England pick Ford at fly-half & Freeman at centre

Date: Saturday, November 1 Kick-off: 15:10 GMT

For England’s opening autumn international against Australia on Saturday at Allianz Stadium, George Ford has been selected as fly-half.

Fin Smith of Northampton makes a bench debut, and Marcus Smith, a playmaker for the Harlequins, lacks space in the 23-man squad.

Tommy Freeman joins his Saints team-mate Fraser Dingwall in moving from the right wing, where he started all three of his Test starts for the British and Irish Lions.

It will be exciting to see him go there and see how he pushes on, said scrum-half Alex Mitchell, adding that “He] Freeman will be as good as he is on the wing at 13.”

He appreciates that, but there won’t be too much of a change with him because he will just want to get the ball in his hands and move past and pass people.

He has the power, height, and speed. He is conversant with the game. We are all aware of how incredible a player he is when all of that is combined. He is currently demonstrating that.

In England’s decisive Six Nations victory over Wales in March, Dingwall, 26, started in the center alongside Freeman.

Ollie Lawrence, who returned from an Achilles injury at the start of the season, and Henry Slade of Exeter Chiefs are the top contenders ahead of the Northampton pair.

Up until Lawrence’s injury in this year’s Six Nations against Italy, they were Head Coach Steve Borthwick’s regular midfield duo.

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Tom Roebuck, both from Sale, are on the right.

Roebuck, 24, has been a reliable performer since making his international debut last year, scoring twice in his first Test match against Argentina.

Feyi-Waboso, 22, from Exeter, has struggled with injury and was suspended from the Pumas’ Tests, but with seven Prem tries, has hit the ground running this year.

As Borthwick, who was back for the Leicester Tigers and scored a try in each Test against the Pumas, continues his form at full-back while Marcus Smith started three times at this year’s Six Nations.

After his sensational five-try debut debut earlier this month, Borthwick has resisted including Saracens wing Noah Caluori, 19.

Ben Earl of Saracens is the first Bath flanker to start at number eight, followed by Guy Pepper and Sam Underhill in the pack.

Ford was named co-captain for England’s summer tour while Smith and the Lions were both away in Australia, and they led the team to a stunning series victory in Argentina and a convincing victory over the United States.

The Sale Sharks playmaker, who has 102 caps, was disappointed to miss the Lions’ tour but had a chance to recover from it in an English setting.

Fin Smith, who finished this year’s Six Nations as England’s starting fly-half, was unable to force his way into the Test squad despite having started off the bench for the first Test in Australia but being mostly used at full-back on the tour.

Borthwick has rewarded Ford’s leadership and quality on that trip by consistently producing high-level summer performances, something that has been lacking over the past seasons.

Pepper came off the bench to score the series-winning try in the opener against the Pumas, which Underhill did in both Tests against the Pumas.

Henry Pollock, a 20-year-old tourist to the Lions, will start both of his energies off the bench, and both have received kicks in the back.

Pepper, age 22, has a strong foot and is capable of playing line-out alongside Maro Itoje and Ollie Chessum’s teammates at 6′ 3″.