England’s Australia preparations: 36-player squad and November 8 kickoff
The RFU’s November 2 squad includes Henry Pollock and three scrum-halves. England face Australia at Twickenham on Sunday at 15:10 GMT.
Verified brief
The story in 60 seconds
Steve Borthwick has named 20 forwards and 16 backs for England’s November Nations Championship campaign. The squad includes Henry Pollock, Harry Randall, Ben Spencer and Jack van Poortvliet. This is the wider preparation group, rather than a named starting XV for Australia.
This brief and the full story below are based on the disclosed sources. SearchTrends Daily’s interpretation appears later under “Our take.”
Full reporting
The complete story
England Rugby published Steve Borthwick’s 36-player squad on November 2, 2026, ahead of matches against Australia, Japan and New Zealand and the competition’s finals weekend. The group contains 20 forwards and 16 backs.
Henry Pollock is named among the forwards, alongside players including Maro Itoje, Ben Earl, Ellis Genge and Tom Curry. The backs include Harry Randall, Ben Spencer and Jack van Poortvliet, as well as George Ford, Fin Smith and Marcus Smith. These are selections for the announced squad; the list does not assign starting or replacement roles for Australia.
Reuters’ November 2 report, carried by The Star on November 3, says Alex Mitchell was omitted after a hamstring injury sustained playing for Northampton. The official list confirms the included players. A wider squad announcement and a matchday team announcement are different documents.
The RFU’s November schedule and the stadium’s visitor guide place England v Australia on Sunday, November 8, at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, with kickoff at 15:10 UK time. The RFU squad article explicitly labels its November times GMT.
Source perspectives
What other reporting adds
These are the reports, official records, and trend observations used to build the story. The note under each link explains exactly what it contributes.
Primary 36-player list, its 20-forward/16-back breakdown and November schedule explicitly marked GMT. Includes Pollock, Randall, Spencer and van Poortvliet.
Read original source ↗England Rugby / Rugby Football UnionEngland v Australia preview — 2026 Nations ChampionshipPrimary preview confirms the November 8 home fixture and competition context. For timezone wording this briefing follows the squad article’s explicit GMT schedule and GOV.UK’s clock-change record.
Read original source ↗Allianz Stadium / Rugby Football UnionPlan your visit: England v Australia — November 8, 2026Primary venue guide confirms November 8 and a 15:10 local kickoff.
Read original source ↗Reuters, via The StarEngland without injured Mitchell for Nations Championship matches — November 2 reportIndependent report corroborates the 36-player squad and attributes Mitchell’s absence to a hamstring injury. No recovery date is inferred.
Read original source ↗GOV.UKWhen do the clocks change?Official record gives October 25 for the 2026 return to GMT, resolving the November fixture’s seasonal timezone.
Read original source ↗Wikimedia Commons / August SchwerdfegerAerial view of Twickenham Stadium and Twickenham Stoop — May 23, 2016Archival venue photograph with author and CC BY 4.0 licence recorded. Not a 2026 match photograph.
Read original source ↗Creative CommonsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licenceLicence for the credited aerial photograph; site display cropping may occur.
Read original source ↗SearchTrends Daily opinion
Our take
Analysis
What the evidence and search signal suggest
Our assessment: the confirmed information supports a squad-and-fixture preview. Individual starting places and tactical combinations require matchday selection evidence. Predictions about those choices should remain clearly labelled as predictions.
Analysis and commentary are SearchTrends Daily’s interpretation. They are intentionally separated from the sourced account above.
Meaning
Why this matters
Searches for a lineup can lead to a mixture of squad lists, selection predictions and final match teams. A player’s inclusion in a preparation group establishes that selection; it does not establish a start, a bench role or minutes played.
The time-zone label matters too. GOV.UK records that Britain’s clocks went back on October 25, 2026, returning the UK to GMT. The 15:10 UK kickoff therefore corresponds to 15:10 UTC. This briefing follows the RFU’s dated November schedule and the venue’s local kickoff time.
Background
How we got here
This is England’s first home match of the 2026 Nations Championship after three away fixtures in July, according to the RFU’s official Australia preview. The November programme then lists Japan on November 14 and New Zealand on November 21, with finals-weekend fixtures later in the month.
The November 2 announcement sets out the wider campaign squad, with match-specific selections a separate step.
Outlook
What is likely to happen next
Follow England Rugby’s official team announcements and the stadium guide for confirmed changes to selection or match arrangements.
Image credit: August Schwerdfeger, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0. The aerial photograph was taken on May 23, 2016 and shows the larger Twickenham Stadium in the foreground with the neighbouring Twickenham Stoop behind it. It is an archival venue image, not a photograph of the November 2026 team or match. The source is unchanged; the site may crop its display.
A conditional editorial assessment based on the evidence available at the review date, not a guaranteed outcome.
Live record
Updates to this story
No material updates yet.
Commentary
What we think
The useful next update is the official matchday team, followed by any confirmed selection changes. Readers should be able to distinguish that from a broad training squad or a commentator’s preferred XV.