Ardie Savea scores for the All Blacks against England at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
All Blacks v England
Kick-off: 4:10am Sunday 3 November (NZT)
Allianz Stadium (Twickenham), London
Live blog updates on RNZ Sport
It wouldn't be a test week against England without some off field drama, which was provided this time by Joe Marler questioning the validity of the haka. By Friday the English prop, who has been ruled out of the test for personal reasons, had contritely apologised and thanked people for helping him understand the haka - so good on you Joe, it certainly helped build a bit of a bridge back.
But now our attention turns to the test itself. England are back on home turf to start their northern season, while the All Blacks start the first of three very tough fixtures on the way to the end of a very tough year.
All Blacks winger Mark Tele’a scores the opening try during the New Zealand All Blacks v England, 2nd Test at Eden Park. Photo: Photosport
Here's a look at the teams:
All Blacks: 1. Tamaiti Williams 2. Codie Taylor 3. Tyrel Lomax 4. Scott Barrett (c) 5. Tupou Vaa'i 6. Wallace Sititi 7. Sam Cane 8. Ardie Savea 9. Cortez Ratima 10. Beauden Barrett 11. Caleb Clarke 12. Jordie Barrett 13. Rieko Ioane 14. Mark Tele'a 15. Will Jordan
Bench: 16. Asafo Aumua 17. Ofa Tu'ungafasi 18. Pasilio Tosi 19. Patrick Tuipulotu 20. Samipeni Finau 21. Cam Roigard 22. Anton Lienert-Brown 23. Damian McKenzie
England: 1. Ellis Genge 2. Jamie George (c) 3. Will Stuart 4. Maro Itoje 5. George Martin 6. Chandler Cunningham-South 7. Tom Curry 8. Ben Earl 9. Ben Spencer 10. Marcus Smith 11. Tommy Freeman 12. Ollie Lawrence 13. Henry Slade 14. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso 15. George Furbank
Bench: 16. Theo Dan 17. Fin Baxter 18. Dan Cole 19. Nick Isiekwe 20. Ben Curry 21. Alex Dombrandt 22. Harry Randall 23. George Ford
All Blacks selections
Cortez Ratima of New Zealand All Blacks during series against England, 2024. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Of course, the other big news of the week was the dropping of prop Ethan de Groot for breaching team standards. In comes Tamaiti Williams at loosehead, the only change to the top forward pack test selection Scott Robertson can put out. Cortez Ratima has won the race for the starting halfback spot, with Cam Roigard on the bench forming an interesting duo to try and pick apart the English rush defence. Mark Tele'a gets the wing spot, with Will Jordan at fullback.
England selections
England's Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Henry Slade celebrate. Photo: Photosport / Kerry Marshall
Steve Borthwick has kept the majority of his preferred side that played the All Blacks in July. The only change to his starting XV is Tom Curry coming into openside in place of Sam Underhill, otherwise the only other new faces are on the bench. Much will be riding on the form of Marcus Smith and how he can spark an exciting backline, as well as how effective the impressive loose forward trio of Curry, Ben Earl and Chandler Cunningham-South are.
What they're saying
"Twickenham is such an iconic place to play and the roar of the crowd there is like few others. The All Blacks have had some fierce battles there in recent years and that's a challenge that we will step forward to." - All Blacks coach Scott Robertson.
"We'll need to be accurate, keep our discipline, and maintain a level of intensity throughout the match, from the first whistle to the final moment." - England coach Steve Borthwick.
The last time they met
All Blacks 24 - 17 England
All Blacks 16 - 15 England
Scott Robertson started his test coaching career with a highly competitive and absorbing series against England, which really could've gone the other way had it not been for a few crucial moments. Sevu Reece was man of the match in the first test, which seems like a long time ago now for him, while Beauden Barrett's shift off the bench in the second proved to be a match-winning performance. The English introduced a very talented back three of Tommy Freeman, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and George Furbank, who left NZ with seriously enhanced reputations.
What's going to happen
The All Blacks are certainly a better side than they were the last time they played, but it will take one of their better efforts to get over an England side that took it to them earlier in the year. The Twickenham cauldron will be boiling, especially during the haka, so the need to silence the crowd early will be on the All Blacks' minds. The last two trips to Twickenham weren't kind to the All Blacks - in 2022 they blew a 25-6 lead with 10 minutes to play and ended up drawing 25-all, then last year against the Springboks they suffered the largest loss in All Black history.
