Oita (Japan) (AFP)

Two old coaching buddies, daring bets on the "midfield" and a fierce battle announced in the open scrums: three battles appear in the bottom of England-Australia, in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, Saturday in Oita (French 09:15, 07:15 GMT).

+ The battle of the coaches

"I'm proud of his job, he's an old friend." In a sentence, Eddie Jones, the English coach summarizes his links with Michael Cheika, his "colleague" at the head of the Wallabies. One (Jones, 59) was born to an American-Japanese mother, the other (Cheika, 52) has Lebanese roots. These two Australians have found, through rugby and Randwick club in the suburbs of Sydney, a way to integrate. Both have come a long way; Jones was finalist of the World Cup in 2003 with the Wallabies, and accompanied as assistant the title of the Springboks in 2007. Cheika, passed among others by the Leinster and the French Stage, led the Wallabies in the final in 2015. Both know perfectly well prepare a team for this kind of matches. "Should we play better against Australia? Probably, and we're ready for that," Jones says. "We are not afraid," replied his old friend Cheika.

+ The battles of the circles

The two coaches added a pinch of surprise in their team composition, especially at the level of "midfielder", axis 10-12-13. Eddie Jones kicked out opener George Ford, who had been in the first three games, to return to the formula that was proven during the last six-nation tournament: Owen Farrell (1.88 m, 96 kg) in N.10, associated with two "physical" centers, Manu Tuilagi (1.85 m, 114 kg) and Henry Slade (1.91 m, 96 kg).

This all-physical option aims to contain the first Australian center Kerevi and to roll back the defensive wall opponent in the offensive phase.

At these key posts, Cheika entrusted the fate of the Wallabies to a great hope of Australian rugby, Jordan Petaia, 19, tenured at the post of second center (N.13), with only two selections to the wing for all international experience. "He's as good as gold," Cheika boasted.

+ The Battle of the Rucks

The "Kamikaze Kids" against "Pooper": the battle of the rucks, to scratch the balloons in the open scrums, looks like a good manga. For these struggling struggles, which require courage and physical strength, the English can count on their two young third row, Tom Curry, 21, and Sam Underhill, 23 years old. Nicknamed the "Kamikaze Kids" by Eddie Jones, they are very often the first on the zone of confrontation, to slow down the enemy balloons or on the contrary ensure a clearing to facilitate the continuity of the English game.

In front of them, they will find two of the best specialists on the planet, Michael Hooper (27 years, 98 selections) and David Pocock (31 years, 82 selections). Gathered under the common nickname "Pooper", they had been essential during the Australian course in 2015, finished with a defeat in the final. Long injured, Pocock has found the competition just before the World Cup, after which he will end his international career. Like scrum half Will Genia or Sekope Kefu, who also announced their future retirement. They hope to push back the date of a few days.

© 2019 AFP