Australia vs England: Key battles that will decide first Test in Perth as Marcus Smith and Quade Cooper clash

Australia host England on Saturday in the opening match of an intriguing summer series in Perth.

The tourists boast a perfect record from Eddie Jones’ eight matches in charge against his homeland, but head down under as arguably the underdogs after a hugely disappointing 2022 to date.

England were embarrassed by a 14-man Barbarians team at Twickenham last month and won only two of their five matches at the Six Nations earlier in the year.

Jones will be desperate to start picking up some momentum ahead of next year’s World Cup in France, after which his long tenure is set to draw to a close.

Here, Standard Sport’s Simon Collings looks at three key battles where the first Test is likely to be won and lost...

The scrum

England have historically had the upper hand against Australia when it comes to scrum time. They will hope that continues tomorrow, particularly as the Wallabies are without Taniela Tupou due to a calf injury.

Allan Alaalatoa will start in his place and come up against Ellis Genge, who is in fine form at the moment after firing Leicester Tigers to the Premiership title. England’s only blow is that Kyle Sinckler is out.

Cooper v Smith

You will struggle to find two more exciting fly-halves in world rugby than Marcus Smith and Quade Cooper. Both love to play running rugby on the front foot and it could lead to fireworks.

The pair have a good relationship via mutual friend Ben Tapuai, who used to play at Harlequins, and Cooper revealed earlier this week that they share playing tips via Instagram messages.

The breakdown

All eyes will be on Billy Vunipola’s return to the back row, but if England are to have any success against Australia then they must keep Michael Hooper quiet.

The Wallabies captain is a master at the breakdown and his wealth of experience makes him a formidable opponent. Jones has opted to play Courtney Lawes at flanker and could come to regret not opting for someone more mobile, like Jack Willis or Sam Underhill.