England score seven tries to hammer sorry Wallabies 45-22 at Twickenham

Well, that was pretty dire from the Wallabies.

It’s a big seven days before they’re back in action again against Scotland at Murrayfield.

That’s a game that will be just as tough as this one, with the Wallabies desperate to hit back.

We’ll be here for it, and I hope you’ll join me too.

Thanks for being with us this evening, we’ll catch you again next week.

Here’s the stats from tonight’s match.

Les Kiss is speaking now.

He actually sounds very, very angry, almost struggling to get his words out.

“We probably hurt ourselves a little bit,” he says.

“They were pretty clinical with what they did.

“We failed to get into the A zone.

“Probably just overplaying at times.

“But full credit to them, they really played that field position well and got into the A zone.”

He says that Australia played not the right way.

 “I thought the first half we went into some pretty bad habits, went a bit narrow … second half we certainly put some things together,” he says.

“But we’ve got to do better in the early parts [of the game] and be able to give ourselves a chance.”

The Wallabies head to Murrayfield next week.

“We’ve got seven days to work it out,” he says.

“We’re training really well, but the 80 minutes is more important, we have to make sure we get that transference.

“I know the boys will continue to work hard, we’ll have to challenge ourselves and each other about what needs to be done, because there’s work to be done.

“There’s areas that we’re trying to improve.

“We’ve just got to keep working on those things.”

England skipper Maro Itoje is thrilled, as he would be.

“I’m over the moon,” he says.

“This week has been great, I think we’re starting to show what we can do. We have a talented team and we’re starting to put it together.”

He knows they’re not the final product yet though.

“We’re in a good place, we need to build.”

Here is Harry Wilson.

“I guess we struggled to get our game going,” he says.

“England put us under the pump.

“We didn’t get much ball in the first half.

“England were the better team today.”

He is asked exactly why the Wallabies struggled so much.

“They fronted up physically,” he says.

“They put us under the pump.

“Our defence, we weren’t physical enough, we didn’t slow their ball down.

“We were just playing from behind there.

“Credit to England.”

How can they improve?

“We’ve got seven days to just take some feedback from this game and make sure we’re a lot better,” he says.

“Scotland are a really good tema, we’ve got to be ready for it and take these harsh lessons.”

And as for the tries in the second half.

“It’s too little too late,” he dismisses.

“We know that when we hold the ball for long phases and when we play our style of footy how much we can cut teams up, but we can’t wait til the last 15, 20 minutes to do it, we need to be doing it from minute one.”

The English scored seven tries today.

“Yeah really happy,” Henry Slade, the player of the match, says.

“Obviously we’ve only come together in this last week … prep time has been relatively short but I think we did really well.”

The 45 points England scored is the most England have ever scored against the Wallabies.

“Yeah, really pleasing,” he says,

“It’s always nice to put some points on the board.”

A demolition job from England.

The Wallabies have been absolutely hammered there.

It’s finished 45-22 and, to be honest, the Wallabies were lucky to get that many.

England win a penalty at the scrum.

They chance their arm through Ben Spencer, who attempted a kick and chase to himself.

However, the ball goes out of play so they’ll come back for that penalty.

They kick for touch and have a lineout inside the Wallabies 22.

That’s good defence from England.

The Wallabies kick off, win the ball from the kick off, but are then held up.

England will have a scrum 10 metres into their own half.

Spencer races away to score!

The Wallabies managed to claim the kick off pretty well.

But they are under pressure.

They have to try and force it.

And Daugunu tried to force it a little bit too much, bundled up in a tackle and passing straight to Spencer, who races away to score in the corner.

The kick is good.

England 45 – 15 Wallabies

The Wallabies have another.

It’s a horrible mistake from Itoje, who got up to take the line out ball but then dropped it gold into the hands of Jeremy Williams.

He dives over.

The kick is good and the Wallabies narrow the deficit.

That’s two of the three Wallabies tries that have been absolutely gifted to them by England.

England 38 – 22 Wallabies

The Wallabies move the ball well.

This is a great move down the right side.

Suaalii gives the ball to Jorgensen.

But Henry Slade ignored the centre and crushed into the winger and knocked him into touch.

Another technical infringement from the English.

The Wallabies kick it up field for a line out.

England has a line out on the 22.

They win it and move the ball quickly into the backs, where Marcus Smith drops it cold.

Not a great pass, up above his head, but that was poor from the Quins 10.

Wow.

