England head coach Stuart Lancaster sympathised with Vunipola, who was one of the better players in the defeat to Wales which leaves qualification for the World Cup quarter-finals on a knife-edge for the national team.
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Fullback Matthew Morgan, center Tyler Morgan, and winger Alex Cuthbert came into a backline that lost Scott Williams and Hallam Amos to tournament-ending injuries in Saturday’s thrilling 28-25 win over England.
Rugby League convert Sam Burgess makes way for Joseph after a disappointing display against the Welsh, while Launchbury replaces the injured Courtney Lawes.
Brad Barritt will move back to inside centre and Joseph’s Bath team-mate Burgess will start the Twickenham showdown on the bench.
Wales scored two first-half tries to build a 17-6 interval lead and appeared well set to match the bonus point England managed from their opening game against Fiji.
Easter, the 37-year-old number eight, has 52 Test caps and was involved in the 2007 and 2011 World Cups.
Lancaster conceded England must win to avoid the earliest exit of any World Cup hosts in history, before shouldering extra pressure on his own future.
After Mitchell’s double strike, which helped to subdue the Uruguayans after their bright start to the second half, McCalman and man-of-the-match McMahon also grabbed second tries to push Australia over the 50-point mark.
“There’s no denying it, the stakes are huge for us, but the boys will be ready”.
“When I was having a few beers, it never crossed my mind that they might relax the rules”.
“We’re lucky to be in a situation where we’ve got players like those guys and [Pocock and Hooper] who are very influential with what they do on the field with their form”.
“I know the players aren’t going to be in the wrong mindset going into the Fiji game because it would be so easy to slip up against Fiji, who I guarantee won’t be 66-0 like it was four years ago”.
“If you distract yourself with the what-ifs then you aren’t doing your job”.
“We are massively excited that we’ve got Australia at Twickenham and everything is on this one game for us”. “I’m not a tournament organiser, I’m not involved with England”, said Cheika. “If you are playing for that reason you haven’t got a real reason for why you want to do it yourself”, Cheika said.
“I know they think we are weak in the forwards, they are saying it out loud”.
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The greatest danger when his Wales side face Fiji in a Pool A clash at the Millennium Stadium today, more so even than the physical threat posed by their opponents, will be their ability to raise their game again, only five days after beating England in such dramatic fashion.
