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Bagshot - England cannot afford to start as slowly as they did against New Zealand last week or they will be ripped open by Australia's devastating backs on Saturday, manager Martin Johnson said on Tuesday.
England were stuck in the starting blocks and went 14-0 down after 20 minutes in their opening November test last Saturday which meant the game was effectively over. They recovered well and finished strongly in a 26-16 defeat but Johnson has been hammering home the message that, if anything, the Wallabies are even more adept at seizing on opposition errors.
"We were a bit disjointed defensively, short of line speed, early on against New Zealand. It was a little bit of everything - not one glaring error by one player," Johnson told reporters after naming a team showing just one change with the introduction of Dylan Hartley at hooker for Steve Thompson.
"We train to stop that happening but you can't replicate that intensity, the pace at the start was very fast.
"We can't do that again this week against Australia, In some ways they are more dangerous than the All Blacks in the way they can break for tries.
"These guys are smart, they bring a different challenge. If they see the gap they will be through it. They see the opportunities very quickly and we have to react quicker."
Hartley missed the close season tour to Australia through injury but had an impressive half hour after replacing Thompson on Saturday, capped by his try.
"Dylan did very well when he came on, I thought he forced his way in there with the way he played," said Johnson, who also made one change on the bench with the recall of Simon Shaw, recovered from an ankle injury, for Dave Attwood.
"He's returned with huge enthusiasm and intensity. He brings confrontational energy and his ball carrying is getting better."
Hartley, however, is something of a hothead and gave away an unnecessary penalty when charging into All Blacks captain Richie McCaw at a ruck on Saturday.
"Yes, it's a balance we have to get on the right side of," Johnson said. "I like what Dylan brings, that energy, but those penalties kill you.
"We got ourselves back into the game twice then conceded straight away so it's obvious we can't have that."
Having had a lot of success in the scrum against Australia, who struggled again up front against Wales last weekend, England will hope to set a base for attack from the set piece, However, scrum coach Graham Rowntree warned against complacency and said the return of hooker Stephen Moore, who missed the Wales match, would stiffen their resolve.
"We have got a lot of respect for them. I know that's the party line but it's true," he said. "Stephen Moore is a fantastic player and will make a big difference for them.
"The detail of our work has to be spot on. We have to work hard to make sure they only way they can stop us is by standing up."
England beat Australia 21-20 in Sydney in June, their first win there since the 2003 World Cup final, but have lost their last two meetings at Twickenham.
Thirteen of England's team from the Sydney match will start on Saturday, with Hartley and prop Andrew Sheridan, who also missed the tour through injury, the new faces.
The Wallabies, who opened their tour with a 25-16 win over Wales in Cardiff, play Leicester on Tuesday night and will name their test team on Thursday.