Ben Donaldson throws a pass as the Wallabies look to move the ball from the scrum inside their 22.

But it’s behind Jorgensen and out for an England line out.

My goodness.

The Twickenham crowd cheers ironically, as the Wallabies plumb new depths.

The maul defence has got better as the game as gone on, and that was good from the Wallabies, holding the English up and tying the ball in there to win the decision.

The Wallabies attempt the counter maul from the driving England pack, but infringe.

A penalty is coming so Marcus Smith kicks out to Pollock.

The forward playing on the wing then kicks the ball through Wright’s legs, nutmegging him, only for Suaalii to smother in cover defence.

We come back for the England penalty.

Marcus Smith knocks on as England deliver the full suite of offloads and crash balls.

But there was an offside in there and England are going to have a penalty anyway.

It’s a line out 5 metres out.

That’s so much better.

The Wallabies have to throw caution to the wind here and show something to their coach.

Donaldson gets the ball inside the 22 and chips over the top, Furbank too deep to deal with it.

Daugunu was there to pick the bouncing ball up.

But then the Wallabies knock on at the breakdown.

Still, a nice idea, as England change their Smith’s at 10, Marcus coming on, with Finn shifting to centre.

Finally the Wallabies get something going and manage to string a phase or two together.

It’s just a simple left side move through the hands that breaks open the England defence, Filippo Daugunu dotting over.

Donaldson is already changing things for the better for the Wallabies in attack.

England 38 – 15 Wallabies

The referee spots another technical infringement at the scrum and the Wallabies have great field position again.

There was a moment of life there for the Wallabies.

Ben Donaldson managed to break the line and looked to offload to a support runner deep inside the England 22.

But as he hit the ground, with no gold jersey’s anywhere near close enough to gather the ball, he dropped it and knocked it on.

The winger Henry Pollock has another one!

This one took some speed to finish too!

It was so easy.

Just quick hands, the Wallabies defence compact and clueless in midfield.

Henry Pollock got the ball outside the 22 on the wing and just raced away to score.

This is getting horrible for the Wallabies.

The kick is good.

England 38 – 10 Wallabies

Another piece of ill-discipline from the Wallabies from the kick off, as England looks to their bench

Nasser is on for Pollard too.

The extra size of Tupou and Valetini manage to stop the England catch and driving maul.

But it’s only brief relief.

England press towards the line.

Then they spin it right, Smith floating the pass over the top to Pollock.

Pollock had to backtrack, gathered the ball, then took three Wallabies over the line with him to score in the corner.

This is becoming a rout.

England 31 – 10 Wallabies

Taniela Tupou has absolutely belted Baxter as he crashed into the line.

The problem was he didn’t even think about using his arms to do it, so it’s a penalty.

And now Tupou is down and appears to be struggling with an ankle issue.

England have kicked to the corner and have a lineout five metres out.

Oh goodness.

The Wallabies actually do really well here, moving the ball around from deep inside their own 22.

But then Henry belts the ball deep and out on the full to put the pressure straight back on the Wallabies defence.

England kick the ball up field, but then the Wallabies attack through Henry!

It’s a brilliant run from the centre.

The Wallabies break into the England 22.

And then Freeman gets over the ball and it’s a penalty for the Wallabies going off their feet!

Moaner in chief Morgan Turinui, surprise surprise, is moaning about the call on Stan’s commentary, but the Wallabies are leaving themselves open to being penalised every ruck at the moment so it’s no surprise they got called there.

It’s not happening for the Wallabies today.

Poor throw. Poor jumping.

Poor all round.

That’s a great kick from the centre.

The Wallabies have a great platform to attack from on the England 22 now with the line out that they will take.

Jorgensen was just blocked in the air as he attempted to jump by Freeman and it is a penalty to the Wallabies inside their 22.

From the scrum, the Wallabies push too early.

Such poor discipline.

The referee has got the scrum under a microscope today, but he has been the same for the last 48 minutes.

No excuse.

Smith kicks the ball high…

The Wallabies move the ball down their right side, but Jorgensen is barged into touch, the ball squirting free for a knock on.

A key sub for the Wallabies: Rob Valetini is on, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto comes off.

He needs to change the game.

Canham saves the Wallabies with a steal under the posts!

England hadn’t secured the ruck properly and the Reds lock swooped in.

The Wallabies have lost the ball in contact.

It’s Bell who has lost it just inside the England half and there will be a scrum.

