Ahead of England's must-win encounter against Australia on Saturday, ESPN's own resident England correspondent -- Tom Hamilton -- and his Australia counterpart Sam Bruce discuss their respective nation's chances at Twickenham.

Tom Hamilton: So Sam -- just how potent a duo are Australia's No.8 David Pocock and flanker Michael Hooper, the twin opensides otherwise known as 'Pooper'? Will they be the pair that ends England's Rugby World Cup hopes?

Sam Bruce: Michael Cheika couldn't overlook the potential of this partnership any longer. I actually wrote midway through the Super Rugby season that it was too dynamic of a combination not to at least try it out for the Wallabies, and sure enough it worked a treat in the Blediscloe Cup match in Sydney. The thing is they both complement each other so well; Pocock is obviously a breakdown specialist and once over the ball is incredibly tough to move, while Hooper carries the ball in a fashion that belies his size, has fantastic speed and is more than capable of securing a turnover himself. England will find it tough to win the breakdown battle but there will be opportunities for them to upset the Wallabies' lineout, as Fiji managed to midway through the second half in Cardiff. One key factor will be how the breakdown is refereed, particularly after England struggled with their discipline in that area last week. Surely that is a bit of a concern for Stuart Lancaster?

TH: Discipline will be at the forefront of England's consciousness after a poor return in their opener against Fiji and the same against Wales. That has been one area they have massively struggled in recently with their inability to adjust to referee Jerome Garces' breakdown ruling last weekend one of the reasons why Dan Biggar had those opportunities to clock up three points after three points. With Pocock and Hooper inevitably snaffling around the breakdown England will have to be more street-wise than ever in that area. Their previous bread and butter of the front-row is also under scrutiny as it has creaked in recent times. Joe Marler -- despite Bob Dwyer's criticism -- played well against Wales but his tight-head counterpart Dan Cole was also penalty heavy so England forwards coach Graham Rowntree has no doubt been keeping a close eye on that this week. And on that note -- just how weak is the Wallabies' front-row at present?

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SB: Haven't you heard? The Wallabies' scrum is no longer a weakness; it's actually a major strength! That might be stretching the truth a little bit but it has certainly improved massively under the tutelage of Pumas great Mario Ledesma. Speaking with Ben McCalman on Monday, he said there had been a change of focus under Ledesma and the pack had adopted a "whole eight" focus. I think in the past the Wallabies have placed too much importance on the front-row itself, and haven't looked at the mechanics behind what should be an eight-man shove. The other big change has been Scott Sio's promotion to loose-head prop; James Slipper is a superb prop around the park but probably lacks a little at scrum time. Look, England will still probably fancy their chances of upsetting the Wallabies scrum and while that may well turn out to be the case, I don't think we'll see the capitulations of past Twickenham encounters.

Moving onto the backline now, just how have you seen Sam Burgess' development? The league fraternity back home believe he'll return to the NRL next year, but can he make an impact this weekend?

TH: He'll be in his rightful place this weekend, on the bench in the role as impact substitute. He made a solid impact against Fiji in their opener and did the same against Ireland in their final warm-up match. With Brad Barritt and Jonathan Joseph the centre partnership for Saturday, expect to see Burgess in and around the 60-minute mark. He's far too streetwise to take any notice of the criticism that has been levelled his way -- Gordon D'Arcy went to town on him this week in an Irish Times column -- but massive doubts still hover over his ability as a Test player. If England crash out this weekend it will have been a failed gamble from their coaching staff. But one area where they will expect nothing but excellence will be in the goal-kicking. Owen Farrell said he would have been able to kick the tying penalty at the end of the Wales match, which captain Chris Robshaw turned down to go for a winning try, and it would take a brave man to bet against him. Can you say the same for Australia?

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SB: In a word, no. Goal-kicking is easily Australia's biggest concern. Bernard Foley had a solid enough night against Fiji last week but Quade Cooper was just awful against Uruguay at the weekend. He actually spent a good half-hour working on his technique after full-time on Sunday. The problem is that there has been very little consistency from either player over the past year. One week they can be striking them like Jonny Wilkinson, and the next you'd swear they'd never kicked goals before. If this turns out to be a penalty shoot-out then England will be very tough to beat.

And then of course there's the Twickenham factor. I've been at the two previous Aussie games in this World Cup, in Cardiff and Birmingham, and "Swing Low" has been belted out despite England's absence. Surely the hosts take confidence from their recent record against Australia at HQ?

TH: Twickenham's foundations would have taken a sizeable hit last weekend against Wales. So much of Lancaster's credo over the last four years has been about utilising and building home advantage and the suitable aura of invincibility around that concrete block in Middlesex. Andy Farrell sounded a rallying call this week to get England behind England and they will need to utilise every decibel from the crowd if they are to be successful this weekend. The atmosphere at Twickenham has been remarkable in the last two games against Fiji and Wales and England have won their last two matches there against Australia. It could be a defining factor which is why I'm going for an England win by three points...

SB: And I think it'll be Australia by five. I'm confident they'll be able to score a couple of tries. Here's to a good game!