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We're battle-hardened, insist Wallabies

The Wallabies insist they're battle-hardened ahead of their England showdown, despite opening the World Cup with two easy fixtures.

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Source: AAP


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Refreshed as well as battle-hardened is how the Wallabies feel heading into their crucial World Cup pool match with England at Twickenham.

While England are coming off an emotionally-draining and physically demanding loss to Wales, Australia by comparison waltzed through their opening two Pool A fixtures with wins over second-tier nations Fiji and Uruguay.

In the six weeks since Australia's heavy defeat to New Zealand in the second Bledisloe Test in Auckland, the Wallabies played three tier one nations - with a 47-10 thrashing of the USA at Soldier Field in Chicago coming with a second-string lineup, similar to the 65-3 mauling of Uruguay on Sunday.

The starting lineup for the Uruguay rout included 14 changes from Australia's World Cup opener - with only Scott Sio retaining his place at loosehead prop.

While coach Michael Cheika insists several spots are up for grabs, it is expected the Wallabies will run with a similar lineup to that which faced Fiji - many of whom have started just the one match in six weeks.

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England's players, on the other hand, are describing the match as their World Cup final and have already had a taste of top-tier rugby - in the form of the highly-rated Wales.

But Wallabies captain Stephen Moore said it won't give England an edge in what is anticipated to be a physically demanding encounter.

"I think that Fiji game particularly was a really tough game, they were very physical," Moore said.

"It was our first game for a while and I think we benefited a lot from that game.

"We haven't looked at it as easy games - they're all difficult games.

"You've seen the so-called second-tier nations and the commitment they've shown in their games."

Halfback Will Genia agreed, saying the intense training camps in Notre Dame in the USA and at Bath in south-west England prior to the start of the tournament would serve the Wallabies well.

"It's a World Cup - everyone itching, everyone training really hard, everyone's ready," he said.

"We've done a lot of the groundwork in terms of the physical preparation. It's now making sure we get things mentally right."


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