There is movement on the Wallabies bench, but England win the free kick and move it quickly.

Width again from England!

They hit hard down the left with Pollard.

They then spun the ball right to the other wing and made superb inroads.

Henry Slade got the ball on the wing and passed inside to Jack van Poortvliet, who scored untouched.

The kick is good.

England pick up where they left off in the first half.

England 26 – 10 Wallabies

The Twickenham crowd have just worked out that Pollock is on the wing.

And they enjoyed seeing him take Lonergan for a ride 20 metres up field.

Remarkable.

The Wallabies kick off, Earl catches the ball and is belted back into the 22.

Incredibly, there is a substitution for England that will raise eyebrows.

Feyi-Waboso is off.

Pollock is on.

Yes, that’s a flanker on for a winger.

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And they might need them to step up in a big way.

The good thing is that the second half can’t be worse than the first, right? RIGHT?!

That was as bad as I’ve seen the Wallabies play for a while.

Half of them look like they’re still on the plane, or maybe jetlagged or something.

It’s been awful.

And yet, despite England’s dominance, the score is only 19-10!

The Wallabies are, incredibly, still in this contest.

But they need a rocket at the break, because that was woeful.

England were threatening down the left once again.

But Jorgensen read it like a book.

He races through and runs 50 metres to score.

Twickenham deflates like someone let all the air out of a balloon – and the Wallabies are given a lifeline their abject display barely deserves.

The kick is good.

England 19 – 10 Wallabies

It’s a clever kick through for Freeman to chase into the corner from Smith.

He did not get it down though.

Declan Meradith just about did enough, getting in the way of the flying winger.

That’s poor from the Wallabies.

England steal the line up and race up field once again.

England are then awarded the penalty and they kick up field.

England are penalised for going off their feet and the Wallabies have a penalty centre field 40 metres from goal.

They don’t go for points, and kick for the corner.

There is still five minutes left on Bell’s sin bin, which is all it will be, as the referee confirms that it will not be upgraded to red.

And Canahan takes it quickly and charges into England territory.

The Wallabies need something from this desperately.

The rolling maul does the job again!

It’s Heyes who touches the ball down, but Jamie George was dragged towards the line by Maro Itoje though as the Wallabies line out defence disintegrated once again.

He delivered it to Heyes, who crashed over the line.

The kick is good.

England 19 – 3 Wallabies

Angus Bell is off!

It’s a hip drop – and a particularly clear example of one too.

England has the penalty 40 metres from goal, but are not thinking of points.

They kick for touch and the line out will be 10 metres from the Wallabies line.

England are all over the Wallabies, and they are forced to kick away from deep inside their own 22, but they barely get out of the 22 for the England line out.

Feyi-Waboso is limping away…

It appears that Angus Bell did a hip drop tackle which caused the injury… those are not legal any more, I do wonder if the referee will have a look at this.

This could spell danger for Bell.

A bit of kick-tennis goes on but then England breaks up field.

Maro Itoje nailed Tom Wright – Itoje is on one today, he’s everywhere, the England captain.

The English use the ball nicely but at the breakdown Furbank is guilty of a neck roll and the Wallabies, once again, get away with being badly out of position and off the pace by and England error.

There is only one team in this at the moment – and they aren’t playing in gold…

Width from England!

There’s a great break and run from Feyi-Waboso, who scoots inside and breaks the Wallabies 22.

England move the ball so quickly to the left side, the Wallabies ruck defence is non-existent.

Chessum is the man on the outside and he crashes over to score.

The kick from the sideline is perfect.

What is happening out there from the Wallabies.

They’re not at the races yet.

England 12 – 3 Wallabies

England make use of the left side once more and Feyi-Waboso breaks up field.

England are using the width – it’s good to watch.

But the reality that we may be watching two teams that are not quite at their best is exposed again as England knocks on.

Another scrum for this French referee to scrutinise with a magnifying glass, this one is well inside the Wallabies 22.

Oh my word.

The referee has a set square out and is not giving these hookers a half-degree of leeway at the line out.

England are awarded this time and they have the scrum inside their own half, just outside the 22.

The Wallabies force an error at the line out, the giant figure of Canham forcing George to miss his through.

It’s not straight.

And once again the referee spots an infringement at the scrum.

It’s turning into a lesson in pedantry from the referee at the technical side of the game at the moment.

The Wallabies kick up field.

That was lovely stuff from the Wallabies.

