England v Australia LIVE: Latest score and updates as under-fire hosts face Wallabies in crucial Nations Championship clash

England welcome back all of Fin Baxter, Ben Curry and George Furbank following long lay-offs with injury, while Maro Itoje returns to captain the side having been rested in July. The less experienced of the Curry twins is included with brother Tom ruled out, while Ollie Chessum continues in the back row.

There are six forwards on the bench, including a potential debutant in Greg Fisilau. Marcus Smith provides fly-half cover after Fin Smith won his race to be fit to start.

England XV: 1 Fin Baxter, 2 Jamie George, 3 Joe Heyes; 4 Maro Itoje (capt.), 5 Alex Coles; 6 Ollie Chessum, 7 Ben Curry, 8 Ben Earl; 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 10 Fin Smith; 11 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 12 Seb Atkinson, 13 Henry Slade, 14 Tommy Freeman; 15 George Furbank.

Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Will Stuart, 19 George Martin, 20 Greg Fisilau, 21 Henry Pollock; 22 Ben Spencer, 23 Marcus Smith.

Yes, that World Cup feels ever and ever closer. At the start of last month, we had a go at ranking the contenders for glory Down Under next year:

We should probably mention that it is not just England who have faced a few tough questions this week. Australia’s players are currently locked in a pay dispute with their union, though have sought to avoid direct chatter about the saga this week as they build up to a big game.

It comes at an intriguing time for the Wallabies with a year until their home World Cup. Angus Crichton was an interesting, and interested, observer at training in Teddington this week, with the code-hopping NRL start set to bolster the centre options next year. Mark Nawaqanitawase, meanwhile, has suggested his focus is on finding form in Japan before deciding on his international future – though it would be a real surprise if we do not see the wing in green and gold next year having returned from rugby league.

The playmaking spots remain key questions for Les Kiss to solve, but it’s a pretty solid Wallabies squad otherwise.

Steve Borthwick and Les Kiss, along with the rest of the head coaches in this competition, were in Windsor with the officiating teams last Sunday for a summit ahead of the resumption of the Nations Championship. On Monday, we were there, too, finding out all of the latest on areas of law that are in particular focus this November:

All of the noise around England has rather distracted from what could be a compelling tactical battle. The two back-row selections feel highly instructive about a breakdown contest that will be crucial.

Harry Wilson insists Australia are ready to put England’s unity to the test at Allianz Stadium amid claims of unrest within the camp.

A report states that players sought showdown talks with head coach Steve Borthwick during the July tour because of a toxic environment and wanted Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney to hear their grievances.

Senior England players reacted furiously to the accusations, with Jamie George declaring they would prove their loyalty to Borthwick by delivering on the field against the Wallabies.

Wilson, who leads Australia into the Nations Championship showdown, believes any cracks will be exposed when the rivals clash.

“It could go one or two ways for them and I guess it’s on us to put them under pressure to see how close they are as a team,” Wilson said.

“We know how close we are, how much we care for each other and how much we love playing for our coaching staff.

“All I’m really worried about us. I just want us to keep caring for this jersey, keep caring for every person in our group.”

This week has only heightened the pressure of this game for England. Rugby Football Union (RFU) chief executive Bill Sweeney was reflecting this week on how tricky they have found it to sustain success – and wondering if English rugby’s structures are setting it up to fail.

The England hooker Jamie George has hit back at claims of a divided dressing room and toxic camp in a staunch defence of Steve Borthwick’s management ahead of their clash against Australia.

A report in The Times on Friday claimed that members of the England squad had lost faith in Borthwick during the first phase of the Nations Championship in July, and disagreed with the direction set by the head coach.

Well, this should be a quiet one. England embark on another crucial campaign in the grips of yet more questions over their direction, with Steve Borthwick’s squad forced to issue a staunch defence of their head coach after a report this week claimed that they had lost faith in him during the summer. It heightens the pressure for a fascinating clash with a battle-hardened Australia, with the Wallabies out to pose a few more tough questions to their hosts.

Kick off in Twickenham is at 3.10pm GMT.