Borthwick gambles on six-two bench as England face Australia on Sunday

The starting XV

England head coach Steve Borthwick has named his team for the autumn opener against Australia at Twickenham on Sunday, 8 November, with four changes from the side that beat Argentina 31-24 in July. George Furbank returns at full-back, Maro Itoje comes back to captain the side and Fin Baxter starts at loosehead prop. Fin Smith came through his final fitness test after a calf problem and is set to start at fly-half, reprising his half-back partnership with Jack van Poortvliet. Seb Atkinson and Henry Slade will again form the centre pairing, with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Tommy Freeman keeping the wings. Baxter has played just 96 minutes of rugby in the past 10 months because of a complicated foot injury, and he starts ahead of Ellis Genge, who is among the replacements.

Back row and a six-two bench

Ben Curry starts at openside in place of his twin brother Tom, who was injured in training on 4 November, and The Guardian understands there are concerns Tom will not be fit for any stage of England's autumn campaign. Ben Curry's selection is his first England appearance since the summer of 2025. Ollie Chessum continues on the blindside and Ben Earl completes the back row. Borthwick has opted for a six-two bench rather than the five-three split he used in the summer wins over Fiji and Argentina. Greg Fisilau, an Exeter back-rower, is set to make his debut from the bench, while Henry Pollock, 21, is the primary cover for the wings alongside scrum-half cover Ben Spencer and Marcus Smith. Pollock's only Test start came in the 42-21 defeat to Ireland at Twickenham about eight months ago. Borthwick could have picked Joe Marchant or Will Joseph, both comfortable on the wing or at centre, but chose to rely on Pollock.

Fitness and returns

Furbank will make his first England appearance for two years after a run of injuries that included a broken arm, concussion and a calf issue. The 30-year-old was due to feature against South Africa in July but needed emergency appendix surgery in Johannesburg days before the match. Itoje returns to the second row after being rested over the summer, partnering Alex Coles, which leaves George Martin with a place on the bench. Luke Cowan-Dickie and Will Stuart join Genge among the front-row replacements.

The Wallabies

Borthwick framed the match as the start of an important block of games and said it will be England's last chance to face southern hemisphere opposition at home before next year's World Cup.

“Australia are a talented side who have played a significant amount of Test rugby in recent months.”

Australia are coached by Les Kiss, and The Telegraph reports that heavy back-to-back defeats by the All Blacks have tempered optimism in the Australian camp. The same report describes England's match as a must-win for them, and says the Wallabies' huge strides under Kiss will make them a stern test at Twickenham.

What follows

England play Japan and New Zealand later this November, and an opponent yet to be confirmed will play on the inaugural Nations Championship finals weekend at Twickenham's Allianz Stadium. Sunday's match is the first of four Tests England have at Allianz Stadium this month.