England team: Baby-faced prop starts, Dan Cole hits HUGE milestone as Steve Borthwick ramps up pressure on ‘expectant’ All Blacks
England head coach Steve Borthwick alongside Dan Cole, who is set to his 115th cap.
England head coach Steve Borthwick has made just one alteration to his line-up to face the All Blacks at Eden Park this weekend.
Like New Zealand, who have also been forced into a change following TJ Perenara’s injury, the Red Rose have had to make a switch in the XV.
Joe Marler’s foot issue means that his Harlequins deputy, Fin Baxter, gets a first start after making his debut in the first Test last weekend.
Baxter had issues in the scrum, but the baby-faced loosehead was a ubiquitous presence in the loose and ended the game in credit.
Sorting their scrum problems
The prop will be looking to rectify England’s scrummaging problems against the All Blacks when he lines up alongside Jamie George and Will Stuart in the front-row.
Locks Maro Itoje and George Martin also have their part to play in the set-piece, while loose forward trio Chandler Cunningham-South, Sam Underhill and Ben Earl continue their partnership.
Behind the scrum, Alex Mitchell was impressive at scrum-half and he combines with Marcus Smith, who will look to improve his kicking accuracy, in the playmaking positions.
They will seek to dictate proceedings and supply centres Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade with some good ball, as well as the dangerous back three of George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Tommy Freeman.
On the bench, Bevan Rodd is the loosehead replacement after Baxter’s elevation to the starting XV, but they are otherwise unchanged.
That means Dan Cole is set to move ahead of Jason Leonard as the country’s most-capped men’s prop, and into second in the overall list behind Ben Youngs.
Theo Dan, Alex Coles, Tom Curry, Ben Spencer, Fin Smith and Ollie Sleightholme are the other replacements.
In numbers: The All Blacks INSANE unbeaten run at Eden Park since 1994
“Eden Park is a stadium packed with history and with memories of great rugby encounters, and we are delighted to be playing there on Saturday in what I anticipate will be another excellent Test,” Borthwick said.
“New Zealand has a formidable record at this venue, but with that comes the pressure of expectation. It will be interesting to see how New Zealand manages that expectation in front of a full house.
“I’d like to pay special tribute to Dan Cole who will become England’s second most capped men’s player of all time on the weekend.
“Dan has shown nothing but dedication and determination throughout his career, and reaching this milestone is a remarkable feat. He is a superb rugby player, a wonderful role model, and we all look forward to sharing a memorable day with him on Saturday.”
England team to face the All Blacks
England: 15 George Furbank, 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
Date: Saturday, July 13
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
Kick-off: 19:05 local (08:05 BST, 07:05 GMT)
Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Damon Murphy (Australia), Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)
