George Ford has retained the England No 10 jersey for Saturday’s Test against Australia at Twickenham.
Fin Smith was named on the bench and Marcus Smith left out of Steve Borthwick’s match 23.
Ford, capped 102 times, continues at flyhalf after steering England through the recent tour of Argentina and the United States. Smith, first choice during the Six Nations, returns from British & Irish Lions duty, while Smith – also part of that Lions squad – misses out completely.
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Tommy Freeman shifts from wing to outside centre to partner his Northampton teammate Fraser Dingwall in midfield, leaving no place for Ollie Lawrence in the 23.
In the pack, Guy Pepper starts ahead of Tom Curry in the back row, with the Sale flanker among six Lions named on the bench.
Borthwick still fields six Lions in his starting XV – Freeman, captain Maro Itoje, Ollie Chessum, Jamie George, Ben Earl and Alex Mitchell – as England launch their Autumn Nations Series campaign.
Hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie is in line for his 50th Test cap if used off the bench.
Borthwick acknowledged the challenge of facing a Wallabies team that has been together since the Lions series in July.
“Australia have had four months together, so it’ll be a great challenge for us first up,” said Borthwick.
“We’ve worked hard with the time we’ve had, and the players can’t wait to play in front of a passionate home crowd. It’s another opportunity for us to take a step forward as a team.”
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The Wallabies, who edged Japan 19-15 in Tokyo last weekend, will name their side on Thursday.
England will also face Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina at Twickenham in November.
ENGLAND – 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Guy Pepper, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Jamie George, 1 Fin Baxter.
Bench: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Alex Coles, 20 Tom Curry, 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Ben Spencer, 23 Fin Smith.
Team news is in
Steve Borthwick has named his 23-player squad for Saturday’s @QuilterNations opener against the @wallabies.@O2 | #WearTheRose
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) October 28, 2025
Photo: Gaspafotos/MB Media/Getty Images
The post Ford edges Smith as England’s No 10 appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
George Ford has retained the England No 10 jersey for Saturday’s Test against Australia at Twickenham.
The post Ford edges Smith as England’s No 10 appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
