Australia's second match in Pool A sees them battle the group's weakest side, Uruguay, in Birmingham on Sunday. The Aussies missed out on a bonus point in their opening win over Fiji and while that is unlikely to be a problem at Villa Park, coach Michael Cheika will still want a no-nonsense complete performance from his "B-side". There is also the opportunity for players to play themselves into the selection mix for the clash with England the following weekend. Cheika says some of the decisions are almost coming down to a "toss of the coin", suggesting a standout effort against the South Americans could lead to a start at Twickenham. Uruguay, meanwhile, will be hoping to improve from their first-up hammering at the hands of Wales; scoring a try like fellow minnows Namibia did against New Zealand should also be another goal.

Team news

Cheika has done exactly what he said he would do after the win over Fiji, making 14 changes to the side to face Uruguay. Only prop Scott Sio is retained from Wednesday night's triumph, and that is due James Slipper's bout of concussion. The crowd's gaze will likely be fixed on enigmatic Wallabies playmaker Quade Cooper, with the Queenslander sure to bring out his full bag of tricks against a defence that won't be that well organised.

Kurtley Beale, Joe Tomane, Henry Speight, Matt Toomua, Drew Mitchell, Quade Cooper, Nick Phipps; Wycliff Palu, Sean McMahon, Ben McCalman, Will Skelton, Dean Mumm, Toby Smith, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Scott Sio.

Henry Speight© (Photo by Stefan Postles/Getty Images)

Replacements: Stephen Moore, Sekope Kepu, Greg Holmes, Kane Douglas, Rob Simmons, Will Genia, Bernard Foley, Tevita Kuridrani.

Uruguay coach Pablo Lemoine has made five changes to the starting line-up that took on Wales in Cardiff last Sunday. Into the starting side come hooker German Kessler, prop Mateo Sanguinetti, lock Frano Lamanna, back-rower Juan de Freitas and winger Leandro Leivas.

Gaston Mieres, Leandro Leivas, Joaquin Prada, Andres Vilaseca, Rodrigo Silva, Felipe Berchesi, Agustin Ormaechea; Juan Manuel Gaminara, Matias Beer, Juan De Freitas, Franco Lamanna, Santiago Vilaseca, Mario Sagario, German Kessler, Mateo Sanguinetti.

Replacements: Nicolas Klappenbach, Oscar Duran, Carlos Arboleya, Alejandro Nieto, Diego Magno, Fernando Bascou, Alejo Druan, Alberto Roman.

Key head-to-head battle

There is some scuttlebutt around the Wallabies camp that boom youngster Sean McMahon is pushing for a spot in the back-row against England. The Melbourne Rebels flanker was superb in the one-off Test against the United States in Chicago, and gets another chance to push his cause here. A robust, ball-running back-rower rather than a fetcher in the mould of David Pocock and Michael Hooper, McMahon brings an energy to the game that Cheika admits he likes. McMahon will certainly ask questions of Matias Beer, and the Uruguay openside must raise his level of physicality if he's to be anything but a passenger in this positional battle.

Key stats

Australia average far more metres per match than their opponents, the Wallabies making 376 metres compared with Uruguay's 256. The Wallabies scrum can send another message to those who doubt its strength with a commanding game against the South Americans, who lose an average of six scrums on their own feed per match.

Odds

Uruguay are at 100/1 with Unibet while the line has been set at 64.5.

Weather

A sunny but cool morning will give way to a cloudy start for kick-off at Midday. No rain is expected.

Prediction

This should prove little more than a training run for the Wallabies, even if it is effectively their B-team. Look for the likes of Cooper, Beale and Henry Speight to star out in the backline as the Australians run up a 55-point victory.