By Ian Ransom
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - A Wallabies team nursing injured pride will hope for more discipline from a re-jigged forward pack and some sympathy from the referee as they bid to square the series against a confident England in Melbourne on Saturday.
Australia's 39-28 defeat in the Brisbane opener was just their fourth to England on home soil and first at Lang Park, where the tourists piled on a record points tally against the team that dumped them out of their own World Cup last year.
Perhaps most aggrieving for Wallabies coach Michael Cheika was the manner of the loss, his side having been knocked off its game by England's up-front aggression after dominating the opening half hour.
The Six Nations champions' belligerence saw their forwards restore their traditional dominance in the scrum, leading to a string of penalties from French referee Romain Poite.
Owen Farrell's unerring boot did the rest as England secured a seventh straight win under coach Eddie Jones and a chance to win their first test series in Australia at Melbourne's Rectangular Stadium.
Cheika paid ample credit to the tourists but will hope his revamped front row gets a better hearing at scrum-time from South African referee Craig Joubert, whose interpretations could be critical to the outcome.
The Australia coach is not leaving anything to chance, however, having dumped loosehead prop Scott Sio from the matchday squad after he was schooled by England's Dan Cole and ended up in the sin-bin at Lang Park.
CAUTIOUS JONES
James Slipper replaces him, with tighthead Greg Holmes also demoted to the bench in favour of another veteran in Sekope Kepu, who would have started in Brisbane had he not returned from France late.
Jones warned his players to beware the Australian team that has its back to the wall and Cheika was also relishing the challenge, which has been made stiffer by the loss of loose forward David Pocock to injury for the series.
"I love being in this situation," Cheika said. "I know that sounds crazy, but we're 1-0 down and in a scrap and I want my players to enjoy that, too. That's what Aussies are like."
Sean McMahon, the latest in a long line of top quality Australian openside flankers, replaces Pocock at number eight in a calculated gamble that his mobility and energy will make up for his lack of heft.
A "gut" decision by Jones to replace centre Luther Burrell with flyhalf George Ford after 30 minutes in Brisbane proved a master stroke as his team worked their way back into the game.
Jones has decided to stick with that winning combination, with Ford to start at flyhalf and Farrell at inside centre in one of only two changes to his starting line-up.
The other saw Jack Nowell, an ever present in the Six Nations grand slam side, restored to the left wing in place of Marland Yarde.
Match factbox: