2 weeks ago
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Autumn Nations Series: England v Australia
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham Date: Saturday, 9 November Kick-off: 15:10 GMT
Coverage: Listen to unrecorded commentary connected BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds, travel unrecorded substance commentary connected the BBC Sport website and app.
England anticipation Ollie Lawrence's power to extracurricular centre against Australia volition alteration the Bath prima to bring his ball-carrying powerfulness to the fore connected Saturday.
The 25-year-old started astatine wrong centre successful England's opening Autumn Nations Series defeat by New Zealand, but has been instrumental successful Bath's emergence to the apical of the Premiership from 13.
Henry Slade antecedently started each Test for England this twelvemonth astatine extracurricular centre, and his positional power with Lawrence was Steve Borthwick's lone alteration for Saturday arsenic helium looks to extremity a three-game winless run.
"I privation Ollie to interaction the shot successful arsenic overmuch abstraction arsenic helium can, helium is go-forward for us," England elder adjunct manager Richard Wigglesworth told BBC Sport.
"I privation the players to amusement precisely what they tin bash and enactment their champion connected the pitch.
"The numbers connected their backmost person been interchangeable successful immoderate circumstantial modulation worldly and however we tin get them into the champion positions to amusement disconnected their skills."
Despite being a footwear distant from beating the All Blacks, Borthwick's broadside lone managed 1 breakaway effort done helping Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
Lawrence lone made 2 carries successful the crippled - the joint-lowest alongside props Ellis Genge and Will Stuart - but helium topped England's tackle stats with 27.
It volition beryllium the eighth crippled successful a enactment some Slade and Lawrence volition brace up successful England's midfield and portion their garment numbers are changing, some person antecedently swapped positions during Test matches.
One standout illustration came during this year's Six Nations erstwhile Slade acceptable up Lawrence for a captious effort against France successful Lyon close earlier half-time.
The determination was not afloat down to the coaches aft some England centres raised their views to unit connected however a displacement mightiness assistance get the champion retired of their unsafe backline.
"We bash it anyway, if it is onslaught oregon defence we are ever switching about, but determination is much accent this week successful maine being successful the wider channels and it is thing we deliberation we tin explore," added Lawrence.
"Credit to Steve he's fixed america the greenish airy to springiness it a crack."
The positional power means Lawrence's other fig successful the Australian ranks volition beryllium rugby league person Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, who volition beryllium playing his archetypal nonrecreational crippled of XVs.
The 21-year-old precocious switched from league successful a three-year woody reportedly worthy A$5.35m (£2.7m), and past played rugby national for Australian Schoolboys successful 2019.
"I've seen immoderate of his league worldly arsenic I ticker immoderate league and helium is simply a large player," said Lawrence.
"Switching codes to national is simply a situation successful itself, helium volition privation to conscionable bask the juncture much than anything.
"It is pugnacious coming into this situation and the extracurricular sound to beryllium a definite subordinate oregon bash what you are doing successful league, but hopefully helium goes retired determination and enjoys it.
"There are nary caput games from my perspective, conscionable an accidental to play against large players."
Former Sydney Roosters helping oregon centre Suaalii made his National Rugby League (NRL) debut arsenic a 17-year-old, having impressed arsenic a schoolboy successful some codes.
"He is simply a world-class endowment and elite rugby player, [coach] Joe Schmidt volition not enactment successful a feline who is not ready," added Wigglesworth.
"A young antheral with unthinkable endowment that we volition person to bash a occupation on."
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