Saints trio Dickson, Lawes and Wood to start for England against Australia

Saints trio Lee Dickson, Courtney Lawes and Tom Wood will start for England against Australia at Twickenham on Saturday.
ENGLAND START - Lee Dickson will play at scrum-half for England against Australia at Twickenham on Saturday (Picture: Linda Dawson)ENGLAND START - Lee Dickson will play at scrum-half for England against Australia at Twickenham on Saturday (Picture: Linda Dawson)
ENGLAND START - Lee Dickson will play at scrum-half for England against Australia at Twickenham on Saturday (Picture: Linda Dawson)

Dickson is rewarded for a fast start to the season as he gets the nod ahead of Leicester’s Ben Youngs, while Lawes starts at five and Wood at six.

Dylan Hartley and Ben Foden are on the bench, while Alex Corbisiero remains sidelined with a knee injury.

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England coach Stuart Lancaster said: “We are looking forward to the challenge of playing Australia – they have made great strides under Ewen McKenzie and their new coaching team and they are formidable opponents.

“It’s eight months since we played at our home (RBS 6 Nations v Italy) and we are looking forward to getting back there for the QBE Internationals and what is a very important series for us two years out from the World Cup.”

Chris Robshaw leads the England team against the Aussies, and he feels the autumn internationals are a great chance for him and his team-mates to really start turning Twickenham into a fortess ahead of the 2015 World Cup.

“Two years out from a World Cup everyone who comes to Twickenham will be looking to get an edge over us, especially Australia and Wales who are in our group,” said the England skipper.

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“We need to have a sense of personal pride because it’s our home stadium.

“If you look at the build-up to the 2003 World Cup England had been unbeaten at home since 1999.

“It’s about making it a really tough place for people to come and play.

“That doesn’t just happen, it takes a lot of hard work. Hopefully it’ll start building now.”

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England: Brown; Ashton, Tomkins, Twelvetrees, Yarde; Farrell, Dickson; M Vunipola, T Youngs, Cole, Lawes, Launchbury, Wood, Robshaw (c), B Vunipola.

Replacements: Marler, Wilson, Hartley, Attwood, Morgan, B Youngs, Flood, Foden.

Australia: Folau; Ashley-Cooper, Kuridrani, Toomua, Cummins; Cooper, Genia; Slipper, Moore, Alexander, Timani, Horwill, Fardy, Hooper, Mowen (c).

Replacements: Fainga’a, Robinson, Kepu, Douglas, McCaiman, White, Leali’ifano, Foley.