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Wallabies out to make early England mark

Wallabies captain Michael Hooper says his team wants to make an early mark on England in the deciding Test at the SCG rather than chase the scoreboard.

MICHAEL HOOPER.
MICHAEL HOOPER. Picture: Dan Mullan/Getty Images

Skipper Michael Hooper is looking for his Wallabies to flip the script on England as they target a ground-breaking Test series win at a sold-out SCG on Saturday night.

With the new Ella-Mobbs trophy up for grabs, the Australians can capture their own piece of history at the famous cricket ground which is hosting its first rugby Test since 1986.

It is also likely to be the last at the iconic venue with the Sydney Football Stadium being rebuilt next door.

Under coach Eddie Jones the visitors swept the Wallabies 3-0 in their last tour down under in 2016 with four current Australian players, including Hooper, playing in that series.

But after banking their first win over the old foe since the 2015 World Cup, the veteran flanker predicted a "special night" for his team.

England have rushed out of the blocks in the first two Tests, with Australia coming home with a wet sail to win in Perth while they couldn't peg back a 19-point lead in Brisbane last Saturday.

Hooper said the Wallabies wanted to ramp up their physicality and put their stamp on the game early this time rather than put themselves under pressure to chase the game.

"We've been able to sustain a lot of pressure and come back into the game from being behind and we want to flip that obviously," Hooper said on Friday.

"To come out with good momentum and stack it on and put these guys under pressure.

"They (England) did a great job last week doing that to us and we're wanting to change that route."

He felt his team had shown resilience and growth through the series but were yet to deliver a complete performance.

"We don't think we've played as well as we can and we think we're a better team than what we've shown so far so that's hugely exciting for us," the 118-Test star said.

"Our motivation is to put that out there but what we've learned about England is they're a tough, hard, physical opponent, good at set piece, and can really grind you.

"They apply scoreboard pressure consistently so we need to back where we're at and be confident in what our game plan is."

Hooper believes the selection of Queensland backrower Harry Wilson for his first match of the series will add some extra punch.

"Harry's a complete player (a) real threat in attack, he's got good skill, he's a tough ball carry. I've tackled him and he's hard to stop," Hooper said of the 22-year-old.

"In this jersey, he's been great defensively and I'm looking for him to really lead the charge in that area and damaging both sides of the ball."

They can also call on the athleticism of former Melbourne league star winger Suliasi Vunivalu, who has been named to make his Test debut from the bench.

While he lacks big game rugby experience Vunivalu played in four NRL grand finals with the Storm until his code switch in late 2020.

"He's an amazing athlete and a really good guy who's fitted into the team really well, so everyone was pretty pumped to see him get an opportunity," Hooper said.

"He's had a tough initiation into rugby with his injury history and hasn't had the break that he could have had but he's here now.

"He's got an opportunity and a big game player, superior athlete, so hopefully he can come on at a time and change the game around."

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