Steve Borthwick has maintained his starting England team for the upcoming match against Australia on Saturday, but has made adjustments to his bench to prevent another late-game collapse, following the heart-wrenching defeat by New Zealand last weekend. Borthwick's sole alteration to his starting XV involves swapping Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence in the midfield, positioning the Exeter Chief at inside centre and granting the Bath player the No13 jersey. On the bench, Luke Cowan-Dickie has been selected as the substitute hooker, replacing Theo Dan, and is set to make his first England appearance since Eddie Jones's final game in November 2022. Ollie Sleightholme has also been included on the bench, as Borthwick reverts to a 5-3 split with Ben Curry exiting the squad.

Sleightholme made two appearances off the bench during the summer tour of Japan and New Zealand but will debut at Twickenham when he enters the game. Against New Zealand, England led by eight points in the final quarter for the third consecutive match against the All Blacks, yet they relinquished another winning position as Borthwick relied on his bench to close out the game rather than capitalizing on the advantage. Jamie George once again captains the side from hooker, with Ellis Genge and Will Stuart as the props. Maro Itoje and George Martin form the second row, with Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Curry, and Ben Earl continuing in the back-row. Ben Spencer makes his second start at scrum-half despite a shaky first half against the All Blacks, with Marcus Smith again at fly-half. Tommy Freeman, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, and George Furbank complete the back three.

On the bench, Fin Baxter and Dan Cole join Cowan-Dickie as front-row cover, while Nick Isiekwe, Alex Dombrandt, and Harry Randall retain their spots in the 23, along with George Ford, who missed two late kicks against the All Blacks last Saturday. "Facing Australia is always a significant challenge, and we will work diligently this week to ensure we are physically and tactically prepared to face the Wallabies," said Borthwick. "The passion and energy from the crowd at Allianz Stadium last weekend was incredible, from start to finish, and we are eager to return home this Saturday."

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