Lonergan is going to boot a lot and he gets Suaalii chasing and gathering inside the England half.

The Wallabies make a half break up field through Bell.

But Ben Curry is over the ball like sauce on a chip and wins the penalty.

Feyi-Waboso charges onto a crash ball from the line out but knocks on.

The Wallabies recycle well and earn a line out just inside their own half.

The Wallabies really put the pressure on at the scrum. That’s a great effort.

However, this time it’s the Wallabies front row that is pinged for not being square.

England kick into the Wallabies 22.

Another knock on is spotted as the Wallabies go to the air.

It is a scrum bang on half way, 10 metres in from the far touchline.

England waste their chance!

Another let off for the Wallabies!

The scrum is penalised for boring in and the Wallabies will clear up to their 10 metre line just shy of half way.

Will be an England line out though.

The Wallabies are in all sorts here.

Lonergan attempted a box kick from just 10 metres out from his own try line, but Maro Itoje got up and smothered it.

The Wallabies were going backwards from the kick off, Meredith getting absolutely smashed backwards as he made the ill-advised decision to attempt to run through the England front row that were standing in his way.

The Wallabies then knock on and England have a scrum 10 metres out.

Very sluggish start from the Wallabies.

Wallabies knock on in midfield!

England’s rush defence is in the face of this sluggish Wallabies attack and there is a knock on right on half way.

But England were too early, according to the referee.

Harry Wilson wants to kick here, about 30 metres out pretty central.

Ryan Lonergan kicks and it’s through.

England 5 – 3 Wallabies

Lineout.

Maul.

Drive.

Try.

Easy as 1-2-3 for the English.

Pure power. Jamie George is the man who puts the ball down.

But goodness me, the Wallabies pack was in all sorts there.

England just ran through them.

Finn Smith hits the post with the kick, so it remains 5-0.

England 5 – 0 Wallabies

Max Jorgensen leaps up and claims a shallow box kick.

However, Josh Canham was in the way of the England chaser and it’s a penalty.

And what a kick from Finn Smith, kicking from inside his own half to the five.

England were barging their way up field with desperate ease.

That’s alarming from the Wallabies.

It’s quick ball for England.

But then Chessum is called for going off his feet just as the English made their way into the 22.

The Wallabies have the penalty and kick just shy of half way.

A solid scrum over on the right from the Wallabies.

They spin it to the left, where Sua’ali’i barges through one tackle.

However, he’s then held up after the referee called for a maul.

England has a scrum now on their right just inside their own half.

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso bursts through the line – as easy as you like from the hosts!

However, there looked like there was quite a clear forward pass from Ben Curry though in the lead up…

And that is what has been seen by the TMO and we’re going to go back for a Wallabies scrum 10 metres inside their own half.

A huge let off for Australia, who were carved open with desperate ease there by the English.

The Wallabies will have first use of the ball as England kicks deep into the Wallabies 22.

The Wallabies spin the ball through hands a couple of times out to the right side, where England make a tremendous mess of a ruck, with the Wallabies kicking clear up towards half way.

Pierre Brousset of France is today’s referee.

We say it a lot when we talk about the Wallabies.

But those same conversations about discipline are happening in the halls of Twickenham as well as England comes off a horrific Six Nations campaign heading into this set of fixtures.

During the Six Nations, England received eight yellow cards and one red across five matches.

In total that equates to 118 minutes – almost a game and a half of rugby – without 15 men on the pitch.

That continued in July, when England finished the 45-21 defeat by South Africa with 13 men, and had four second-half sin-binnings against Argentina as they almost threw away a winning position.

“It has been a big internal discussion,” Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney told the BBC.

“Steve [Borthwick]’s very conscious of that and he’s working really hard with the players to improve that aspect.

“You need all your players on the pitch for as long as possible. That’s something we need to address.”

Incredibly, England have only played one game in 2026 where they’ve kept 15 men on the field for the full game.

The Wallabies too have been criticised for their ill-discipline.

In the Wallabies’ 10 internationals this calendar year they have been shown nine yellow cards and a red.

You’d have to think that if one of these teams keeps 15 men on the field for the full 80, they’ll go a long way to securing victory.

There’s certainly a handful or more Australians in the crowd, with Advance Australia Fair getting a more than respectable airing in accompaniment to Emilia Bertolini.

The scale of the opposition is truly laid bare though soon after, with a raucous rendition of God Save The King, which echoes around the stadium.

