England Rises To No. 4 After Australia Win, Eyes All Blacks Showdown
England Rises To No. 4 After Australia Win, Eyes All Blacks Showdown
England defeated Australia 25-7 at Twickenham to climb to No. 4. With New Zealand ahead, Borthwick tests Tommy Freeman at center in a key lineup shift.
England is off to a solid start and moving up the charts.
Last weekend, England toppled Australia 25-7 at Twickenham to kick off its Autumn Nations Series campaign. The victory bumped the team up one place to No. 4 on the World Rugby Rankings.
The 2027 Rugby World Cup draws nearer by the day, and England looks to position itself as close to the top seed as possible.
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The Australia contest extended England’s winning streak to eight games, and a Nov. 8 faceoff with Fiji likely will result in a ninth. But England’s Round 3 match with New Zealand could be a game changer.
The All Blacks sit second in the World Rankings and began their Autumn Nations play with a 26-13 victory over Ireland. A win here would boost England’s ranking even further and serve as psychological fuel for games to come.
England ultimately has the chops, but it needs to clean up its play and sort out the back line.
With changes to the lineup, including Tommy Freeman's stint as an outside center, England has some wrinkles to smooth out before the pivotal competition.
England vs. Australia: Key Takeaways From Twickenham Victory
England played a steady game over Australia, but it was not without its errors.
To counter the wet field conditions, England played a kick-centered match with a 1:4.2 kick-to-pass ratio compared to Australia’s. The strategy ultimately paid off.
The match looked close at halftime (10-7), but England pulled together a series of three tries in the second half to capture the victory.
England’s defensive game was strong, posting 193 tackles and a 93% tackle ratio. However, it was sloppy in the contact area, with 13 penalties to show for it.
Australia didn’t capitalize on England’s frequent mistakes, but the All Blacks would never be so remiss.
A 58% territory percentage exemplified England’s field domination, but the team lagged in possession time (45%).
If England wants to beat top contenders moving forward, it needs to figure out how to capture the ball and hold it.
Tommy Freeman’s Position Change: From Wing To Outside Center
Head coach Steve Borthwick experimented with switching Tommy Freeman from winger to outside center with moderate success.
England continues to struggle to find the right balance in its back line.
After trying out a series of strong players in England’s notorious problem position, placing Freeman—who had expressed interest—at No. 13 wasn’t a stretch.
Freeman typically finds an abundance of touches. Between his standout performances for Northampton, including a four-try match over Saracens, and his ability to find windows, Freeman usually creates width as a winger.
At outside center, Freeman wasn’t able to control the ball in the same way.
He lacked the passing instinct a successful center requires. However, his defensive awareness supported play.
A key moment exemplified the disconnect when Freeman had the opportunity to pass to Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, who was in position to take the ball all the way. Freeman instead opted for a diagonal carry and fumbled the moment.
In March, England also placed Freeman at center in a 68-14 victory over Wales. There, he was able to find a try and play a successful game.
Freeman clearly has the potential, but he needs practice.
Ultimately, Freeman could be an answer to England’s problem in the back line, but he needs time to work out the kinks—time England doesn’t have.
The team plays its formidable New Zealand opponent in just a week and a half. An important match isn't the time to be experimenting.
England vs. New Zealand Preview: All Blacks Test Looms Large
New Zealand is confident but, more importantly, can shift momentum when it counts.
In their match against Ireland, the Irish led until the 61st minute, before the All Blacks rallied.
England carries the confidence of eight, soon-to-be nine, wins. After a 22-24 loss to the All Blacks on Nov. 2, 2024, England is hungry for victory. The team has everything to gain.
A key concern for England is ruck speed.
New Zealand knows how to build momentum and turn over the ball. Against Ireland, the All Blacks reached a 0-3 second ruck speed 65% of the time, whereas England managed just 54% against Australia.
Combined with weaker possession time, this could make a world of difference for England. The team must build cohesion to get points on the board.
Ultimately, the All Blacks will capitalize on every mistake, so England needs to use its match against Fiji to find intentionality and precision.
World Rugby Rankings: England Closes In On Ireland (Nov. 3)
See the official rankings on World.Rugby here.
