Saturday's match against Australia is the biggest game at Twickenham for England since the 1991 Rugby World Cup final and their most important of the Stuart Lancaster era. If England lose against the Wallabies, they will be out of the World Cup but the omens are good judging on previous meetings in the quadrennial tournament.

The two teams have played each other five times in World Cups, with the scores swayed 3-2 in England's favour. After losing the 1987 pool match 19-6 to Australia, England were then dispatched 12-6 at Twickenham in the 1991 World Cup final. But they managed to regain some face in the 1995 quarter-final when Rob Andrew's late 45-metre drop-goal saw off the Wallabies and come 2003 it was a similar case with Jonny Wilkinson knocking one over late on to hand England the William Webb Ellis Cup. And then in 2007 England, who were woefully out of form, edged past Australia 12-10 in the Marseille quarter-final with Andrew Sheridan and the rest of the pack putting in a monumental showing.

Ahead of Saturday's match, we picked the brains of three key protagonists from 1995, 2003 and 2007 over what it took for them to see off Australia.

Will Carling -- Carling, speaking to ESPN as a Heineken ambassador, won 72 caps for England and captained them in the 1991 World Cup final against Australia and started their quarter-final against the Wallabies in 1995 in Cape Town. 

Will Carling celebrates after England beat Australia© David Rogers/Allsport/Getty Images

"In 1995, they had the likes of Horan, Eales, Gregan and Campo. They had a great team. We tried to strike a balance between targeting their key playmakers and attempting to halt how they generated momentum that usually originated around their midfield, whether that was loops or wide balls. And the other 50 percent of our focus was around what we were going to do, what channels we were going to attack down and how to balance our back-row against theirs.

"We tried to learn the lessons of 1991 as we smashed them up front then but did little with it. We dominated the Aussies up front but even then we had to win it by a late drop-goal. They are incredibly resilient, competitive and clever rugby players. This Australia team is very similar. It's full of clever footballers, canny players.

"I remember we were analysing their midfield before the game and we managed to cut down one of their midfield moves and when the ball was spilled we moved it wide and Tony Underwood scored. It was satisfying in those moments that it came from good preparation and analysis. Very rarely in games do things go as they do on a training pitch and our defensive pattern worked then.

"Come Saturday and I think there's a huge amount of pressure on our front-five. If we can dominate then it can put our back-row on the front-foot. It will also be about how we can deal with their footballers. A huge amount of defensive these days is focused around organisation but Australia play off the cuff and that's very hard to defend as you don't know what they'll do next. I'm delighted Jonathan Joseph is back as he can play off the cuff so he's key for England."

Prediction: England by five.

Lewis Moody -- England World Cup-winner in 2003, finalist in 2007 and captain for 2011. He played Australia on 10 occasions, winning in six of the games -- notably in the 2003 final and in the quarter-final of 2007.

Stephen Larkham is tackled by England's Lewis Moody© Phil Walter/Getty Images

"In 2003 it was very different as we did not really target any one area. We spent four years preparing for that week. We knew we could beat them and we went into it knowing it could come down to the final few moments of the game. We rehearsed every eventuality every day for 18 months before that game. So if it eventually came down to a drop-goal or a try, we were completely prepared.

"We knew we were the best team in the world so we didn't really focus on one area in the week prior. We were confident we would dominate the scrum and use that as a Launchpad. Andre Watson, the referee of the final, said to us he would judge each scrum independently but as history shows, that wasn't really the case and we all know what happened there. 

"In 2007 we went into quarter-final game in terrible form, we were far from the best form of our lives. After the South Africa defeat, a game we lost 36-0, we spoke after the game and decided to pick out one area as a key focus for the rest of our games in the pool stages. Come the Australia game, we targeted the breakdown.

"Australia had had an easy run into the quarter-finals and up to that stage they only needed to commit one man to the breakdown. We knew if we loaded that area, it would give us the edge and it did.

"Maybe now they should do the same and have one focus as it makes it all a little easier. The 2015 lot have more exciting players than we did in 2007 but we had more leadership in that squad. We had Jonny Wilkinson, Phil Vickery, Mike Catt, Simon Shaw, Ben Kay and Martin Corry. We had captains all over the pitch and guys who knew what it takes to win whatever the circumstances."

Prediction: I think England will win 25-22.

Andrew Sheridan -- The British & Irish Lions loose-head was the scourge of the Wallabies' front-row in 2005 when England beat them at Twickenham and it was a similar case two years on in Marseille when messers Sheridan, Mark Regan and Phil Vickery caused all sorts of havoc in the Australia front-row.

Andrew Sheridan clashes with Matt Dunning© David Rogers/Getty Images

"We went into it as underdogs so there wasn't much pressure on us as we had that infamous 36-0 loss to South Africa. We wanted to put as much pressure as possible on the breakdown as we could to disrupt their rhythm while pulling people in there. 

"We'd had success in the scrum in the preceding years and we targeted there as well. From memory their scrum was going well in the Tri-Nations prior to that so it wasn't a foregone conclusion but we also tried to be as physical as possible throughout the whole game. We hoped we'd get an advantage in the scrum and I remember the first few scrums we were penalised but as the game wore on we put more pressure on them and had some rewards in crucial scrums in key areas of the pitch. That allowed Jonny to knock over the points. Nothing's changed there in the years since that game.

"Ahead of this weekend, I think the Australia scrum has become a strength in the games I've seen of late. They have put some pride in that area but that will be a decisive area. But as international games go, there might not be a scrum for 20 or so minutes. There won't be much in it ahead of Saturday, the two teams are evenly matched.

"The one area that might decide the game is the breakdown with the opposition getting some joy against England with their pick and go game. They are getting ground there so England will tighten up there and if they do that and get their own set piece game going then they'll get the victory."

Prediction: England by three.