A packed stadium falls silent as the Last Post is played, followed by a minute’s silence.

That’s a nice touch, the Reds flanker playing his 50th Test today for the Wallabies.

He runs out into the Twickenham bowl first all alone to accept the applause of the crowd.

And he’s then followed by both teams together.

It is Remembrance Sunday in Great Britain, and there will be a minute’s silence before kick off today – as there is in all sporting events across the nation.

Earlier on today, World Rugby chairman Brett Robinson and the chief executive of Rugby Australia, Phil Waugh, laid a wreath outside the Rose and Poppy Gates at Twickenham.

The Wallabies say they have thoroughly reviewed last month’s mauling by the All Blacks as they head into a month of Nations Championship tests in Britain.

Loosehead prop Angus Bell said the Wallabies had looked to address the weaknesses exposed by New Zealand in their 50-19 win in Auckland and then a runaway 43-21 triumph in Sydney a week later.

“Look, rugby is not really a linear line. There’s a lot of ups and downs. Both in people’s careers and with teams,” Bell told a press conference on Wednesday.

“As we know, it’s always like a bit of a roller coaster, but as long as you’re trending upwards, I think that’s the main point of getting better collectively as a team and also individually.”

Bell said the All Blacks had put Australia under pressure with the pace of their game.

“They were excellent at that, and that’s where we struggled, and that’s something that we’ve implemented in our training to get better.

“We didn’t learn the lessons from the first test match, and then they exposed us on the other ones in the second and I feel like the training week we had prior to coming over here and also now today has been really good, and we’ve actually addressed those and fixed those.”

The 26-year-old Bell said there had been many positives for the Wallabies in recent months under new coach Les Kiss as they put together an unbeaten run of six matches before the blowout against New Zealand.

“I guess my point is we’ve got to be able to change and manoeuvre between teams. Like England aren’t going to be the same as the All Blacks. Do they suit us more or not?

“It’s all about how we prepare, how we train, how we play. We did cop a lot of criticism (after defeat by the All Blacks), but again, that’s part of rugby and we know that it is.”

Reuters

Les Kiss is speaking on Stan Sport.

“It’s been good to get away,” he says.

“There’s a lot of energy and a big buzz around the team at the moment.

“Certainly some disappointment with the last couple of games … but it’s been a good week.”

Kiss says England’s set piece is going to be crucial and the Wallabies need to keep England away from the 22.

Either that or I really need to get more sleep…

I don’t know what to make of this. Needless to say, I don’t have one made up here in the office.

All the pomp and ceremony as the England team arrived earlier.

Apparently Jamie George was late off the bus and had to walk in by himself (although it looks like he managed to find at least one friend to help him through).

Here come the Wallabies.

There will be 82,000-odd supporters in Twickenham today.

Two years ago the Wallabies were in heaven when Max Jorgensen scored that last-minute stunner to claim victory.

Last year though, it was far closer to hell, as England ran rampant over a Wallabies team branded as a shambles by many who watched them.

What are the Wallabies walking through the famous gates into today?

Maro Itoje sees victory over Australia as more than just a step forward in the new Nations Championship, with the England captain believing it’s a golden opportunity to strike a major psychological blow ahead of next year’s World Cup.

The old rivals will be meeting for the last time before the 2027 World Cup, with projections showing they could meet in a quarterfinal in Sydney on October 31 next year.

“Each game is new but there’s no doubt that against teams you’re going to play down the line, you want them to know that you’ve got their number,” said Itoje yesterday.

“We want to win this weekend for this weekend’s sake, but we also want to win because we don’t want to give the opposition an inch.

“These are the games that get your blood pumping and you realise it’s big. In terms of where we want to go and doing well in this competition, we want to respond to the inconsistencies of the Six Nations.

“We want to show ourselves and show England fans that we’ve turned a corner. For that reason, this game is huge.”

England have had a pretty disappointing 2026 campaign, losing five of their eight Tests.

That included a dire 6 Nations campaign in which the English won just a single game against the hapless Welsh, while losing to Italy for the first time in their history.

“I have full confidence that the public, England fans and our families and friends in the stands are going to see a team that’s fighting for one another, putting their best foot forward, that’s aggressive and taking the game to Australia,” Itoje said.

“We want to set the tone of how this autumn is going to go and show the public what this team is about.”

with AAP

Today’s clash is a vitally important one for both teams, but perhaps more so for England coach Steve Borthwick.