- South Africa — 92.20
- New Zealand — 91.00
- Ireland — 88.85
- England — 88.04
- France — 87.82
- Argentina — 83.82
- Australia — 82.90
- Scotland — 81.57
- Fiji — 81.16
- Italy — 77.77
- Georgia — 74.69
- Wales — 74.05
- Japan — 73.25
- Spain — 69.12
- USA — 67.40
- Samoa — 66.94
- Chile — 66.72
- Tonga — 66.66
- Uruguay — 66.59
- Portugal — 66.44
- Romania — 62.67
- Belgium — 61.20
- Hong Kong China — 59.98
- Canada — 59.20
- Zimbabwe — 58.80
- Netherlands — 57.01
- Namibia — 56.97
- Switzerland — 55.26
- Poland — 54.36
- Sweden — 53.05
Autumn Nations 2025 Schedule & Autumn Internationals 2025 Schedule
Saturday, Nov. 8
- 7 a.m. ET – Georgia vs. USA – Adjarabet Arena (Autumn International)
- 7:40 a.m. ET – Ireland vs. Japan – Aviva Stadium (Autumn Nations)
- 10:10 a.m. ET – Scotland vs. New Zealand – Scottish Gas Murrayfield (Autumn Nations)
- 12:40 p.m. ET – Italy vs. Australia – Bluenergy Stadium (Autumn Nations)
- 12:40 p.m. ET – England vs. Fiji – Allianz Stadium (Autumn Nations)
- 3:10 p.m. ET – France vs. South Africa – Stade de France (Autumn Nations)
- 10 a.m. ET – Colombia vs. Mexico – Estadio Cincuentenario (Autumn International)
- 10 a.m. ET – Romania vs. Canada – Stadionul Național Arcul de Triumf (Autumn International)
- 10 a.m. ET – Portugal vs. Uruguay – Estádio Nacional do Jamor (Autumn International)
Sunday, Nov. 9
- 10:10 a.m. ET – Wales vs Argentina – Principality Stadium (Autumn Nations)
Saturday, Nov. 15
- 7 a.m. ET – Georgia vs. Canada – Adjarabet Arena (Autumn International)
- 7:40 a.m. ET – Italy vs. South Africa – Allianz Stadium (Autumn Nations)
- 10 a.m. ET – Romania vs. USA – Stadionul Național Arcul de Triumf (Autumn International)
- 10:10 a.m. ET – England vs. New Zealand – Allianz Stadium (Autumn Nations)
- 12:40 p.m. ET – Wales vs. Japan – Principality Stadium (Autumn Nations)
- 3:10 p.m. ET – France vs. Fiji – Stade Matmut-Atlantique (Autumn Nations)
- 3:10 p.m. ET – Ireland vs. Australia – Aviva Stadium (Autumn Nations)
- 10 a.m. ET – Portugal vs. Hong Kong China – Estádio Nacional do Jamor (Autumn International)
Sunday, Nov. 16
- 10:10 a.m. ET – Scotland vs. Argentina – Scottish Gas Murrayfield (Autumn Nations)
Saturday, Nov. 22
- 7 a.m. ET – Georgia vs. Japan – Mikheil Meskhi Stadium (Autumn International)
- 10:10 a.m. ET – Wales vs. New Zealand – Principality Stadium (Autumn Nations)
- 11 a.m. ET – Spain vs. Fiji – Estadio Ciudad de Málaga (Autumn International)
- 12:40 p.m. ET – Ireland vs. South Africa – Aviva Stadium (Autumn Nations)
- 3:10 p.m. ET – Italy vs. Chile – Stadio Luigi Ferraris (Autumn Nations)
- 3:10 p.m. ET – France vs. Australia – Stade de France (Autumn Nations)
- 10 a.m. ET – Romania vs. Uruguay – Stadionul Național Arcul de Triumf (Autumn International)
- 11 a.m. ET – Portugal vs. Canada – Estádio Municipal Cidade de Coimbra (Autumn International)
Sunday, Nov. 23
- 8:40 a.m. ET – Scotland vs. Tonga – Scottish Gas Murrayfield (Autumn Nations)
- 11:10 a.m. ET – England vs. Argentina – Allianz Stadium (Autumn Nations)
Saturday, Nov. 29
- 10:10 a.m. ET – Wales vs. South Africa – Principality Stadium (Autumn Nations)
How To Watch Autumn Nations Series 2025
The 2025 Autumn Nations will be broadcast on different networks all over the world.
If you live in the USA, you can watch the games on Peacock.
- UK: TNT Sports
- USA: Peacock
- Ireland: TNT Sports (Autumn Nations Games) / Virgin Media (Ireland Games)
- Wales: S4C
- South Africa: SuperSport
- Australia: Stan Sport
- New Zealand: Sky Sport NZ
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