Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Eddie Jones has named a young but experienced starting 15 to face Australia in Brisbane on Saturday.
England captain Dylan Hartley will lead out a side with a total of 539 international caps between them as they aim to win the first of a three-Test series in Australia.
Saracens’ Owen Farrell starts at flyhalf with Northampton Saints’ Luther Burrell alongside him at inside centre.
Harlequins’ Marland Yarde retains his place on the wing after a strong performance against Wales at Twickenham on 29 May. The pack is unchanged from the one that started in Paris earlier in the year when England beat France to be crowned 6 Nations champions.
Full-back Mike Brown will win his 50th England cap when he runs out at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.
“We have picked a side to win in Brisbane,” said England head coach Eddie Jones.
“As always selection was tight and naturally players are disappointed, but we’ve gone with a 23 that has a good mix of experience and youth.
“We aim to win every Test match we play and I am pleased with our preparation since we landed in Australia. The group have acclimatised well, trained hard and there’s a buzz around the camp.
“If you look at England’s record in Australia it’s pretty ordinary. We’ve only ever won three games in Australia so it’s a great opportunity to put down a marker and create history. It’s important we get off to a positive start and we’ll arrive in Brisbane ready to play physical and aggressive rugby.
“We’re excited to be playing against a strong Australian team in their backyard. The Wallabies are ranked second in the world and have the World Rugby coach of the year, so that’s why they start as favourites. There’s a lot of expectation on them to win the series convincingly.
“We have a young squad with an average age of 24 so we are still developing and improving. It’ll be a great challenge for us and one we’re looking forward to meeting head on.”
Teams:
Australia
15 Israel Folau, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 David Pocock, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 Stephen Moore (captain), 1 Scott Sio
Substitutes:16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 James Slipper, 18 Sekope Kepu, 19 James Horwill, 20 Dean Mumm, 21 Sean McMahon, 22 Nick Frisby, 23 Christian Leali'ifano.
England
15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 James Haskell, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley (captain), 1 Mako Vunipola
Substitutes: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Joe Launchbury, 20 Courtney Lawes, 21 Danny Care, 22 George Ford, 23 Jack Nowell