The former Bath and Saracens lock has been at the centre of reports that his management style prompted squad unrest and caused a toxic environment during the July tour.

England played South Africa at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, Fiji in Liverpool and then Argentina in Santiago del Estero in consecutive weekends throughout July, winning the latter two matches.

A report in the Times said unhappy players wanted summit talks with Borthwick and Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney in Argentina.

The players in the team have hit back at those reports.

“I can tell you that a lot of it’s untrue,” Jamie George told the BBC.

“We, as a squad, are incredibly disappointed by it.

“You just have to look at the timing of the article — two days out from our first Test match. I think it’s clearly there to try and be divisive.

“Whoever’s written this article, obviously their aim was for it to be divisive. Unfortunately for them, it’s going to go the other way.

“This is going to galvanise us, it’s going to make us tighter. We speak a lot about standing up for people, we speak a lot about helping each other, and we’ve got to make sure that we do that for Steve.

“He has had a bit of a personal attack here and an unwarranted one at that.”

George’s sentiments were echoed by skipper Maro Itoje yesterday.

“I can wholeheartedly say that Steve has not lost the faith of us players,” Itoje said.

“We back him 100 per cent.

“We want to play for Steve, we want to represent him in a way that is fitting of the quality of coach he is. We’re going to have to use everything to make sure we do the job.”

There would have been few people who would have picked Kurtley Beale‘s name out of the hat for this spring tour.

But the 37-year-old answered the SOS call to join the squad, five years after his last appearance.

The veteran playmaker won the last of his 95 caps against Wales in 2021 but joined Les Kiss’ squad in Britain.

Beale was also called up in Joe Schmidt’s first Wallabies squad in 2024 but a serious Achilles injury denied him a comeback.

But now, after impressive form for the Force in Perth, Beale said the prospect of featuring at next year’s World Cup had helped sustain his determination through the rough patches.

“Yeah, absolutely. It’s always been a motivation of mine,” he told reporters ahead of Australia’s clash with England at Twickenham on Sunday.

“But I’ve really just kind of focused on the now and not thinking too far ahead of myself and making sure that I’m at my best here for the team.

“I always thought I was able to still add to the group, to the game. And I just kept believing. I felt like there was some unfinished business.”

Incredibly, despite his country coming calling, the Force aren’t convinced he can play an entire Super Rugby season next year.

He has only managed to secure a ‘train and trial’ deal for next season and is unsure whether he will be elevated to the main squad.

“I don’t know. I just know that I’m there to be able to train and play next year,” he said.

Beale was not included in today’s match day squad, but with two more tests against Scotland and Wales to come, there may well be further opportunities.

Read more about his selection here.

Harry Wilson believes the Wallabies are ready to test England’s reported lack of unity at Twickenham while looking to unleash a key ‘X-factor’ strike weapon from their bench.

“It could go one or two ways for them,” Wilson said, responding to reports of disharmony in the England camp.

“I guess it’s on us to put them under pressure to see how close they are as a team.”

Read more here.

Here’s the England side for tonight’s match.

The main man Maro Itoje returns from an extended break to captain the side, while Fin Smith recoveres from a calf injury to line up at 10.

There are four changes to the team that beat Argentina in July.

George Furbank replaces his Harlequins teammate Marcus Smith at fullback, with the 10-cum-15 taking a utility spot on the bench after some stirring performances for Quins in the Premiership.

Baby-faced prop Fin Baxter gets the nod at loosehead over Bristol’s Ellis Genge, who is also on that 6-2 bench.

Ben Curry plays, but twin brother Tom injured himself during the week, with firebrand flanker Henry Pollock set to come off the pine as well.

Exeter eight Greg Fisilau could make his debut.

Here’s the Wallabies side for tonight’s match, with Les Kiss also making four changes from their last outing.

Len Ikitau comes back into the team at centre after missing the last Bledisloe with concussion, pushing Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii onto the wing.

Angus Bell starts at loosehead, with Billy Pollard in at hooker as the revolving door that is the Wallabies front row continues spinning.

Sydney starters Josh Nasser and Aidan Ross are both dropped from the starting lineup.

Reds lock Josh Canham starts in the engine room of the scrum, alongside Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, as Jeremy Williams moves into the back row to blindside flanker.

Congratulations to another Queensland Red, Fraser McReight, who will earn his 50th cap at 7, with Rob Valetini dropped to the bench.

