TEAMS
| Mako Vunipola | 1 | Scott Sio |
| Dylan Hartley | 2 | Tatafu Polota-Nau |
| Dan Cole | 3 | Sekope Kepu |
| Joe Launchbury | 4 | Rob Simmons |
| Courtney Lawes | 5 | Adam Coleman |
| Chris Robshaw | 6 | Ned Hanigan |
| Sam Underhill | 7 | Michael Hooper |
| Nathan Hughes | 8 | Sean McMahon |
| Ben Youngs | 9 | Will Genia |
| George Ford | 10 | Bernard Foley |
| Elliot Daly | 11 | Reece Hodge |
| Owen Farrell | 12 | Samu Kerevi |
| Jonathan Joseph | 13 | Tevita Kuridrani |
| Jonny May | 14 | Marika Koroibete |
| Anthony Watson | 15 | Kurtley Beale Tuculet |
| Jamie George | 16 | Stephen Moore |
| Joe Marler | 17 | Tom Robertson |
| Harry Williams | 18 | Allan Alaalatoa |
| Maro Itoje | 19 | Ben McCalman |
| Sam Simmonds | 20 | Lopeti Timani |
| Danny Care | 21 | Nick Phipps |
| Henry Slade | 22 | Karmichael Hunt |
| Semesa Rokoduguni | 23 | Henry Speight |
AGE
| England | Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| Forwards | 27.4 | 26.9 |
| Backs | 25.6 | 26.1 |
| Bench | 26.3 | 27.9 |
| Overall | 26.4 | 27.0 |
Not much difference between the sides here…
CAPS
| England | Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| Forwards | 47.4 | 52.8 |
| Backs | 37.6 | 44.6 |
| Bench | 21.3 | 38.6 |
| Overall | 35.3 | 45.3 |
England is giving away 10 caps per player to their Australian counterparts, which may be a concern given the average age is very similar. The chart also highlights some mismatches, with 7 and 15 standing out immediately.
HEIGHT
| England | Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| Forwards | 1.92 | 1.90 |
| Backs | 1.80 | 1.84 |
| Bench | 1.85 | 1.86 |
| Overall | 1.87 | 1.87 |
It’s notable here that Australia’s locks are taller, but England’s back row makes up for it in terms of lineout options.
WEIGHT
| England | Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| Forwards | 112.9 | 111.5 |
| Backs | 90.7 | 93.9 |
| Bench | 104.3 | 106.0 |
| Overall | 103.1 | 104.2 |
The Australian centre partnership stands out here, with two big lumps dwarfing Owen Farrell and Jonathan Joseph.
Have we switched out Robshaw for a much taller 6? I’m sure he is not taller than Launchbury!?
Pretty even in everything except caps really, which is not much of a shock to be honest.
I think what this shows is that the SH teams are capping players much earlier. Maybe because they don’t have as many imported players in their leagues so homegrown talent gets more game time.
I am not at all worried about Kerevi being heavier than Farrell!
Either side of Owen there is potential weakness, but, if Underhill stifles the halves, this won’t be a problem .