Four Nations preview: England v Australia
As one England team leave to take up the battle against the Aussies, another is already in the Southern Hemisphere and preparing to take on the old enemy on Sunday in the Four Nations.
Unfortunately for the rugby league side, confidence within the camp will not be as high as their cricketing counterparts.
England suffered a 24-10 defeat to New Zealand last weekend, which puts them in a win-or-bust position and coach Steve McNamara has made wholesale changes for the clash.
Just six players are retaining the same position they held in the poor display against the Kiwis, as the former Bradford coach has decided that changes will revitalise his side against Australia, who won their opening game 42-0 against Papa New Guinea.
Leroy Cudjoe, of play-off semi-finalists Huddersfield Giants, will make his international debut as a replacement for the injured Michael Shenton, who has returned home for treatment on an ankle ligament strain, in the only enforced change made by McNamara.
Cudjoe's club-mate Shaun Lunt also wins his first cap on the bench alongside Warrington Wolves forward Ben Harrison.
Both Gareth Widdop and Kevin Brown have been dropped from the squad with Luke Robinson and Sam Burgess coming into the front row. The changes mean Sam Tomkins has been moved back to his favoured position of full-back, where he was so impressive for the Wigan Warriors last season, and Sean O'Loughlin moves from loose forward to stand-off.
Despite the wholesale changes, McNamara has said that the decisions he has made are entirely tactical and are not a knee-jerk reaction to a poor performance.
"We have picked a team we think is the right team to play against Australia," McNamara told Sky Sports.
"We are very comfortable with the team, this team is more suited to this game than the one we selected last week.
"I'm very happy with the personnel who will play Australia. This is a wonderful opportunity for some of the young boys who haven't played in the last couple of week but who have been impressive in the way they have prepared with the squad.
"The three new caps are ready to play, it's the right time for them and the right time for England."
In contrast to England, the Aussies have kept faith with the side that blew away Papua New Guinea. The only doubts were surrounding the fitness of second rower Anthony Watmough and centre Brent Tate, but both have been declared fit to play.
Coach Tim Sheens has admitted he is slightly worried about the changes that McNamara has made, especially the move which sees Tomkins switching to full-back.
"Some of the changes I think are very, very good and obviously very dangerous for us, particularly the full-back," he told Sky Sports.
"The more ball he gets and the more room the full-back gets, the more worried we are.
"The other guys you don't know much about, the younger ones, are always a concern because they're enthusiastic.
They could do anything and you can't prepare."
Despite the talk, the flamboyant Aussie side should have enough in the tank to see off an England side which may take too much time to adjust to the changes.
Prediction: Australia by 10-20 points
Tags: