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Deans predicts Eng 'ripper'

London - Australia coach Robbie Deans believes the Wallabies will be involved in a "ripper" of a contest when they face England in Saturday's Cook Cup clash at Twickenham.

Deans's men began their European tour by seeing their second-string defeat English Premiership side Gloucester 36-5 at Kingsholm on Tuesday.

Australia are due to name their side to play England on Thursday and an upbeat Deans said: "We will push on with our Test preparations now," Deans said. "Saturday's game is going to be a ripper."

Australia may have lost six of their last seven Tests, albeit against world champions South Africa and rugby powerhouse New Zealand, but they head to Twickenham seeking a fourth win in five Tests over England.

Their Kiwi coach was delighted that the Wallabies had started their European campaign with a traditional tour match rather than a full international.

"We would love to do it again - the blokes really enjoyed it," Deans said. "It was great for us to have the opportunity of rugby outside of a Test match.

"Gloucester played with a lot of spirit and asked quite a bit of our guys, but we finished strongly."

He added: "Our guys wanted to make the most of it. A lot of them are only going to play twice on tour.

"When you are going from Test match to Test match, you don't get the opportunity to give guys that development time on the field."

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