England will play Australia on Saturday in the Rugby World Cup 2015 tournament in a must-win game for the hosts at Twickenham, London. The so-called "Group of Death" has proven tough for the hosts so far, and following England's loss to Wales last week they have basically begun their knock out rugby a few weeks early and must win every game from here on out. Today's big game between England and Australia has a scheduled start time of 8 p.m. BST (3 p.m. ET) and can be watched online through ITV Player live stream via the link below.
England coach Stuart Lancaster has said that this is the "biggest game" of his players' careers to date, as England are in a must-win situation if they are to keep alive their dreams of winning their home World Cup.
It will be a packed house at Twickenham today with the 82,000 stadium filled to capacity. An England loss today would see England become the first host nation not to make the knock out stages in Rugby World Cup history.
Australia come into today's game having won both their opening two games, although they faced the two so-called lesser teams in the Group of Death, Fiji and Urguguay. They now face England today and Wales next week in the hopes of taking one of the top two spots in Pool A to progress to the quarter finals.
England meanwhile got their tournament off to a good start with a solid win over Fiji, claiming a bonus point for scoring four or more tries in their win. However, they faced Wales last week and although they outplayed the Welsh for most of the game and led by 10 points with just 30 minutes remaining they allowed Wales back into the game and lost at the death 25-28.
In Rugby World Cups, England have played Australia five times, with Australia winning the first two games, including a World Cup Final at Twickenham. England though have won the last three clashes between the paid, also including one World Cup Final win in Sydney in 2003.
Lancaster said, "We're obviously aware what's at stake - you don't have to be a rocket scientist to work it out. I understand the consequences. I understand the accountability and responsibility for delivering in this World Cup, 100%."
If England lose today they are out, and Australia and Wales are guaranteed the top two spots in the group, and will play it out next week to see who takes the top spot and a potentially easier route through the knock out stages.
If England win today then they are almost certain to progress to the quarter finals, and would mean Australia vs Wales next week would almost certainly become a winner takes all game.
If England and Australia draw today then things remain very uncertain, although technically England would still be in it. But things would all depend on next week's game between Wales and Australia and England's game against Uruguay to see which two teams have the most points after bonus points are tallied.
Today's massive England vs Australia clash in the Rugby World Cup 2015 tournament has a scheduled start time of 8 p.m. BST (3 p.m. ET) and can be watched online through live stream by clicking here.
