Itoje Returns as Captain and Fin Smith Passed Fit as England Name Team for Australia

Maro Itoje is back, and England look like England again. Steve Borthwick named his team for Sunday's Nations Championship clash with Australia at Twickenham on Friday, and the headline was the one every England supporter had been waiting for: Itoje, rested for the entire summer campaign, returns to lead the side out at Allianz Stadium, with Fin Smith passed fit to pull the strings at fly-half.

It has been a long road back for both men, in different ways. Itoje has not played for England since the Six Nations, and his absence through the summer was felt in every scrum, every lineout and every huddle. Smith's route back was shorter but no less anxious. The 24-year-old hurt his calf playing for Northampton a fortnight ago and spent the week racing the clock, sitting out one training session to manage the problem before coming through Friday's final run-out and earning his place in the side. Borthwick had George Ford and Marcus Smith on standby. In the end, he did not need them.

There are four changes in all from the side that beat Argentina 31-24 in July, and each one tells a story. Itoje replaces George Martin in the second row, with Martin dropping to the bench. Fin Baxter, who has played only twice after a long lay-off, is selected ahead of Ellis Genge at loosehead. Ben Curry returns to the starting side for the first time in more than a year, and George Furbank is back at full-back after appendicitis ruled him out of the Pumas match in the summer. Genge, like Martin, is among the replacements, and Borthwick has gone for a 6-2 split on the bench that leans heavily on forward power.

The most eye-catching name among those replacements is Greg Fisilau. The uncapped Exeter Chiefs number eight, 22 years old and built for the modern game, is in line for a Test debut if he gets on, and his selection says plenty about where Borthwick thinks this England team is heading. Henry Pollock is there too, and Ben Spencer provides the scrum-half cover behind Jack van Poortvliet, who continues at nine while Alex Mitchell works his way back from his latest hamstring injury.

"Australia are a talented side who have played a significant amount of Test rugby in recent months," Borthwick said. "We know the challenge that awaits us and we're looking forward to it." It was measured, as Borthwick usually is, but the size of the occasion needs no dressing up. This is the first of four straight Tests at Twickenham, the start of the home leg of the inaugural Nations Championship, and the last time these two sides will meet before next year's World Cup, where they are projected to collide again in the quarter-finals.

England's summer was a mixed bag. They were beaten by world champions South Africa before recovering to see off Fiji and Argentina, and the Six Nations before that was the worst in the country's history, four defeats from five and a first-ever loss to Italy. Borthwick knows, better than anyone, that this autumn is where his team has to show it has turned a corner. The Wallabies, beaten 33-31 by Ireland in July and dangerous when they are given room to play, are the perfect first test.

Sunday kicks off at 3.10pm, the Ella-Mobbs Cup is on the line, and Twickenham is sold out. Itoje leads them out, Smith steers the ship, and a new face waits on the bench. England's autumn starts here.