Sir Clive Woodward answers YOUR questions on the autumn internationals: Which England players have most to prove? How would you improve Twickenham? Why can't Marcus Smith get a game? And which stars should we watch out for?

The autumn internationals are here, and the best of the southern hemisphere have descended on Europe to take on their northern hemisphere rivals.

This year's fixtures have more riding on them than usual - the 2027 World Cup draw takes place immediately after the autumn slate and the pools will be decided based on the world rankings, with the top six getting a top seed, the next six seeded second, and so on.

There's so much to get into ahead of the opening weekend and who better to give you the lowdown than England World Cup-winning coach and Daily Mail Sport columnist Sir Clive Woodward?

We put the call out for your questions and now we're putting the best of them to Sir Clive - here's what he had to say...

What do you make of the England team for Australia and how do you see the match going? Is George Ford at 10 and Tommy Freeman at 13 the right call?

When I sat down with England head coach Steve Borthwick last week for a Daily Mail Sport interview, I made it quite clear I see Freeman as the man to fill the outside centre position long term.

To me, even though he has been so good on the wing for both Northampton and England, he is made for the 13 jersey. So, to that end, I’m delighted he’s playing in that position against Australia.

I like the look of this England team. The way Borthwick has this side set up is to play with pace and that’s what’s needed. I expect England to get the better of Australia and continue their upward trajectory. In terms of the fly-half position, I’d have been happy with either Ford or Fin Smith in the role.

You certainly can’t argue with Ford’s selection given his form in the past six months and more, even if Smith is unlucky. I’m hugely looking forward to the game. England must start with a bang and a statement. I think they will do just that.

What do you think about Borthwick’s 'hybrid' theory of the game and considering Ben Earl at centre and Henry Pollock on the wing? Is it a clever new approach? Or too-clever-by-half?

As a coach, consistency in selection is key. It’s clear to me Borthwick believes in exactly that. He doesn’t rip up his team often, which is the right move. However, at international level you have to be prepared for anything. Injuries can happen, and yellow and red cards are more common nowadays. At any moment, your best-laid plans can change in an instant.

So, I applaud Borthwick for looking at the options of whether guys like Earl and Pollock can play in the backs if needed. My opinion is that I certainly wouldn’t start either of those players behind the scrum. But for them to have the ability to cover a variety of positions can only be a good thing.

Other teams are doing this too. South Africa are considering using their former Harlequins centre Andre Esterhuizen as a hybrid player who can play in both the forwards and the backs. Italy full-back Ange Capuozzo has played scrum-half for Toulouse.

In a previous era with England, Jason Robinson started Tests at centre when he was normally a full-back or wing. Well done to Borthwick for planning for every possible scenario, but I don’t think we’ll see Earl starting at No 12 for a while!

Which three England players do you think have the most to prove this autumn?

England have such enviable strength in depth now that there is competition for places across the board. With that in mind, players will know if they don’t perform, they’ll risk losing their spots.

With George Furbank still injured, Freddie Steward continues at full-back. The next few weeks are huge for him. We all know what Steward brings, predominantly great aerial ability. Borthwick has challenged him to improve his attacking game and there have been promising signs at Leicester he’s done that. He needs to show that in the coming weeks as well as improve his defence, which has been suspect at times.

Guy Pepper starts at flanker against Australia. He’s a young player of real promise. He can make a big statement in an area where Borthwick has many options.

Jamie George is 35 now and will be 37 at the next World Cup - given his brilliant service, he has nothing to prove as such but it will be interesting to see if he can definitely be a key figure up to the 2027 tournament, or whether England need to bring through a younger hooker.

What is a successful autumn for England? Do they have to win all four matches to be considered genuine World Cup contenders for 2027?

England can undoubtedly win the next World Cup. But having the quality to is one thing - you also need the belief to do so. To get that, you have to go into a global showpiece having tasted victory over the southern hemisphere’s big three.

And that’s why this autumn is so big for England. Last November, they lost to New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, albeit narrowly. Facing two of those three sides again in the coming weeks is a huge opportunity. England need to turn small-margin defeats into wins.

I liked to treat the autumn internationals as ‘knockout’ games, a mini World Cup if you like. Can England win three from three and set up and win a make-believe 'final' against Argentina? That is what they should be targeting.

Doing so would give them fantastic momentum going into the Six Nations and just as importantly, a great, feel-good Christmas. England are certainly good enough to beat both Australia and the All Blacks.

How would you rank the home nations in terms of preparedness for the 2027 World Cup and why?

England are in a very good place and I firmly expect them to be World Cup contenders. They are a team going well, but with lots of room to improve still which is exciting. Theirs is the camp I would want to be in right now. Things are very different elsewhere.

Wales are in a right mess on and off the field and my former assistant coach Dave Reddin has a tough job on his hands as their director of rugby. I think Steve Tandy is a good coach and Wales do have good players such as captain Jac Morgan. But with uncertainty over their domestic structure, the autumn is going to be dominated by distractions. 

Unlike in previous years, Wales simply can’t be considered World Cup contenders and the way things are going, they’ll be lucky to get out of their pool. 

