All Blacks head into the unknown

Henry: England players a mystery

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New Zealand coach Graham Henry reacted to England's team selection for Saturday's Twickenham showdown by admitting many of their players are unknown to him.

Ayoola Erinle will make his full Test debut at inside centre while the likes of Tim Payne, Duncan Bell and Paul Hodgson are also unlikely to have entered Henry's radar.

England's team selection this autumn has drawn some quizzical looks but Henry at least understood the return of flanker Joe Worsley and Simon Shaw.

"I don't know some of them, to be frank," he said.

"Obviously I know Joe and Simon. They're top quality players and both did well on the recent Lions tour.

"They'll add physicality to the pack and I'm sure that's the goal.

"I don't know a lot about Erinle. We're doing a bit of homework on him. Hopefully by tomorrow we'll know a whole lot more."

While England have been decimated by injury, New Zealand have had the luxury of touring with a near full-strength squad.

To make matters worse for Martin Johnson, whose position is under scrutiny following poor performances against Australia and Argentina, the All Blacks have picked virtually their strongest line-up for Saturday.

Fly-half Dan Carter and openside Richie McCaw start, with only prop Neemia Tialata and full-back Cory Jane - both of whom are rested - missing from what is otherwise their most formidable line-up on tour.

In total there are 13 changes to the side that defeated Italy 20-6 in Milan with winger Sitiveni Sivivatu and lock Tom Donnelly the only survivors.

England, booed by their own fans during Saturday's 16-9 victory over Argentina, have lost their last seven matches against the All Blacks dating back to 2003.

But despite New Zealand's dominance in the fixture, Henry expects England to be galvanised by the criticism they have faced over the last two weeks.

"England have been here before haven't they?" he said. "They were booed during the 2007 World Cup and ended up reaching the final.

"They'll play very well and obviously have a physical gameplan in mind. They'll be highly motivated. We respect them.

"They're inclined to come right when they play big games. Playing Argentina was very difficult for them. They were expected to win while Argentina had nothing to lose and those games are difficult when you're not clicking.

"They'll be on the edge of the edge on Saturday. We know that and have no false illusions, even if other people do.

"They've brought a lot of physicality back into the side. We're expecting a big Test and there's no roof on Twickenham so the weather may make it interesting."

Tialata and Jane revealed their non-selection on social networking site Twitter on Monday, two days before the team was announced publicly, but Henry revealed he will not be disciplining the duo.

"It's not a major. I haven't lost any sleep over it. I'll give them a quiet reminder tomorrow to not go astray again," he said.

"I had to find out what Twitter was. I thought it was the new guy playing fly-half for England."