickenham tonight.

If they win, they will almost certainly progress to the quarter-finals of the competition.

If they lose, they could become the first host nation ever to go out at the group stage.

England are looking into the abyss after losing 28-25 to Wales last weekend.

As a result they are third in pool A, seven points behind Wales in first place and three points behind today's opponents in second.

In England's favour, they are at home and have beaten Australia in their last two matches.

Against them is that Australia are in top form, having comfortably won their first two games against Fiji and Uruguay, beating the latter 65-3.

Defeat could well mean the sack for head coach Stuart Lancaster, but he says that is the last thing on his mind right now.

So what will he say to his players before they walk out onto the pitch?

"My final words to the players will be do it for everyone," he said.

"To do it for the rugby clubs, the mums and dads and kids who play rugby, for their families, for the former players.

"But ultimately, I'll tell them to do it for themselves. They are the ones who have put the graft in, they are the ones who have to sit in the changing room before the game.

"We have some brilliant players. They are brilliant players now, but are only going to get better in the future. This is a big moment for them. For all of us."

The game kicks off at 8pm.