'We've got an insider': England call on league great to stop Suaalii hype train

England are scrambling for information on Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii after the Wallabies convert's shock selection at outside centre.

Australia coach Joe Schmidt half jokingly said "we don't do press conferences about the team any more, we do them about Joseph" after naming Suaalii to start at Twickenham on Sunday (AEDT).

England's media opportunities have also turned from focusing on the latest Eddie Jones revelations to a fascination on 'the next Israel Folau' from Down Under.

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The Autumn Nations Series Test, in front of more than 80,000 fans, will, incredibly, be Suaalii's first game of senior rugby.

The 21-year-old's last game on such a grand stage ended in disaster with an early high tackle send off in the State of Origin opener.

Schmidt was confident Suaalii's tackle technique was up to scratch despite rugby's harsher stance on contact height but admitted the selection itself was a calculated gamble.

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The potential reward outweighed the risk in his eyes while conceding "it's unlikely it'll go perfectly."

England, who lost 24-22 to the All Blacks last weekend, are drawing upon league great Kevin Sinfield to do their Suaalii homework.

Sinfield is England's skills and kicking coach.

NEW PODCAST! Michael Atkinson and Sam Worthington react to the big news that Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii will make his Wallabies debut against England

"Yeah, we've got an insider, obviously, in the rugby league circle, so that helps," England defence coach Joe El-Abd said.

"We do our homework on someone that we've obviously followed in the rugby league circles. So we've looked at the footage. We know that he is a physical player. But again, going back to the the idea of concentrating on ourselves, on what we can impose on them.

"Ultimately, the players we've got will adapt on Saturday afternoon.

"There's no tape of him in rugby union. There's tape of an athlete that we're going to have to contain. We're going to have to adapt to see where he defends and what that looks like on the day.

"It's (code hopping) been done before here in England. Some very good examples with Jason Robinson in the past. So it's how quickly they can adapt and and as we've seen that they can be a great success. So it'll all be interesting to see how it goes."

While Suaalii's rugby instincts and knowledge of the laws may understandably be a little rusty in London, his thirst for contact certainly won't be.

"It'll be really interesting won't it? I don't think Joe Schmidt, the world class coach that he is, puts him in unless he's ready," England assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth said.

"He's obviously played at school and has been ready for this move for a while. He's obviously an incredible athlete and talent, which is why he's come over with the reputation and the price tag he's got.

"We'll look at him in his rugby league. Kev will give us a good insight there and we'll make sure we do our due diligence in the next couple of days."

Stan Sport's Morgan Turinui told 4BC WWOS that Wallabies fans should be excited by the fast tracking of Suaalii.

Turinui played inside centre, outside centre and on the wing during his rugby career but believes Suaalii's best long-term position will probably be fullback.

"He's going to play 13 and 13 is a really tough place to defend. You get lots of different deception options down your channel," he said.

"A bit like a league centre - when to hold, when to jam, you've got to be connected. On the wing, we always think it's a little bit easier because you're just worrying about yourself and the sideline.

"And then 13, I think what he will find is there's just a lot less space.

"You talk to the Carter Gordons (Wallabies convert) and guys like that who are over playing league, now they go 'I've got a bit more space with the separation of the 10m rule.'

"And even when you see the Wallabies train against the Roosters, that's the difference. I think he'll notice that there's just a little bit less time. He's a gun and he's going to be great but this is a huge challenge for him individually to be able to make a fist of it straight away. What it is is a great vote of confidence from Joe Schmidt to think that he can do it...

"The other little bit of a surprise - because of Joseph Suaalii going in there - is that Len Ikitau starts at inside centre, which is something we've never seen. I think it's to accommodate, of course, Suaalii outside him. But that's a little bit different too."

England have beaten the Wallabies in 10 of their last 11 encounters.

They are ranked fifth in the world to Australia's ninth, nearly beat South Africa at last year's Rugby World Cup and start short priced favourites with the bookmakers.

The Wallabies are daring to dream of replicating the 1984 Grand Slam team but truthfully two wins from four on tour would be a great result.

"You're not going to beat England getting into the arm wrestle and trying to take three points," Turinui said.

"The Wallabies will have to take a few calculated risks. Suaalii is going to be threatening in the midfield, Tom Wright had a great Super Rgby season, has nailed down fullback.

"Then you've got a guy like Max Jorgensen who, no fear, comes on, great athlete. He'll just have a crack from everywhere and Ben Donaldson can come on and he's a bit more creative in attack as well.

"If the Wallabies are in the game late, they do have points in them to trouble England - as big a challenge as this is."

Meanwhile, the second string Australia XV drew 10-10 with the Bristol Bears at Ashton Gate on Saturday (AEDT).

Winger Lachie Anderson scored both of Australia's tries but halfback Ryan Lonergan missed a last minute sideline conversion for the win.

Centre Joey Walton also copped a yellow card.

"A-zone completion was really disappointing from us. Bristol are a really good team," Australia XV flanker Tom Hooper told reporters.

"We saw enough there to be quietly confident for next weekend (against England A in London) but that being said, our ball handling will have to be a lot better. Our physicality was there but execution was off the mark, to be honest.

"It was great, a perfect opportunity to get some minutes for a couple of us who have been on the fringe (of the Wallabies) and holding tackle bags, so we were very grateful for that."