New Zealand Vs. England Preview: Razor's Men To Slice Through England
New Zealand Vs. England Preview: Razor's Men To Slice Through England
New Zealand's All Blacks will face England in Auckland in an intriguing test match. Here's a preview of the Scott Robertson-Steve Borthwick matchup.
It’s coming home!
To borrow the now well-worn slogan that is being bandied about from the streets of London to the rolling hills of the lake district, England has been gripped by Euro 2024 fever.
As Gareth Southgate’s side steadies itself for a tilt at history against Spain a day earlier, Steve Borthwick’s England Rugby team will be looking to carve out a little slice of history, too, when facing the All Blacks in Auckland.
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Not since 1994 have the Kiwis been downed at the famous Eden Park in Auckland. That year, a mercurial French side produced a moment of magic that would be dubbed ‘the try from the end of the world.'
On that day, a future icon of the sport, Philippe Saint-André, started the move that ultimately would put the All Blacks into a tailspin of despair.
While Borthwick’s side is far from the finished article the French side of 1994 was, the foundations from which they are building are supremely promising.
On the other side of the whitewash is an All Blacks side that snuck home by a single point a week ago to get the Scott ‘Razor’ Robertson era off to a winning start.
The match itself was a cracker, with both sides clearly willing to play ball, despite the score ending 16-15.
As ever when the margins are so fine, the minute details will be trawled over like an Alaskan fishing vessel in the Bering Sea. Setting up their team for success this weekend, one can bet the meticulous English coaching staff spearheaded by Borthwick and Felix Jones will have left no stone unturned in their pursuit of marginal gains.
To avoid being on the wrong side of history, Robertson undoubtedly will have done the same in-depth assessment of the first test and could well feel like his team perhaps has more scope for improvement than the visitors.
Dominating the scrum was a major feather in the cap for the men in black, but their inability to routinely punish England from this platform no doubt will be the key focus as they build up to this weekend’s test.
Securing 62% of their rucks under three seconds usually would see a ‘black wash’ unfold with the New Zealanders ripping to shreds their helpless opponents, but this certainly was not the case. Instead, Borthwick’s side showed a dogged edge to stay in touch, while the All Blacks looked tetchy, which will be another area where Robertson will go to work if his past with the Crusaders is anything to go by.
During his time in Christchurch, Robertson’s ‘Saders’ sustained excellence season after season and rarely put in back-to-back subpar performances.
For his part, Borthwick piled the pressure on Robertson’s side this week in a rare showing of gamesmanship from the usually stoic former lock.
“There is an expectation that New Zealand will beat us with style," Borthwick said. "It is their record. That is the pressure on them. They are the ones who have to try to keep it. It is not us. That is the pressure and expectation that is on them.
“We were really disappointed we didn’t win last weekend. They talked a lot afterwards about relief. By watching them and seeing what was going on in their coaches’ box, we certainly caused some stress, and hopefully, we can do that again.”
Team News
Making just two changes to his team from the first test, as Joe Marler bows out of the tour with injury, Borthwick has opted for the dynamic Fin Baxter in the front row.
Offering front-row cover from the bench, Bevan Rodd will start on the bench to provide the cover.
In the back line, another injury has forced Borthwick’s hand, with George Furbank’s unavailability paving the way for a return to the No. 15 shirt for Freddie Stewart.
Robertson has mimicked Borthwick in keeping changes to a minimum, with Finlay Christie getting the nod due to TJ Perenara’s leg injury. Filling the back-up scrumhalf position is potential debutant Cortez Ratima.
Key Battle
Usually, with a test match of this magnitude, there are several head-to-head matchups that could fill this segment of a preview piece.
For this fixture, however, there is one area that stands above the rest, given what transpired in Dunedin a week ago.
Rarely is England thumped at scrum time, but in the first test, it was somewhat of a no contest, as the All Blacks clearly held the ascendancy in this department.
Now, shorn of the experienced Joe Marler, the pressure on the England front row and, in particular, Fin Baxter, is significant.
If they cannot at least gain parity this week, then the potential of the All Blacks ratcheting through the gears quickly becomes very real.
Prediction
Both sides have true game-breaking talent, and as the first test showed, when both sides front up, there is little to choose between them.
This weekend will be no different, as England smells blood in the water with the pressure that comes with the All Blacks' 48-game unbeaten run at Eden Park.
Negating this pressure, the All Blacks will be all business, focusing on the vast areas they can improve. Subconsciously, or perhaps even discussed, Robertson and his side will feel as though England caught them cold last week, and despite this, they still won.
Whatever one's persuasion is on this front, the potential for an all-time classic between these two certainly is there.
Based on 100-plus years of evidence and the very real Eden Park factor, it is hard to believe the All Blacks, under arguably the most exciting coaching talent in pro rugby, won’t be significantly better this week. For these reasons, and the clear scrum issues had last week, the All Blacks will pull clear this week, but it will take some time for England to succumb. New Zealand by 12.
Lineups:
New Zealand
15 Stephen Perofeta, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Mark Tele’a, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Finlay Christie, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Dalton Papali’i, 6 Samipeni Finau, 5 Patrick Tuipulotu, 4 Scott Barrett (c), 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Tupou Vaa’i, 20 Luke Jacobson, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Beauden Barrett
England
15 Freddie Steward, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Tommy Freeman, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George, 1 Fin Baxter
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Alex Coles, 20 Tom Curry, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Fin Smith, 23 Ollie Sleightholme
How To Watch England Vs. New Zealand Rugby
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World Rugby Rankings 2024
- South Africa, 94.86
- Ireland, 90.37
- New Zealand, 90.12
- France, 88.49
- England, 85.66
- Scotland, 82.82
- Argentina, 80.10
- Australia, 78.15
- Italy, 77.99
- Fiji, 77.44
- Wales, 76.58
- Japan, 74.04
- Samoa, 73.65
- Georgia, 72.95
- Tonga, 71.57
- Portugal, 70.28
- Uruguay, 67.39
- USA, 66.01
- Spain, 64.37
- Romania, 63.59
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