Dubai: Australia can avenge their summer series whitewash defeat to England by ending the Red Rose’s unbeaten run under Eddie Jones at Twickenham on Saturday, says Wallabies legend George Gregan.
England are unbeaten in 13 matches, 12 of which have come under their Australian coach Eddie Jones, with this summer’s 3-0 series win over Australia being one of the highlights of a so far unbeaten year.
But Gregan, 43, who was at the Dubai Rugby Sevens on Thursday as a HSBC ambassador, has thrown out a warning to the Red Rose.
“We may have just lost against Ireland last week, and we may have lost the series against England, but that was then and this is now,” said Gregan, who scored 99 in 139 appearances for Australia from 1994 to 2007, captaining the Wallabies during their 2003 World Cup loss to England in Australia.
“Australian teams always feel comfortable at Twickenham, they’ve had some good results there, including during last year’s World Cup group phase where we won.
“And now they are lacking no motivation against this Eddie Jones’ England team. They haven’t said it much in the press but they will have had their eye on this game, they’ll want to end the year in a big way and put their best performance of the tour into it.
“There will be a lot of people — especially fans — who will want to see Eddie get his first taste of defeat with England against the Wallabies.
“All it takes is a good performance and that’s the beauty of sport. It will be a close game but will come down to who deals with the pressure best.
“That’s what England did well in June, but the Wallabies will have learnt their lesson from England and Ireland, and they will be looking for a response. I’m confident of calling a Wallabies win.
“I don’t think this England team has been tested in their own back yard yet, they were away in Australia in the summer, but at home they have not been tested and particularly during the autumn they’ve had it pretty cruisy — but it won’t be cruisy on Saturday.”
