Chris Robshaw
Robshaw is charged with captaining England in the autumn.

England face Australia at Twickenham in the opening match of the QBE international series.

Where to Watch

Kick-off is at 2.30pm GMT and is live on Sky Sports 2HD on Saturday, 2 November.

Live commentary is available on BBC Radio Five Live. Highlights are on BBC Three at 8pm and repeated on Sunday, 3 November on BBC Two at 1:20pm

Overview

Following a whitewash series win in Argentina, England coach Stuart Lancaster welcomes back those players involved with the British and Irish Lions as preparations for the 2015 Rugby World Cup start in earnest with three back-to-back autumn internationals.

Lancaster's side have won seven of their last eight test matches stretching back to last December but face the task of banishing memories of a catastrophic performance which accompanied defeat to Wales in the Six Nations last spring.

Chris Robshaw, captain at the Millennium Stadium but overlooked by Warren Gatland for the Lions, returns to lead England through the autumn but injury to Manu Tuilagi, Alex Corbisiero and Geoff Parling makes the task of securing successive wins against the southern hemisphere's finest a tall order.

Australia, now under the guidance of coach Ewan McKenzie, are taking on the 'grand slam tour', the first since 1984, and are charged with facing England, Italy, Ireland, Scotland and Wales in a gruelling five-week schedule.

McKenzie's side will arrive at Twickenham in disarray having failed to win successive internationals since last autumn following a series defeat to the Lions in the summer and a disastrous Rugby Championship campaign which included multiple defeats to New Zealand and South Africa.

Defeat to the All Blacks last weekend in the third Bledislow Cup clash of 2013 condemned the Wallabies to the worst possible preparation ahead of facing England, a trip they make without James O'Connor, banished from the team after disciplinary proceedings while Chris Feauai-Sautia and Joe Tomane are both injured.

The clash comes 12 months on from Australia's 20-14 win at Twickenham over England, and marks a decade since the 2003 World Cup Final in Sydney where Jonny Wilkinson's extra-time drop goal secured victory for Clive Woodward's men.

Teams:

England: 15. Mike Brown, 14. Chris Ashton, 13. Joel Tomkins, 12. Billy Twelvetrees, 11. Marlon Yarde, 10. Owen Farrell, 9. Lee Dickson; 8. Billy Vunipola, 7. Chris Robshaw (captain), 6. Tom Wood, 5. Courtney Lawes, 4. Joe Launchbury, 3. Dan Cole, 2. Tom Youngs, 1. Maku Vunipola.

Australia: 15. Israel Folau, 14. Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 12. Matt Toomua, 11. Nick Cummins, 10. Quade Cooper, 9. Will Genia, 8. Ben Mowen, 7. Michael Hooper, 6. Scott Fardy, 5. James Horwill, 4. Sitaleki Timani, 3. Ben Alexander, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. James Slipper

What the coaches say:

Stuart Lancaster: "The DNA of Australia is about being winners in any professional sport - not just rugby, but anything they play internationally. They're a force to be reckoned with and for that, they deserve everyone's respect.

"They've got some very good athletes- on their day, their backline is as good as anyone's. Their pack includes some very competitive back-five forwards and their front-row has shown on occasions that they can cause problems for the opposition."

Ewan McKenzie: "As much as everyone talks about us, they're under pressure themselves. "They'll want to get off to a good start, they've got New Zealand coming up, Argentina. There's a weight of expectation they've got to feel as well.

"They haven't played [as a full squad] since that [Wales] game and as much as there's a fair bit of hype and interest about narrowing the squad down now, and who might play they haven't really played for six months or more as a group."

Argentina South Africa Israel Australia