Robinson sends raw line-up into discomfort zone

Robinson was at his most intense yesterday, full of smouldering wrath as he looked ahead to tomorrow's opening Test of the two-match Cook Cup series. "We are not contemplating losing," he pronounced, with feeling. But he knows full well that an English victory at the Olympic stadium would count as one of the more unlikely achievements in the long and epic history of rugby touring, given the attacking grandeur of the Wallaby back division and the comparative inexperience of his own.

"It might be easier if we were the ones playing Paraguay," agreed the England captain, Pat Sanderson of Worcester, with a faint smile born of the knowledge that the world champions are fairly scratchy up front, as well as behind. Sanderson will play in the unfamiliar position of No 8, accompanied by a debutant flanker in Magnus Lund, who has also been named out of position on the blind side of the scrum.

In the second row, the single-capped Louis Deacon of Leicester joins the uncapped Alex Brown of Gloucester in taking on Nathan Sharpe and Daniel Vickerman, one of the most potent engine-room partnerships in the game. On this evidence, the playing field is about as level as the climb up Ayers Rock.

England do have a set piece and, on more than one occasion in the recent past, a set piece has been enough against the Wallabies. With the 35-year-old Graham Rowntree back at loose-head prop - "One of the proudest men ever to wear an England shirt," enthused Robinson - and the freakishly strong Julian White on the other side of the front row, there is every chance that the inexperienced Queensland pairing of Greg Holmes and Rodney Blake will be given unpleasant glimpses of their own nether regions at the Neanderthal gatherings.

But the Australians, utterly humiliated in this department at Twickenham last November, have spent an awful lot of time on their scrummaging in training, and are confident that any embarrassment tomorrow will be piecemeal rather than prolonged.

The Wallabies are more bullish still about their line-out, where the newcomer Daniel Heenan will play a significant role.

Born into a Queensland potato-farming family 24 years ago, the 6ft 6in flanker captained the Australian Schoolboys, always a hot act, in 1998 before suffering severe injuries to shoulder and ankle that left him in need of reconstructive surgery at both ends of his body.

He is fit now, though; indeed, he started every Super 14 match for the ACT Brumbies this year. Together with Sharpe and Vickerman, he poses a major threat to England in the air.

"I think the line-out will be crucial," Robinson agreed. "It's not simply about winning our own ball, but also the quality of possession we secure. We'll have to approach this phase, and the game as a whole, with the right mental attributes, the right level of physicality and step up to the plate. A number of our players are going to find themselves outside their comfort zones in this match; they'll discover an awful lot about themselves. We're positive, as always, but this is no cakewalk."

Certainly, England can expect to catch a hiding if they allow George Gregan, who will equal Jason Leonard's record of 119 caps tomorrow, and the wonderful Stephen Larkham to bring their playmaking subtleties to the proceedings. The Wallabies possess some prime physical specimens in their back line - Chris Latham, Lote Tuqiri, Stirling Mortlock - and if they are granted the freedom of the paddock, they will happily exploit it.

Maybe James Simpson-Daniel, the Gloucester wing, will end up considering himself well out of it. Simpson-Daniel was still in hospital yesterday, undergoing a course of pain-killing treatment after suffering a blow to his leg in training and developing a haematoma that spread through the muscle, leaving him in extreme discomfort. He would definitely have started this Test had he survived the preparations in one piece.

As it is, England go in with a back three of Iain Balshaw, who has played only five games for his country since the World Cup; Tom Voyce, who has just recovered from a nasty hamstring injury; and Tom Varndell, whose defensive attributes are not quite of the standard of his attacking ones. If they restrict the Wallabies to three tries, they will legitimately think of it as a job well done.

England Saxons (v Canada, Barclays Churchill Cup, Toronto, today, 7.45pm): D Armitage (London Irish); R Haughton (Saracens), B Johnston (capt, Saracens), C Bell (Leeds), A Higgins (Bath); D Walder (Newcastle), R Wigglesworth (Sale Sharks); M Ward (Newcastle), D Paice (London Irish), R Morris (Newcastle), N Kennedy (London Irish), K Roche (London Irish), L Narraway (Gloucester), D Seymour (Saracens), K Horstmann (Worcester). Replacements: J Buckland (Leicester), D Barnes (Bath), J Hudson (Bath), B Woods (Newcastle), C Stuart-Smith (Llanelli), S Vesty (Leicester), A Crockett (Bath).

Telstra Stadium teams

Australia

15 C Latham (Queensland)

14 M Gerrard (ACT)

13 S Mortlock (ACT)

12 M Rogers (NSW)

11 L Tuqiri (NSW)

10 S Larkham (ACT)

9 G Gregan (ACT, capt)

1 G Holmes (Queensland)

2 T McIsaac (Western F)

3 R Blake (Queensland)

4 N Sharpe (Western F)

5 D Vickerman (NSW)

6 D Heenan (ACT)

7 G Smith (ACT)

8 R Elsom (NSW)

Replacements: J Paul (ACT), A Baxter (NSW), M Chisholm (ACT), P Waugh (NSW), J Valentine (Queensland), C Rathbone (ACT), C Shepherd (Western F)

England

15 I Balshaw (Gloucester)

14 T Varndell (Leicester)

13 M Tait (Newcastle)

12 M Catt (London Irish)

11 T Voyce (Wasps)

10 O Barkley (Bath)

9 P Richards (Gloucester)

1 G Rowntree (Leicester)

2 L Mears (Bath)

3 J White (Leicester)

4 L Deacon (Leicester)

5 A Brown (Gloucester)

6 M Lund (Sale)

7 L Moody (Leicester)

8 P Sanderson (W'ster, capt)

Replacements: G Chuter (Leicester), T Payne (Wasps), C Jones (Sale), J Worsley (Wasps), N Walshe (Bath), A Goode (Leicester), J Noon (Newcastle)