Eddie Jones expecting a ‘street fight’ with his old rival Michael Cheika when England host Australia
Saturday's encounter will be the sixth time that England have faced the Wallabies since Jones took charge
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Your support makes all the difference.England will welcome a familiar foe to Twickenham next Saturday as Australia arrive to wrap up the autumn international campaign, and despite holding a 100 per cent record against the country of his birth, Eddie Jones is expecting a "street fight" with his old adversary Michael Cheika.
Next Saturday's encounter will be the sixth time that England have faced the Wallabies since Jones took charge. Given that he remains resentful of how the Australian Rugby Union axed him as head coach back in 2005, the fact that England have won all five previous meetings will be of great satisfaction for the 58-year-old.
The 2016 series whitewash was undoubtedly one of the high points of Jones' reign as England's defensive resilience set the tone for their 3-0 triumph, but where on that tour Australia went into it as beaten Rugby World Cup finalists, now they appear to be a shadow of their former selves.
In the recent Rugby Championship, they lost both matches against New Zealand by a cumulative 78 points to 25, suffered defeats against both South Africa and Argentina and had to pull off the second biggest comeback in Test rugby history after going 31-7 down to the Pumas at half-time before rallying back to triumph 45-34 in Salta.
That final weekend victory potentially saved Cheika from facing some very uncomfortable questions, but ensuing defeats by New Zealand and Wales - the latter for the first time in a decade - has seen the pressure placed firmly back on the head coach even in light of Saturday's 26-7 win over Italy.
But rather than relish the chance to pile the misery onto his old side, Jones is wary that it might just bring the best out of them.
"Well I think Chieks, he's my old mate, he's always at his best when they're under pressure," said Jones. "He loves that, he's a street fighter, so it does make them dangerous.
"But at the same time we've had a tough year too and we don't mind a scrap either, so it should be a good scrap."
The two sides will go into that scrap in very different positions though. England by all accounts are back on the up. Back-to-back wins over South Africa and a comeback 35-15 victory over Japan on Saturday sandwiched a narrow 16-15 defeat against New Zealand that they really should have won - although Ireland's fantastic performance in their 16-9 victory against the same opposition suggests that the All Blacks are not as high and mighty as they once were.
Australia meanwhile have far too many unanswered questions about them. Their record in 2018 reads just four wins and 13 defeats, while Cheika appears at a loss to know where to field star player Israel Folau given that he has started in three different positions in their last three matches.
They do still gave star talent throughout; David Pocock and Michael Hooper would walk into most back-rows the world over, while Will Genia, Bernard Foley, Kurtley Beale and Folau are all capable of match-changing moments. But their front-five remains a long-term area of concern, and for England this week will be about identifying how those weaknesses can be fully exposed.
"That can change very quickly in a game," Jones added. "I think they understand where we're strong and we understand where they're strong, and it's going to be a battle of who can take away each other's strengths and find a way to probe their weaknesses."
Part of that caution led Jones to make 11 changes to his side that beat Japan. The likes of Jonny May, Ben Te'o and Ben Youngs will come back into the side this week after a weekend off, and although Owen Farrell will have played a bit more than Jones wanted as he was deployed at half-time, he hopes that player management will pay off this week.
"(Japan) was an important experiment in making sure that we have our best players fully fit for next week," he explained. "It was a great experiment looking at World Cup flexibility and adaptability and so again it was a very positive weekend for us."
One other positive that came out of the victory over Japan was the international debut of Joe Cokanasiga. The 21-year-old wing played a key role in Danny Care's opening try, made a handful of powerful runs and bagged a maiden try of his own in the second-half that took the game away from the Brave Blossoms.
With May set to come back in, Cokanasiga needs the week of his life to stay in the squad. That could largely depend on how Chris Ashton recovers from the injury he suffered to his right calf on Saturday, but with Jack Nowell the only other wing option currently in the squad, Cokanasiga at least stands a chance.
Jones added: "It's probably enough to get on the bus. Whether he gets off in the first 23 I'm not sure. We'll wait and see."
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