Steve Borthwick has named an unchanged England starting XV to face Australia in the Autumn Nations Series at Allianz Stadium this Saturday.
Marcus Smith will keep his spot at fly-half after impressing despite the narrow loss to New Zealand, while Jamie George continues to captain the squad from hooker.
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Slade Switcheroo
There’s a twist in the midfield! Henry Slade moves to inside centre, and Ollie Lawrence swaps into the 13 shirt.
Bench Shuffle: Out With the Old, In With the New
The bench sees a reshuffle too. Hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie steps in for Theo Dan, and wing Ollie Sleightholme takes the place of flanker Ben Curry. If Cowan-Dickie is called upon, it’ll be his first England appearance since November 2022.
Where’s Finn Smith?
Fans are scratching their heads over the absence of Finn Smith. One supporter questioned: “Seems like a fantastic opportunity to stick Finn on the bench. But no!” Another chimed in, “Fin Smith?” A third fan added: “Why is Finn Smith still not getting a game?”
One passionate comment read: “Sorry but I’m going to keep saying – Finn Smith should be playing. At least Ollie Sleightholme is in the team this week, but it looks like the scrum problems will reoccur when the subs come on. The scrum is really where NZ turned over their deficit last week.”
Ford Over Finn? Really?
A fan quipped: “Ford over Fin, and even after missing two opportunities to win the game last week?” Another added: “Fin Smith not getting a sniff is a joke.”
The Mystery of the Four Vice-Captains
And then there’s the vice-captain conundrum. Borthwick has named four of them in the squad. Fans had some fun with that. One wrote: “Have we got enough vice captains?” Another cheekily commented: “4 Vice Captains?! How incredibly Channel 4 of you.”
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Name England’s Matchday 22 from the 2003 Rugby World Cup final?
Surnames only are accepted.
