All Blacks v England
Kick-off: 7:05pm, Saturday 13 July
Eden Park, Auckland
Live: Live blog coverage on RNZ Sport starting at 7pm
The All Blacks and England go into battle again at Eden Park this weekend, after an absorbing first test that finished 16-15 to the home side in Dunedin. Last weekend saw the 30th anniversary pass of the All Blacks' last loss at the famous venue, with the years since seeing a World Cup win amongst the many victories achieved since.
But this is an England side that isn't fussed about history. Steve Borthwick's side are more than confident of a win against the All Blacks, after all, they were only a missed conversion away from a win last weekend. Scott Robertson is in a game of chess against his English counterpart, and the stakes are high. Forty-seven thousand people are in for this one at Eden Park, and it's the first time this fixture has been there in a decade.
Super Rugby Pacific Final, 2024. Photo: David Rowland/Photosport
Here's a look at the teams:
All Blacks: 1, Ethan de Groot 2. Codie Taylor 3. Tyrel Lomax 4. Scott Barrett (captain) 5, Patrick Tuipulotu, 6. Samipeni Finau 7. Dalton Papali'i 8. Ardie Savea (vice-captain) 9. Finlay Christie 10. Damian McKenzie 11. Mark Tele'a 12. Jordie Barrett 13. Rieko Ioane 14. Sevu Reece 15. Stephen Perofeta
Bench: 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 (vice-captain) 12. Ollie Lawrence 11. Tommy Freeman 10. Marcus Smith 9. Alex Mitchell 8. Ben Earl (vice-captain) 7. Sam Underhill 6. Chandler Cunningham-South 5. George Martin 4. Maro Itoje (vice-captain) 3. Will Stuart 2. Jamie George (captain) 1. Fin Baxter
Bench: 16. Theo Dan 17. Bevan Rodd 18. Dan Cole 19. Alex Coles 20. Tom Curry 21. Ben Spencer 22. Fin Smith 23. Ollie Sleightholme
All Blacks selections
Only one change for the All Blacks but it's a significant one. Finlay Christie comes in for only the third start of his 21-test career, after a 40-minute shift off the bench last weekend.
What does this do to the balance of the side? Christie's kicking last weekend was very good after a shaky start, pinning England in their 22 time and again, so it might mean Robertson will instruct his team to simply follow that plan from the start.
Scott Robertson gets ready for his first match Photo: Michael Thomas / Photosport
England selections
Another influential change for the English, with veteran Joe Marler replaced by rookie Fin Baxter in the front row. Baxter will have a ton of attention on him as the scrum was certainly a place the All Blacks will be targeting.
A late change on Friday sees Freddie Steward come in for the injured George Furbank, the 6'5 Steward having a very impressive reputation under the high ball - as well as putting in a very good performance the last time he played the All Blacks.
England full-back Freddie Steward scores a try during the Autumn Nations Series International rugby union match between England and New Zealand at Twickenham. Photo: AFP / Ian Kington
What they're saying
"When I was leaving Dunedin, there was a New Zealand supporter who said how well he thought we had done but he said, 'You will get beaten next week and we will beat you with style'. I said, 'Oh, really?'. He said, 'Yes, we didn't play with style.' So, there is an expectation that New Zealand will beat us with style. It is their record (30 years unbeaten at Eden Park). That is the pressure on them." - England coach Steve Borthwick.
"We all found out the nature of it, that's it's test football. The jeopardy at the end there, how we create those moments, and we might get 10 phases, we might not. It might be a stop-start, set piece game or could be more kicking. If it is two or three phases and we're kicking, we'll play the ball slowly… it depends on the nature of the game." - All Black coach Scott Robertson.
Past results
All Blacks 16 - 15 England
All Blacks 25 - 25 England
England 19 - 7 All Blacks (RWC)
All Blacks 16 - 15 England
All Blacks 24 - 21 England
Really, this is the tightest competition the All Blacks have had during the last decade. Yes, the Springboks have achieved more wins but that's been offset by a few blowout wins. England have come down seeking to repeat their famous World Cup semi-final win, however they're going to have to do it the hard way at Eden Park.
Prediction
Neither team wants to admit that the Eden Park factor is on their minds, but they'd be lying. The All Blacks clearly have a massive psychological boost being there, while the English haven't won on NZ soil since 2003.
It's tempting to think this will be another battle up front, scrums will be crucial and lineouts not far behind. The All Blacks kicked a lot last weekend, however will be desperate to get a couple of tries on the board early to get an arm's distance between them and the English.
Rush defence? Maro Itoje and Sam Underhill have big jobs for the English, while Samipeni Finau, Dalton Papali'i and Ardie Savea will be key for the All Blacks. Marcus Smith v Damian McKenzie is crucial, especially when the kicking tee comes out - but you really feel the most important match up is Scott Robertson v Steve Borthwick.
