Senior faces giant test against Folau

The veteran of the England side, Keith Senior, faces one of the most daunting tasks in world sport in Melbourne tomorrow. The 32-year-old centre has the job of marking the 19-year-old giant, Israel Folau, who scored two tries in Australia's opening World Cup victory over New Zealand.

"I'm the oldest man in our side, coming up against the youngest in theirs, and it seems everyone has wanted to talk about that," Senior said . "He looks even bigger than when I played him in the World Club Challenge. The conditions under the closed roof and the expansive way Australia play now will suit him better than they did that night. What I have to do is get stuck into him right from the start and put pressure on him."

The same goes for the English forwards and their battle with their opposite numbers. James Roby was man of the match in the disappointing effort against Papua New Guinea last weekend. "But I feel that there's a lot more to come, both individually and as a team. Every one of us could put his hand up and say that he could improve in some way," he said.

Roby is having to play a different role as a hooker in the starting line-up, as opposed to usually coming off the bench for St Helens. "You need to be more patient and get a feel for the way the game's going," he said. "By the time I get on for Saints, people are a bit fatigued but I won.t have that in this game." Roby admitted to feeling homesick yesterday when his son, Ollie, was having his first birthday party in St Helens. He also admitted that, without satellite television, he knows little about the opposition tomorrow – even his direct opponent, Cameron Smith.

"I try to get away from rugby as much as possible," he said. He will not have that option at the Telstra, where he will be part of a pack that holds the key. "We've got some very good forwards," the England coach, Tony Smith, said. "Most of them have been together for some time, although we haven't always had James Graham fit when we would have liked him – and we've got Gareth Hock back and he's as good as any forward in the world on his day."

Despite that ringing endorsement of the Wigan back-rower, Smith is considering using Hock in a slightly different way tomorrow. He might bring in Adrian Morley, push Jamie Peacock back into the second row and start with Hock on the bench. Whatever the combination, the Australians have made it clear that they expect a confrontational approach from the old enemy. "I would hope it would be passionate and physical, but we won't be looking to do anything illegal," Smith said.

Nor will Smith be changing his belief that the way to succeed in this tournament is to throw the ball around with some ambition. "The British game involves taking some risks," he said. Smith will be coaching a side playing against his original homeland for the first time, but said he had not been dwelling on that aspect. "I'm just as excited as everybody else and looking forward to one of the great rivalries in world sport," he said.

*Ireland need to beat Samoa by six points at Parramatta on Wednesday to be sure of continuing their interest in the World Cup. Samoa's 20-12 victory at Penrith last night eliminated Tonga, but the Irish, who lost by two points to Tonga on Monday, could still squeeze through to a semi-final eliminator if they conquer the Samoans. Francis Meli of St Helens and George Carmont of Wigan scored vital tries for Samoa.