Sleightholme one of three Saints stars in England squad to face Australia
Ollie Sleightholme has been named on the England bench for Saturday’s Autumn Nations Series clash with Australia at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham (kick-off 3.10pm).
Boss Steve Borthwick has opted for a 5:3 split on the bench rather than the 6:2 he chose against New Zealand last weekend, meaning Sleightholme could get the chance to win his third international cap.
Wing Tommy Freeman and full-back George Furbank start again, having almost helped England to victory against the All Blacks, who secured a 24-22 victory at Twickenham.
Borthwick’s starting 15 remains unchanged, but Sleightholme is one of two changes on the bench, with Sale Sharks hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie preferred to Theo Dan in the squad to take on the Wallabies.
“Facing Australia is always a massive challenge, and we’ll work diligently this week to ensure we’re physically and tactically prepared to take on the Wallabies,” said Borthwick.
“The passion and energy from the crowd at Allianz Stadium last weekend was absolutely brilliant, from the opening whistle to the final moments, and we can't wait to be back at home this Saturday."
England side to face Australia: 15. George Furbank (Saints, 12 caps); 14. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs, 7 caps), 13. Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby, 28 caps), 12. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 66 caps), 11. Tommy Freeman (Saints, 12 caps); 10. Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 36 caps), 9. Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby, 7 caps); 1. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears, 63 caps) – vice-captain, 2. Jamie George (Saracens, 94 caps) – captain, 3. Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 42 caps); 4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, 85 caps) – vice-captain, 5. George Martin (Leicester Tigers, 16 caps); 6. Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins, 8 caps), 7. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 54 caps), 8. Ben Earl (Saracens, 34 caps) – vice-captain. Replacements: 16. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks, 41 caps), 17. Fin Baxter (Harlequins, 3 caps), 18. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 116 caps), 19. Nick Isiekwe (Saracens, 12 caps), 20. Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 18 caps), 21. Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, 8 caps), 22. George Ford (Sale Sharks, 97 caps) – vice captain, 23. Ollie Sleightholme (Saints, 2 caps).