England begin the first of four consecutive games at Twickenham, including the inaugural Nations Championship finals, hoping to repeat last season’s 25-7 win at home to Australia.
Match News and Current Form
The England national team have had nearly four months off since they were one of four Northern Hemisphere sides to win two out of three games in July’s southern series, sitting third in the standings at the start of the weekend because they claimed just two bonus points along the way. The players are still battle-hardened due to their various club commitments and should be delighted to return back to Twickenham, where they have won eight of nine home games since the start of 2025 and lost only to Ireland in the 2026 Six Nations.
Preparations have been disrupted by a newspaper article reporting squad unrest and dismay at the coaching style of Steve Borthwick, who has dropped Ellis Genge to the bench following an alleged bust-up between he and Borthwick during the July visit to Argentina. Borthwick has been backed by the RFU to lead the team to the World Cup but acknowledged himself that results need to improve, and there’ll be no better way to invigorate English rugby than a Nations Championship grand final on home turf.
Australia head coach Les Kiss is facing the most difficult part of his five months in charge of the Wallabies. They were unbeaten in their first five matches under Kiss (W4, D1), including a hard-fought and historic 42-38 defeat of South Africa in Perth, before conceding 93 points across two Bledisloe Cup games in what was a little more than a humbling. Since the highs of their late 2024 win at Twickenham, Australia have won just four of their last 14 away games (D1, L9), a record that deteriorates to eight losses from nine matches if excluding currently lower-ranked opposition such as Argentina, Japan and Wales.
The four changes made by Kiss for this clash includes the much-needed return of Len Ikitau to centre, meaning that Joseph Suaalii can move back to his favoured position on the wing. Fraser Mcreight and Josh Canham have been elevated to the run-on XV and Josh Nasser and Aidan Ross dropped from the front row. 37-year-old Kurtley Beale, whose recall to the squad made headlines during the week, was left out of the team entirely.
Head-to-Head History
England have largely dominated this matchup since the 2015 World Cup, coming out on top in 11 of the last 13 meetings, but Australia’s 42-37 win at Twickenham just two years ago is a fresh reminder that nothing in sport is certain.
Hot Stats and Streaks
The team that scored the opening try won eight of England’s last nine matches.
Six of England’s eight games this year exceeded the total points handicap.
Australia’s ten games this year are averaging 65 total points.
The betting favourite won eight of Australia’s ten games this year (D1, L1).
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso was one of two England players (alongside no. 23 Marcus Smith) to dot down in more than one Nations Championship game earlier this year. Wallabies fullback Tom Wright is gunning for a hat-trick of international try scoring appearances after scoring in both Bledisloe matches, and with a try in the 2024 Twickenham victory, history is favouring him.
Tom Curry, Alex Mitchell and Sam Underhill are unavailable for England through injury. Australia’s absences include Jordan Petaia, Tom Lynagh, Carter Gordon and Ben Donaldson.
For all the latest team news, please check the Flashscore match centre.
Betting Analysis
The 2026 trends of both teams point towards this game producing over 57.5 total points.
Author: Aaron Murphy