Plant Rugby | November 12, 2008

Australia captain Stirling Mortlock insists the Wallabies' World Cup defeat by England in Marseilles last year will be of "no relevance" when the teams meet again at Twickenham on Saturday.

England's 12-10 victory in Marseille was notable for a dominant display by the eventual finalists' front row, which wrecked the Australian scrum.

But what tended to get lost in the euphoria surrounding a victory which many England fans believed highlighted a fundamental Wallaby weakness, was that Mortlock only narrowly missed a penalty which could have won his side the game.

Mortlock, speaking after Australia coach Robbie Deans had unveiled his team at the squad's hotel in London on Tuesday, said that he wasn't going to linger on the past.

"I always have fond memories of great wins and obviously not so fond memories of defeats. That's the way it is, that's sport," said the 73-times capped centre.

"But this weekend I don't think what happened in Marseille will have any relevance at all. There's a lot of new blood in this team and there's a lot of excitement about what we're doing."

He also said the Wallabies' position was similar to that of their hosts, who last weekend won their first match under new team manager Martin Johnson, England's World Cup-winning captain five years ago when they beat Australia in Sydney, with a 39-13 Twickenham victory over the Pacific Islanders.

"There's a lot of fresh faces in this England team that we haven't seen too much of. But what we've seen from last week, England looked like a very positive, well-drilled attacking unit," the 31-year-old added.

Marseille wasn't the first time in recent memory when England had overpowered the Wallaby scrum.

When Australia were last at Twickenham, in 2005, the match ended in uncontested scrums after England loosehead prop Andrew Sheridan first saw off Al Baxter and then Matt Dunning.

For some this was further proof of the supremacy England established over Australia at the 2003 World Cup final, only to be denied their just rewards by South African referee Andre Watson.

Australia have lost on four of their last five visits to Twickenham and, with Baxter once more facing Sheridan, it is easy to see why some England supporters are anticipating a case of deja vu all over again.

But Deans, having named a side which features just six survivors in all from the Marseille match and only three forwards feels differently

"If you examine our performances this year, the scrum has been a great launching pad," said the Wallaby coach.

For this latest Anglo-Australian encounter, Deans selected the bulk of the team beaten 19-14 by New Zealand in Hong Kong two weekends ago, with the only change seeing Hugh McMeniman replace Dean Mumm at blindside flanker.

Matt Giteau starts at outside-half with Mortlock and Ryan Cross in midfield.

Stand-off rising star Quade Cooper retains his position among the replacements after the 20-year-old came off the bench to score a decisive try in Australia's 30-20 win over Italy last weekend.