ENGLAND No.8 danger man Ben Morgan has goaded Australia ahead of Saturday's (Sunday 6am AEST ) crunch World Cup match by declaring that the Wallaby pack had "doubts in their minds" after previous scrum maulings by England and that the hosts were determined to play on their opponents “demons”.
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“We want to go in there strong from the first scrum, put a statement down early and allow those demons to grow,” he said.
Australia's forwards have regularly been dominated by England over the past decade, and coach Michael Cheika admitted on Thursday: "They have very much bullied us before and I think they will try to do it again."
England will look to locate and exploit an Australian point of weakness on Saturday, although the Wallabies' scrummaging problems appear to have been repaired under the astute coaching of Cheika and his set-piece taskmaster, Argentina former hooker Mario Ledesma. Even so, England have no intention of reining back seeking an advantage up front.
They banished the concerns over their own set-piece prowess with a first-rate showing against Wales, Warren Gatland's side conceding penalties and never gaining a foothold.
"The scrum is such a confrontational part of the game, an all-eight battle that, when you are on the wrong end of it, it will definitely put some doubts in their mind," Morgan said.
"Australia have improved but we are confident going into this weekend … Australia will definitely be concerned. The boys have tightened up in a few areas and I believe the scrum is about your attitude. We want to go in there strong from the first scrum, put a statement down early and allow those demons to grow."
Cheika said: "That's where they have dominated us before: the scrums, mauls and stuff like that. It's not the only thing. I think they have more in their game. But I think they will come hard for us there - you have to be ready for war in that part of the game."
The Wallabies have flicked the switch on their rotating selection door, Cheika putting faith in the same players who beat Fiji to now topple England at Twickenham.
Cheika has named his strongest possible side for the clash. Bernard Foley gets the No.10 jersey ahead of Quade Cooper, David Pocock and Michael Hooper stay in the back row and Rob Horne pips Drew Mitchell for the wing spot.
WALLABIES TEAM: 15. Israel Folau, 14. Rob Horne, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 12. Matt Giteau, 11. Adam Ashley-Cooper, 10. Bernard Foley, 9. Will Genia, 8. David Pocock, 7. Michael Hooper, 6. Scott Fardy, 5. Rob Simmons, 4. Kane Douglas, 3. Sekope Kepu, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. Scott Sio. – The Sydney Morning Herald.
