International / Geoffrey Riddle / 06 November 2009 / Leave a comment

There are encouraging signs throughout the Australian camp and the return of Steve Thompson to England's lineout gives them hope of dominating all areas of the Twickenham pitch on Saturday

"It is in the forwards where Australia believe they will have to front up if they are going to build on their 28-14 victory at Twickenham last year. Australia demolished all suggestion that they had a weak pack with a commanding display here 12 months ago."

Australia have had a jolly few days in England since they touched down after their latest defeat to New Zealand in Tokyo.

They thrashed Gloucester 36-5 at Kingsholm on Tuesday night, and they went to watch West Ham beat Aston Villa 2-1 at Upton Park on Wednesday. They have even got on the Movember bandwagon, with each player being fined £300 if they do not participate.

For the record, Australia full-back Adam Ashley-Cooper's moustache looks by far the worst effort so far. And yet, Australian minds were forced to concentrate on the job in hand earlier this week when they had a drink with some of the 1984 Wallabies, who were the last Australian side to complete the Grand Slam of the home unions. Nick Farr-Jones, Mark Ella, Andrew Slack and David Campese all drilled into the squad what it means to whitewash the home nations. Australian coach Robbie Deans was then at pains to subsequently banish all talk of such a feat from the Wallaby camp, but a veil cannot always conceal expectation.

The layers on Betfair make Australia as short as [1.55] to get the 2009 autumn tour off to the best possible start, but Deans was in no mood to countenance anyone else's opinion of the game but his own.

"I'm not really interested what the bookmakers say," said Deans at the team's hotel.

"Without doubt, this is the toughest match we have got. It's going to be an interesting, ferocious contest and we'll have to earn everything that we get."

Deans has named the untried centre pairing of Quade Cooper, who scored 16 points at fly-half on Tuesday, and Digby Ioane to replace the injured captaincy duo of Stirling Mortlock and Berrick Barnes. Although neither has much international experience at centre, Ioane successfully played at outside-centre for the Reds ten times this Super 14 season, while Cooper will have a decent understanding with his centre partner as he also plays for the Brisbane franchise.

Deans was quick to defend his selection decisions. "Tuesday was very influential for us," he said.

"It was Quade's coming of age. The way he defended and organised was excellent. He brought shape to the game in defence and attack and he showed maturity"

But it is in the forwards where Australia believe they will have to front up if they are going to build on their 28-14 victory at Twickenham last year. Australia demolished all suggestion that they had a weak pack with a commanding display here 12 months ago. Hooker Stephen Moore was named man of the match that day as the Australian eight repeatedly turned up the heat as the Red Rose wilted. Assistant coach, and former Wallaby forward, Jim Williams added: "The return of Jonny Wilkinson makes things interesting. He thrives on a good forward platform. He can kick on a sixpence and we need to minimize his ability to do that. We want to exert pressure on their pack, and in turn, we will then hope to put him under maximum pressure."

Australia's pack may have improved markedly in the scrum and the loose since Deans took over, but it is in the lineout where they have really struggled. A glance at the statistics says it all. The Wallabies have lost around 30% of lineouts in 2009, and last weekend in Japan, they lost several in attacking areas. As replacement lock Dean Mumm said: "Looking at a couple of the games played this year with the English team and also in the domestic competition, you're looking at around 14 to 16 lineouts a game, which is a lot compared from where we come from."

Williams put on his professional hat when asked about the condition of his side's lineout game. "We've been working really hard on it. We have to trust in the processes that we have put in place. We understand that with Wilkinson in the team it can be used as a platform. It's an important area of the game, but I'm confident we will get it right."

For all the brouhaha about the captaincy of England's Steve Borthwick, the lineout is one area in which England have been rock solid during the 2009 season. With the return of the formerly erratic thrower Steve Thompson though, perhaps Australia may well dominate that facet of the game, too.

Tags: Adam Ashley-Cooper, Australia, Digby Ioane, Movember, Quade Cooper, Stephen Moore, Steve Borthwick, Steve Thompson