Friday 28 November 2014 18:18, UK
England and Australia have had disappointing autumns and will be looking to end on a high when they meet at Twickenham on Saturday.
Both are under pressure to win although England will feel the weight of expectation more as Australia are the only credible win they could take from the series. Last week’s win over Samoa was expected and relieved some of the pressure after losing to New Zealand and South Africa and Stuart Lancaster is desperate for a win over one of the big southern hemisphere giants.
Australia are coming off two losses themselves – however it is only Michael Cheika’s fourth game in charge and Wallaby legend Michael Lynagh says that Australia have not played that badly – despite those losses to France and Ireland.
“It’s a big game for both teams – I did not think Australia played that badly but still lost to Ireland while England did not play particularly well but got the win against Samoa,” said Lynagh.
“Australia did not play that well against France either and probably still should have won – against Wales they got the win but were a bit scratchy. They made two mistakes against Ireland which cost them 14 points. They did well to fight back but Ireland did a great job in that second half of pinning them down and Australia were forced to play from the wrong areas.
“Australia look dangerous with the ball in hand – not something that we would say about England at the moment, however they certainly have the players to be dangerous.
“We have seen England look pretty ordinary in November Tests before and then produce something very special – remember that game against New Zealand in 2012? They were under pressure from the press, had not been performing well but came out and produced a most wonderful display.”
Battle upfront
England’s front five have been impressive, and have provided enough ball and a stable platform to launch their backs. England have always looked to target Australia’s pack but Lynagh says that they cannot rely on this for victory.
Australia look dangerous with the ball in hand – not something that we would say about England at the moment, however they certainly have the players to be dangerous.
“England’s front five have been going well and will no doubt look to target Australia’s scrum,” said the 1991 World Cup winner.
“I think Australia’s scrum has been going pretty well though and if England think that is the one route to victory, well they may have to think again. The Wallaby scrum in the first 60 minutes or so against Wales, France and Ireland has been pretty good and it is really not as big of a problem as it has been in the past. Towards the end of those games when subs came on it did not go as well, but I think they can hold their own.
“England’s backs are capable but we have not seen them gel yet. I do like the look of George Ford; I think he is a very good player and have thought that for some time. I think he will look to set England’s back alight and get them moving.”
How the two teams approach the game is crucial for Lynagh and he hopes that they run out with the right attacking attitude.
“It is going to be very tight. I think it depends on what the attitude is – if they decide to come out and try and stop the other team from playing then it could be a bit of a slog. I don’t think that will be Australia’s attitude but it may well be England’s. I really hope that is not the case because England really need a performance here.
“They need to come out and go for the win rather than stop the opposition from scoring. If that happens then we should be in for a very entertaining game with a fair few points. I understand that there is quite a bit at stake here and it is a big game for both sides so England may just err on the side of caution.
“Australia won't, they will want to attack. England have got nothing to lose so they might as well come out and give it a go – they cannot get much worse and they cannot get much worse criticism so why not come out and just give it a go?”
Watch live coverage of England's QBE International clash with Australia live on Sky Sports 2 on Saturday from 1:30pm.
