Maro Itoje wants England to gain mental edge over Australia ahead of World Cup

Maro Itoje insists England are aiming to gain a psychological edge ahead of next year’s World Cup by dispatching Australia at Allianz Stadium on Sunday.

The rivals clash for the final time before a projected quarter-final collision in Sydney on October 31 as the countdown to the global showpiece the Wallabies are hosting continues.

England are also seeking to improve a disappointing 2026 that has produced five defeats in eight Tests when the second phase of the Nations gets under way, culminating in finals weekend on November 27-29.

“Each game is new but there’s no doubt that against teams you’re going to play down the line, you want them to know that you’ve got their number,” captain Itoje said.

“We want to win this weekend for this weekend’s sake, but we also want to win because we don’t want to give the opposition an inch.

“These are the games that get your blood pumping and you realise it’s big. In terms of where we want to go and doing well in this competition, we want to respond to the inconsistencies of the Six Nations.

“We want to show ourselves and show England fans that we’ve turned a corner. For that reason, this game is huge.

“I have full confidence that the public, England fans and our families and friends in the stands are going to see a team that’s fighting for one another, putting their best foot forward, that’s aggressive and taking the game to Australia.

“We want to set the tone of how this autumn is going to go and show the public what this team is about.”

England say they have been provided with all the ammunition they need to deliver against Australia after reacting furiously to a newspaper report published on Thursday alleging there was squad unrest during the July tour because head coach Steve Borthwick’s management style had created a toxic environment.

Jamie George, who was captain for the summer Tests against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina, declared “when someone comes at one of our own, we are going to fight to protect them” – a sentiment echoed by Itoje.

“I can wholeheartedly say that Steve has not lost the faith of us players,” Itoje said. “We back him 100 per cent.

“We want to play for Steve, we want to represent him in a way that is fitting of the quality of coach he is. We’re going to have to use everything to make sure we do the job.”

Itoje was rested for the July tour but has been restored to the second row at the earliest opportunity having been given the summer off for the first time since 2014.

Revitalised by the break and uplifted by the birth of his first child, Moses, who will be present at Twickenham, Itoje is keen to make his mark once again.

“I’m ready to go,” the British and Irish Lions skipper said. “While it was a good thing having that time to like de-stress and de-load, I’ve also missed being amongst it and wearing that shirt.”