How is the Nations Championship looking after one match of the Northern Hemisphere leg?

The top team in each group meets in the final on November 29 at Twickenham.

If you’ve not kept across the matches in the Nations Championship this weekend, then never fear, we’ve got you covered.

Here’s how the matches played out over the course of the weekend.

Former Wallaby Berrick Barnes has revealed how even Springboks and All Blacks greats “hero-worshipped” Mark Nawaqanitawase upon his arrival in Japan.

Fresh off becoming the only player to capture this year’s NRL premiership after completing an Ashes and State of Origin series-winning double, Nawaqanitawase has begun the latest chapter of an already-decorated career at the Saitama Wild Knights.

Barnes is the backs and attack coach under the club’s director of rugby, former Wallabies mentor Robbie Deans, and couldn’t be happier to have the freakish code-hopper on board.

“We’re so lucky to have him. Forget the player, there’s an aura and energy about him which is rare. He’s a rare human being,” Barnes told AAP from just outside Tokyo.

“He’s just really positive around the group and lifts the Japanese boys up. He only lobbed on Thursday and already knew a lot of the boys’ names.

“He’d even watched some footage and was over how we played. Not many guys come in and do that. Like, you’d think that’s the bare minimum, mate, but that’s pretty rare.”

Barnes, a one-time Wallabies vice-captain after starting in the NRL as a teenage wonder at the Brisbane Broncos, has played with and under an endless list of legends of both codes.

Yet he was still blown away by the way Nawaqanitawase was feted by teammates and Wild Knights staff, including two-time Rugby World Cup winners Damian de Allende and Sam Whitelock.

“The aura he’s got, he walks into a building and he even gives you belief as a coach, which is pretty rare from a player,” Barnes said.

“I’m just excited for him to be around the boys. They’re a great bunch we’ve got here and they’ll welcome him in, but I’ve never seen a bunch of foreigners in our team actually genuinely excited to see someone in the building — and genuinely nervous.

“The Kiwi boys included. They deal with some pretty famous Kiwi guys — All Blacks or whatever — but Mark’s status in what he’s done in rugby league, it’s ridiculous and, for a lot of those boys, there’s a bit of hero worship there.

“We’ve got Damian de Allende, Lood de Jager, two players probably most considered like Mark in South Africa. We have Sam Whitelock, who came up and coached.

“So guys who’ve done a lot in the game, but I’d say there’s not many that have had that ‘Marky Mark’ presence with guys. It’s like ‘holy shit, this guy’s that good and we get to have him on our team’. That’s pretty bloody cool.”

Barnes believes the dual international will revel in Japan — and become an even superior player without the spotlight, glare and pressures from NRL or Australia’s Super Rugby Pacific fans.

“Honestly, he’ll get around with anonymity, seriously,” Barnes said.

“That’s what people don’t get about Japan. It is an island unto itself. It’s culturally unique.

“Yeah, on game day for sure he’ll get mobbed by fans. The rugby fan base here is strong and they’re passionate. But outside of games, he’ll get around as if he’s just an everyday bloke.

“After a while fans will recognise him, but people have to understand no-one watches rugby league over here. It’s a weird thing because in Australia it’s on everything and it’s our main sport, especially on the east coast.

“But over here, mate, no one even knows who Nathan Cleary is.”

AAP

We’re set to start at 2:10am AEDT this morning.

That’s your kick off time in New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria and Tasmania.

In Queensland we’re looking at a 1:10am start.

In South Australia it’s going to be 1:40am, in the Northern Territory it is a 0:40am start.

And out in Western Australia, kick off is 11:10pm on Sunday night.

Did I miss anyone? Good.

Hello everyone and welcome to a very late night showing of rugby union action from London.

My name is Simon Smale and I am prying open my bleary eyes at this shocking hour to bring you all the action as it happens over there at the stately home of English rugby in the capital’s south west.

It’s time for the spring tour, and a clash against an England team that were absolutely horrid during the Six Nations, winning just one game against the even-worse Welsh.

The Wallabies are hardly in sparkling form themselves, losing their last two against New Zealand.

But that All Blacks blind spot aside, the Wallabies were on a six-game unbeaten run before getting bashed in the Bledisloe.

Will we see a return to the sort of form that saw Les Kis’s team beat the Springboks in Perth?

Or will it be a similar story to last year when England ran out 25-7 winners at Twickenham?

Only time will tell, so let’s head to Twickers to see what we can find out.