Australia and England are teams in marked contrast heading into the first of the sudden-death matches at the Rugby World Cup at Stade Velodrome on Saturday. Click on the link below the photo for LIVE comments and scoring!

The Wallabies have predictably chosen close to their full-strength team with rookie Berrick Barnes playing in only his fourth international and standing in for the crocked 102-capped fly-half Stephen Larkham.

Yet in the opposing corner, defending champions England have been forced into another late change with Andy Farrell bumped out of inside-centre with a calf strain.

England, it seems, cannot take a trick. Farrell's likely replacement Olly Barkley took a knock from skipper Phil Vickery in Thursday's training and has a bruised right thigh.

Coach Brian Ashton later on Friday recalled World Cup-winning centre Mike Catt. It will be 36-year-old Catt's 11th Test match against the Wallabies.

All has not gone smoothly for the Cup holders since their euphoric extra-time win over the Wallabies in Sydney four years ago.

They have only won 19 of their 44 internationals since 2003 and this is the 27th consecutive match that England have taken to the field without the same starting XV.

The Wallabies, winners of four of their last five Tests with England and ranked the No.2 nation in world rugby, are favourites to advance to a semi-final against either the top-ranked All Blacks or hosts France.

But England, built on a formidable forward presence and steered around by the pinpoint kicking of fly-half Jonny Wilkinson, will be a tough nut to crack for the Aussies.

The English are anticipating destructive prop Andrew Sheridan to bring his full force down on Wallabies tight-head Guy Shepherdson as he did to Matt Dunning and Al Baxter two years ago at Twickenham.

In the 2005 Test both Australian props were forced to leave the field, Baxter on a yellow card and Dunning on a stretcher, following a repeatedly collapsed scrum five metres out from the Wallabies goal-line.

England fully expect their forwards to lay the platform, but forwards coach Michael Foley believes his Wallaby pack has improved immeasurably since then and he is anxious to gauge his forwards' worth against the England testing material.

Then there's the individual match-up between 21-year-old Berrick Barnes and Wilkinson, who is just five points away from becoming the World Cup's top points scorer.

The Wallabies greatly respect the match-winning qualities of Wilkinson, who missed England's opening two games of this tournament with an ankle injury including the record 36-0 defeat to South Africa.

"He's a key figure for them and it's important that we play the game in the right parts of the field so we don't give him the opportunity to display those skills," Barnes said of Wilkinson.

"In terms of kicking Jonny is second-to-none, both feet and he can put grubbers in, cross-field kicking, he has a vast array of skills, but it's important to take that away from him and that will be our job as kickers for our team."

To put Barnes' task into perspective, he was still a schoolboy, watching from his gran's couch, when Wilkinson drop-kicked Australia out of the last World Cup and he was just eight years old when scrum-half George Gregan made his debut for the Wallabies.

Injury-blighted Wilkinson, 28, has appeared in just seven of England's 44 Tests since they won the World Cup.

"I would have hoped to have played a few more games, but as it is, I've actually done most of my learning off the field. That's certainly pushed me down a different route," he said on Thursday.

Australia and England are 2-2 in World Cup meetings, with England winning the last two with drop goals - Wilkinson's heartbreaker in extra time in the 2003 final and Rob Andrew's kick to clinch the 1995 quarter-final in Cape Town.

Teams

England: 15-Jason Robinson; 14-Paul Sackey, 13-Matthew Tait, 12-Mike Catt, 11-Josh Lewsey; 10-Jonny Wilkinson (Newcastle), 9-Andy Gomarsall; 1-Andrew Sheridan, 2-Mark Regan, 3-Phil Vickery (capt), 4-Simon Shaw, 5-Ben Kay, 6-Martin Corry, 7-Lewis Moody, 8-Nick Easter

Replacements: George Chuter, Matt Stevens, Lawrence Dallaglio, Joe Worsley, Peter Richards, Toby Flood, Dan Hipkiss

Australia: 15-Chris Latham; 14-Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13-Stirling Mortlock, 12-Matt Giteau, 11-Lote Tuqiri; 10-Berrick Barnes, 9-George Gregan; 1-Matt Dunning, 2-Stephen Moore, 3-Guy Shepherdson, 4-Nathan Sharpe, 5-Dan Vickerman, 6-Rocky Elsom, 7-George Smith, 8-Wycliff Palu

Replacements: Adam Freier, Al Baxter, Hugh McMeniman, Stephen Hoiles, Phil Waugh, Julian Huxley, Drew Mitchell

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AFP