Stuart Lancaster has named his side to face Australia at Twickenham in their crucial Rugby World Cup clash on Saturday, with Sam Burgess dropped and Jonathan Joseph returning.
Joseph made a faster-than-expected recovery from his chest injury, meaning he will line up alongside Brad Barritt in the centre. Owen Farrell retains his place at outhalf, with Burgess reverting to the bench in the wake of the 28-25 defeat to Wales.
With Billy Vunipola out of the tournament and Courtney Lawes still struggling with a knee injury, Ben Morgan returns at number eight and Joe Launchbury will start his first World Cup match in the second-row.
The game will define England’s World Cup future. If Wales beat Fiji in Cardiff on Thursday, they will have to beat the Wallabies to remain in the tournament. They risk becoming the first host nation to depart the tournament at the group phase.
The 2003 World Cup-winning coach Clive Woodward called the side “amateurs” while the former captain Will Carling accused Lancaster of creating a “classroom” environment that treated players like “schoolboys” and left them unable to think for themselves.
Amid growing signs that England are adopting a bunker mentality in the face of unprecedented pressure at their home World Cup Mike Catt, the attacking skills coach, insisted they would not let external criticism derail them.
“If you get concerned about external effects you are not in a good place and lose focus about what your job is,” said Catt, who was capped 75 times by England and was part of the 2003 World Cup-winning squad. “Our job is to beat Australia, not to worry about criticism from ex-players or whatever. For us it’s external white noise that is totally irrelevant to what we need to do as a team.”
England team: Mike Brown (Harlequins); Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby); Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby); Brad Barritt (Saracens); Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby); Owen Farrell (Saracens); Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers); Joe Marler (Harlequins); Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers); Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers); Joe Launchbury (Wasps); Geoff Parling (Exeter Chiefs); Tom Wood (Northampton Saints); Chris Robshaw (captain, Harlequins); Ben Morgan (Gloucester Rugby).
Replacements: Rob Webber (Bath Rugby); Mako Vunipola (Saracens); Kieran Brookes (Northampton Saints); George Kruis (Saracens); Nick Easter (Harlequins); Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens); George Ford (Bath Rugby); Sam Burgess (Bath Rugby).
