Hosts England face the most crucial 80 minutes of their recent history when they aim to keep their World Cup campaign alive against Australia at Twickenham on Saturday evening.
After losing to Wales last weekend, Stuart Lancaster's side face a must-win game against the Wallabies as both teams look to boost their hopes of progressing from Pool A.
England
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A week ago all of the talk was surrounding a game that many described as England's biggest since the 2007 World Cup final defeat to South Africa, but after losing 28-25 in dramatic fashion, the meeting with Australia will start with the same billing on Saturday.
Rather than immediately turn focus to coming up against the Wallabies, much of the week has been used as a post-mortem following the disappointment against Wales, and criticism of Lancaster and his players has arrived on what seems to be an hourly basis.
Selection issues and the decision to go for the try rather than a draw-saving penalty has been the centre of attention, and while Lancaster accepts that his own future could be on the line, the England coach has attempted to send out a message of calm while preparing for the match.
"It's a must-win game because if we lose we don't get out of the group. So there's no point hiding where the accountability lies. As a head coach you don't take the players beyond Saturday, you take them to Saturday. You put them in the right place to play a strong game on Saturday," Lancaster told reporters after unveiling his team on Friday.
The preparation for the game has been typical from the coach, who has avoided adding his own criticism of the players and instead approached the week with his usual style as England look to show that the mistakes which let Wales back in are behind them.
After easing to a 35-11 victory over Fiji and being on top for long spells of Wales, it is probably fair to say that England have played good rugby for around 140 minutes in this tournament, but nothing less than a complete performance this weekend will be enough as they look to avoid becoming the first host nation to exit the tournament at the group stage.
Recent form: WWLWWL
Australia
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Michael Cheika's Australia side head into the game with a very different mood to that of the opposition, but the pressure on their shoulders is no less severe as they move on from comfortable victories in their opening two games.
The Wallabies have been predictably dominant in Pool A so far. After kicking off their campaign with a 28-13 win over Fiji, they were comfortable at Villa Park on Sunday as they delivered 11 tries on the way to thrashing Uruguay 65-3.
It is difficult to analyse what the team have produced in the early stages of the tournament, but Cheika's side could simply do no more than ease to routine wins after being handed a favourable start in Pool A when the draw was made.
In truth, Cheika may have hoped that his side would meet Wales or England earlier, but they now face two huge challenges as they look to upset one of the home nations to book their place in the last eight. A win on Saturday would be enough to secure their progress before next weekend's meeting with Wales.
After a number of people close to the England camp suggested that they would target the Australian forwards, Cheika came out fighting by telling reporters: "The only place we can show the difference is on the field on Saturday night, that is where we will show our colours. Talk is cheap."
They were comments typical of a side full of confidence after answering the questions which surrounded their preparations in the last year, and although an Australia win would see England dominate the headlines for the wrong reasons, another victory would raise hopes that this Wallabies squad is strong enough to go all of the way.
Recent form: WWLWWW
Team News
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After the disappointment of losing to Wales, there was good news for England this week as Jonathan Joseph completed his recovery from a chest injury to return to the starting lineup in place of Sam Burgess, who drops to the bench.
It was revealed that the injury sustained by Billy Vunipola at Twickenham was severe enough to rule him out of the rest of the tournament, and his replacement in the squad Nick Easter is also among the replacements for the hosts.
Ben Morgan takes Vunipola's spot in the side, while Joe Launchbury starts as a replacement for the injured Courtney Lawes.
Cheika has made 14 changes to his side after resting so many key men in the comfortable victory over Uruguay, with Bernard Foley returning at fly-half and Matt Giteau starting at inside-centre as the Wallabies revert to what many believe is their strongest team.
Captain Stephen Moore will make his 98th Test appearance at Twickenham.
England starting lineup:
Marler, T. Youngs, Cole; Launchbury, Parling; T. Wood, Robshaw; Morgan; Youngs, Farrell, May, Barritt, Joseph, Watson, Brown Read
Replacements: Webber, M. Vunipola, Brookes, Kruis, Easter, Wigglesworth, Ford, Burgess
Australia starting lineup:
Israel Folau; Adam Ashley-Cooper, Tevita Kuridrani, Matt Giteau, Rob Horne; Bernard Foley, Will Genia; Scott Sio, Stephen Moore, Sekope Kepu; Kane Douglas, Rob Simmons; Scott Fardy, Michael Hooper, David Pocock
Head To Head
Much of the talk about England targeting Australia's forwards has arrived as a result of Lancaster's side dominating that particular area when they recorded a 26-17 victory over the touring side at Twickenham last November.
England will prepare for the game knowing that they have triumphed in four of the last five games between the two sides.
The two sets of supporters have mixed memories from the World Cup clashes when they meet. Australia were triumphant against the hosts at Twickenham when they claimed the first of their two successes at the tournament with a 12-16 win in 1991, but it was England who celebrated in the 2003 final when Jonny Wilkinson's drop-goal clinched a dramatic 20-17 victory in extra time.
In five World Cup matches between the two sides, England have the edge with a 3-2 lead in the head-to-head record.
We say: England 23-17 Australia
After allowing Wales to stage an impressive comeback in the closing stages of last week's encounter, it will be intriguing to see what England produce under even greater pressure in front of a passionate crowd on Saturday night. Much will depend on whether the hosts can put together a top-class performance for 80 minutes, rather than simply play to their potential in short spells. Australia have not learned much from their opening two games, but they are certainly good enough to be the pantomime villains in what promises to be a gripping clash. However, England may have enough to raise their levels when it matters.
Callum Mulvihill
