Powerful pack key to England blitzing Wallabies and putting smile back on Eddie Jones' face

Eddie Jones needs his players — not his ranting and raving — to grab the headlines at Twickenham on Saturday by defeating an Australia team well equipped to expose any England weaknesses.

England’s head coach has been at pains this week to portray the Wallabies as the form team of international rugby — even suggesting Michael Cheika’s side should top the rankings rather than occupying third place behind New Zealand and his own team.

The Wallabies have beaten New Zealand and Wales en route to Twickenham but, significantly, come into the game having lost their previous four matches against Jones’s men.

Despite having a settled team, based on power in both the forwards and backs divisions, Wallaby coach Cheika also knows that England have an unbeaten record at Twickenham under the Australian, who has lost just one of 21 matches since he took charge in 2015.

Jones believes that kind of England domination has been too quickly kicked into the long grass. The 21-8 win over Argentina last Saturday failed to stir the blood in the stands and images of the coach swearing and throwing his pen about the coach’s box confirmed it was a performance lacking the fluency and execution he demands.

As an Australian, Jones knows only too well what will be motivating England’s opponents but is confident his men have the capability to deal with the physical threat the Wallabies pose.

Australia’s centres, Samu Kerevi and Tevita Kuridrani, are two stones a man heavier than their England counterparts Owen Farrell and Jonathan Joseph, but that only becomes an issue if the home pack fails to win the battle up front.

That is why Joe Launchbury has been drafted into the second row, to provide added ballast to the scrum and destroy opposition mauls.

Launchbury would be the starting lock in most international teams, but has had to wait his turn, due to the second-row riches Jones has at his disposal. The 6ft 6in, 19st 6lb Wasps captain may have a cherubic face, but he is capable of delivering the kind of power-based game that causes opponents serious problems, particularly as they try to construct a driving maul: precisely the weapon the Wallabies believe can give them an advantage up front.

World Rugby Player of the Year nominee Maro Itoje is part of a strong bench that will be asked to either save the game or finish off the Wallabies. England have a rookie No7 in Sam Underhill, but have surrounded him with experienced, hard-nosed forwards who will be tasked with delivering a performance full of physical threat and relentless work rate, essential if the fastest back three he has ever assembled in an England back line is to be unleashed to full effect.

The loss of Mike Brown to concussion has allowed Anthony Watson a full game at full-back and his pace will supplement Elliot Daly’s speed on the left wing and the lightning fast pace of Jonny May on the other flank. However, unless the English forwards improve the speed of ball they delivered against Argentina, that trio will have to live off scraps, which is unlikely to be enough to take care of the Wallabies.

Cheika, who saw his side earn a 13th straight win over Wales in Cardiff last Saturday, knows what is coming at Twickenham.“Obviously, they are a big, strong, powerful side and they will try to bully us,” he said. “Traditionally, that’s the way the game has gone. They try to bully us at the scrum, the lineout and at the ruck; trying to get into it, trying to get into our half-back after he passes, the No10 after he passes. There is so much footage of that, them waiting for us to crack.”

Jones refutes those claims and insists his players will be “legal”, but that does not mean they will not try to inflict considerable harm on the Wallabies. England need a ruthless, clinically-efficient performance to continue their drive towards the World Cup — and there will be plenty of images of a beaming Jones on the screen if that happens on Saturday.