Wallaby coach John Connolly has surprised a few people by naming Adam Ashley-Cooper to start ahead of the tournament’s leading tryscorer for the quarter-final clash with England.

Drew Mitchell takes his place on the bench while skipper Stirling Mortlock has recovered sufficiently from a shoulder injury to take his place at centre.

The Australians have gone for a 5-2 split on their bench, with Mitchell and utility Julian Huxley covering the backline. That's a strong indication that Connolly is wary of England's big forward pack.

"Most of our backs are fairly multi-skilled so we're confident about our lineup," Connolly said.

"England is a very dangerous team. Their set piece has been their cornerstone for many years and they have incredible speed out wide and a No 10 who steers them around exceptionally well.

"When you look at our results through the pool games you'd have to say we're pretty happy with where we're at.

"But we're very conscious that we have to improve considerably on that to go any further in the tournament."

Connolly also fired a broadside at England hooker Mark Regan who has earned himself a reputation as an unsettling influence in test match rugby.

"I've spoken to Paddy O'Brien to make sure (Regan) behaves himself. Picking him delivers an intent, and we just want to make sure the game is fair and clean, as opposed to the other side of the coin."

Mortlock assured everyone his problem shoulder was fine after missing Australia's last two pool games.

"The shoulder is great. I could have played last week but I wanted that extra week of rehab," Mortlock said. "I'm excited to play again. There's a lot of hype about this match, but as it gets closer we'll leave the words spoken, now it's time for action.