Injury blow: Tevita Kuridrani has been in outstanding form for the Wallabies. Credit:AFP With Ashley-Cooper shifting from wing to outside centre, Joseph Tomane and Rob Horne are likely to battle for the vacant wing spot as the Wallabies try to avoid their worst spring tour winning record in nine years. Kuridrani will be in a moon boot for the next five weeks. The Wallabies have one just one Test in Europe this year and another defeat will equal their worst statistics since 2005. It's also a chance to lay down a performance marker less than a year before the two teams play at the same venue in the World Cup.

Kept quiet: Israel Folau was rarely in position to take the high ball against Ireland. Credit:Getty Images "It's a tough pool at the World Cup, looking forward you can certainly treat [this weekend] as a warm up game," said vice captain Adam Ashley-Cooper. "The reality is though that it's seven or eight months away. It gives us a really good understanding of what it's going to be like and everyone's excited by that." Isolated: Bernard Foley was the target of Ireland's aerial assault. Credit:Getty Images The Wallabies will attempt to turn England's expected aerial raid into an attacking weapon to counter the tactics designed to take superstar Israel Folau out of the contest.

The Wallabies were outplayed and outclassed in the tactical kicking battle against Ireland last week, with international player of the year nominee Jonathan Sexton turning on a masterclass. Folau is one of the most dangerous attacking players in world rugby, scoring 17 tries in his 28 Tests. But Test rivals are launching midfield bombs in the direction of diminutive five-eighth Bernard Foley, who shares a dual fullback defending position with Folau. The ploy has worked, with Folau scoring just two tries in his past eight matches for Australia. "It's no secret that they try to kick away from Izzy, we were probably found out a couple of times [against Ireland]," Foley said.

"But we've had a backs meeting to address it … all of the sides we play this year use the high bomb as part of their arsenal. "You've got to be world class at catching them to counter off it. It's just about field positioning and varying up where you are to nullify their kicks to make them do something different." The Wallabies want to play a fast-paced, high tempo game plan to utilise their attacking strengths. The NSW Waratahs, under the guidance of Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, were experts at it earlier this year in Super Rugby. But the northern hemisphere style of rugby involves more kicking and values the strength of the scrum and lineout ahead of free-flowing attack.

Waratahs playmaker Foley conceded the Wallabies were still trying to find the "style that suits Test match rugby" and admitted their field position kicking needs work. "We've got to develop a game, we can't bring the same game plan we had at the Waratahs. It doesn't work here," Foley said. "It's a variation of both, we've got to run the ball to keep the defence guessing but also kick to our advantage rather than kicking when we get out of shape, it's all in the pipeline." Foley is facing stiff competition from Quade Cooper for the No. 10 jersey as Cheika starts to fine tune combinations with only a handful of Tests remaining before the World Cup. Cooper and Queensland teammate Will Genia have been used as bench weapons on the spring tour of Europe while NSW pair Foley and Nick Phipps have held on to their starting halves positions.