From the depths of the pit into which the England scrum drove their Australian counterparts at Twickenham last year in the midst of a horror season, the Wallabies still firmly believe the pinnacle of world rugby is in sight.

The road to redemption begins in Sydney next Sunday and a buoyant spirit exists in the Australian camp as they build towards their return bout with England via a little northern hemisphere know-how.

New Wallabies coach John Connolly has admitted he believes many of his players are mentally scarred from the thrashing handed out in the scrum in the 26-16 defeat last November, but with new faces and philosophies in charge, the players are showing faith.

Second-rower Nathan Sharpe, likely to be one of only two survivors from last year's beaten pack along with flanker George Smith, paid tribute to the technical approach Connolly and assistant Michael Foley have brought back from stints in the north as the key to new-found confidence. 'The boys are enjoying the different ideas that are coming from the northern hemisphere and trying to integrate that with the ideas we've had,' Sharpe said. 'It's pretty amazing how a subtle difference can alter the shape of the scrum and we've found some good changes.'

The mood is such that despite last year's embarrassing record, Sharpe revealed a bold aim. 'We want to set a good benchmark [against England], and then work our way towards being the best pack in the world,' he said. That appears an enormous task after Andy Robinson's men emerged with both the Cook Cup and the Australia pack's dignity in their grasp at their last meeting, via scrum dominance.

The contest in the front row is again the focus for both sides. An underdog England side candidly admit they are under strength through injuries and rested players, leading to a belief in the tourists' camp that their best chance of gaining an edge lies up front.

While Australia will surely look to shift the ball to a back line they believe will have the edge, the front row is an area in which the Wallabies have utilised the pruning shears most vigorously since last season, looking to rebuild the trunk of their game on rookie props.

While England have front rowers such as Graham Rowntree and Julian White to call upon, men hardened and shaped by a swag of international matches, if the props in the Australian squad appear envious of their rivals' Test cap tally it is because they are so green. Al Baxter, destroyed by Andrew Sheridan last year, has survived and appears set for the bench, but the New South Wales front rower is believed to have made the cut mainly to ensure some semblance of experience in the Wallabies front row.

Similarly, veteran hooker Jeremy Paul was a late inclusion in the squad as insurance after Connolly opted for Test rookies Adam Freier and Tai McIsaac. The likely starting front row against England is loose head Greg Holmes (three caps), hooker Adam Freier (seven) and tight head Rodney Blake (none). It is Blake on whom the Wallabies' hopes of redemption rest, a 130kg front rower of islander descent known as 'Rodzilla'. But while Blake has his chance, none of the Australia front rows impressed during their Super 14 season this year, a fact of which Robinson is surely aware.

Comfortably ensconced in the same hotel in the Sydney suburb of Manly that they occupied during their successful 2003 World Cup, on arrival England hosted the local media armed with words of praise for the home team. Amid that though, a statement from Robinson undercut his previous comments of support for the Australiapack. 'We'll target the scrum,' he said.

At the heart of the changes is a focus on size. Behind the expected front row will be Sharpe and Daniel Vickerman in the second row, while Smith is tipped for No 8. Two large flankers in Daniel Heenan and Rocky Elsom will offer the Wallabies four jumpers in the line-out, and the two big men will pack in at left and right flanker on certain scrums to add their weight to the front row.

'One thing that we have to have is a forward pack that is going to aim up,' Connolly said. 'We have to aim up at the line-out, we have to aim up at the scrum and we have to aim up at the breakdown.'

The Wallabies believe if they match England in those areas, they will have taken the first step towards victory in next year's World Cup.

11 June Australia v England (Sydney)
17 June Australia v England (Melbourne)