Scotland still haven’t won anything with their golden generation of players and the worry I have for them is the next cohort doesn’t look anywhere near as talented. Scotland have struggled at Under-20 level in recent years and that doesn’t bode well. 

Gregor Townsend is under pressure after agreeing to work for Red Bull alongside his current role with Scotland. He’d have been better off concentrating on his day job. Ireland and England are the best-equipped home nations to taste global glory.

As for Ireland, more on them in the next question!

Ireland face New Zealand in Chicago on Saturday. Does their aging squad count against them with 2027 in mind?

This is a very interesting question! Ireland have lost Johnny Sexton, Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray since the last World Cup. But going through to 2027, they still have several players the wrong side of 30 and the tournament is still another two years away.

Andy Farrell, as head coach, will be well aware of this. I think he’ll be desperate to bring through new blood. The question is whether or not the young talent is there. I have my doubts over whether the next generation of Irish players is good enough to replace those still there at this point in time.

That means Farrell will likely have to continue with his current crop and that could leave Ireland in a spot of trouble, even if they clearly remain a brilliant team. Farrell’s experience and his connection to the team will be a huge reason behind their success if they can pull it off.

Twickenham is far too corporate and expensive. What would you change to ensure a better experience for fans?

I’ll be honest: the Twickenham matchday experience is just awful. I attend almost all England matches. I’ve been sat in the seats trying to watch international rugby and the match is just ruined by people constantly getting up throughout the game to either go to the toilet or, more commonly, the bar. The two are inextricably linked! Frankly, it’s a shambles and shouldn’t be tolerated.

I’m a season-ticket holder at Chelsea. At Premier League football, you can drink in the concourse of the stadiums but not in the seats and I think the RFU should follow this policy. Having a beer at the rugby is a big part of going to the match and it’s great to do so at the ground, but in the concourse only and certainly not while the game is going on.

The RFU won’t want to do so as it may hinder revenue. But a matchday experience is about more than just making money. I’d urge the RFU to adopt my idea as soon as possible.

Why is Marcus Smith consistently overlooked by Borthwick when he often plays so well for Harlequins? Why can’t ‘flair’ players ever nail down a regular slot?

There is undoubtedly a place for flair players in any international team. But for me, Marcus Smith has been far too inconsistent this season with Harlequins to warrant England selection this autumn.

When he’s been good, he’s been very good. But when things haven’t gone well, they’ve gone terribly. The same applies to Harlequins as a collective. Ford and Fin Smith have shown far greater levels of performance and that’s why they’re in the 23 for Australia.

However, I would love for Marcus to get back to his best and push for selection as he is clearly a wonderful player. People forget that last autumn, when the England team struggled for results, he was the best player. I don’t think he’s been helped by being moved to full-back at times, either.

If you were in charge, would you make penalties worth two points and conversions one to put more emphasis on try-scoring?

No. Next question! I’ve seen this argument before but I don’t think the scoring system needs to be changed. Rugby across the board is getting more attacking and entertaining anyway, so there is no need to mess with the status quo and something that has existed for many years.

We know Twickenham is a massive cash cow for the RFU - but would you like England to go round the country a bit more? What about playing at big football grounds in the north like Newcastle or Manchester United?

I am a big believer in this. Like any governing body, the RFU need to make money and matchday revenue at Twickenham is their biggest way of doing this. But as I mentioned above, it can’t all be about money. Spreading the English rugby gospel is very important.

When I was coach, one of my early games was against New Zealand in 1997 at Old Trafford in Manchester. It was a fantastic occasion and gave people from the north of England the chance to watch the team. Doing that is very important.

Twickenham will always be the home of English rugby and on the whole, England matches should remain there. But it would be great if maybe once a season a game could be hosted elsewhere.

I liked what the England team did in their successful Women’s World Cup campaign where they played at places like Sunderland, Brighton, Northampton and Bristol as well as Twickenham. They might well be on to something!

As a longstanding critic of the RFU barring overseas players from representing England, are they and the other unions right to threaten to ignore players who join R360? And do you think they will be forced to change their mind?

Excellent question! As you say, I believe England players who are based in France or indeed anywhere outside the country should still be allowed to represent their country. That’s not the case under the RFU rules which I think are narrow-minded, self-serving and holding back the national team from success.

How much better would the England team for this autumn be, for example, if Jack Willis of Toulouse was available to play? The RFU won’t change their rule on French-based players. While I disagree with that, I think the RFU and the other leading nations were right to come together and say any players who go to the R360 rebel league won’t be able to play internationally.

The reason I say that is because it’s different to the French situation. Only small numbers of England players are going to France. But with the money on offer at R360, I could see almost the whole squad leaving for rebel duty such is the money on offer. In such a scenario, Borthwick’s promising national project would be totally derailed and PREM Rugby would lose all its leading lights.

R360 is not going anywhere and it will be interesting to see how things unfold - I just hope it does not dilute rugby the way I believe the rebel LIV Golf has done in that sport. It is a problem of the RFU’s and other unions own making in failing to innovate and keep pace with other global sports.

Which southern hemisphere player from any nation are you most looking forward to seeing this autumn and why?

I have a simple answer to this. Will Jordan of New Zealand. An All Blacks try machine, he glides so effortlessly over the turf. He’s a joy to watch.