England face New Zealand in their first match of the Autumn Nations Series campaign at the Allianz Stadium (Twickenham).
The home side have beaten the All Blacks eight times in their history, losing 35 times and drawing two.
Manager Steve Borthwick has recorded just a 54% winning percentage for England during his tenure, and despite all the talk of improvement under his watch, there are still doubts about his success.
This match against a historic rugby powerhouse is his chance to stamp his mark and prove that he is the right man for the job and can bring further success to his country.
Previous matchups:
These two teams are very familiar with each other. They played each other in Auckland and Dunedin in July and the All Blacks won both Tests but faced plenty of resistance from the visitors who gave a very good account of themselves.
England’s last win came in the semi-finals of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, which ended 38-21 – their first win at the Allianz Stadium since 2012 when everything seemed to be going well.
Key Matchups:
New Zealand number 12 Jordie Barrett is an injury doubt for the match, but Scott Robertson has given him a yellow card following a knee injury he suffered in September.
The opposite number to England’s number 13 is Henry Slade, another player doubtful for a starting spot. Slade has played just 54 minutes of rugby for Exeter Chiefs since undergoing shoulder surgery.
This battle could be won or lost based on who recovered better, who was more physically prepared, and if one side outperformed the other, there could be some serious questions about the choices presented to the losing coach.
The player with the most appearances on the pitch will be flanker Sam Cane. Sam Kane has 101 caps for England compared to his counterpart Chandler Cunningham-South, who has only seven caps.
Cunningham-South
Kane will be keen to leave an impact on his team and make a big splash as he retires from the national team at the end of 2024 to focus on club rugby for Tokyo Sungoliath.
Cunningham-South grew up in New Zealand, born in Sidcup but emigrating at the age of four and will be hoping to secure bragging rights for his adopted country.
With Chandler being only 21 years old, this battle between experience and youth is a match to watch and one that will either win or lose the game for each team.
At 8 o’clock, the two vice-captains, Ben Earl and Ardie Savia, will face off. The pair appear to have a mutual respect, with Savea saying before the July Test:
“He plays similar to me. He carries the ball, runs hard and has good feet.”
This respect should lead to good matchups between them, with plenty of opportunities for both men to show why they are better than the other, and due to the importance of their positions, it could be the difference between a win and a loss.
Bench Battle:
England have a very heavy bench up front, which suggests the game is likely to turn into a more attritional one, relying on physicality instead of pace later in the game.
Their concern is that if one of their backs gets injured during a game, they’ll have to shuffle the pack a lot to accommodate the guy coming forward.
There’s a good mix of experience and youth, with George Ford and Dan Cole providing the former and players like Harry Randall providing the latter.
New Zealand, on the other hand, have a wider range of positions directly covered from the bench, balanced by substitutes with a similar mix of experience and youth to England.
Perhaps the most intriguing player on either side of the bench is Cam Roigard. The Hurricanes halfback returns from a knee injury and has become a live wire for comparisons to Antoine Dupont. The player will cause absolute chaos on the pitch when he appears during a match.
Most recent form:
England have not played since the July Test when the two teams faced each other, leading to suggestions of rust and lack of proper preparation for this autumn’s Tests, a claim countered by the fact that England players are playing in the Premiership . , Naturally, I am ready.
On the other hand, New Zealand recorded 5 wins and 3 losses in 8 matches since July, performing poorly by domestic standards.
Those defeats came twice against World Cup champions South Africa and a surprising loss to Argentina in Wellington.
It could be argued that this has led to better preparation, but inconsistencies in results may indicate a lack of confidence in camp and a lack of that winning mentality that is so crucial in Test rugby.
Read more: Dylan Hartley – England will need to match the All Blacks’ intensity from the start of the game.
