England team winners and losers as Dan Cole set for ‘momentous’ milestone at Eden Park while unused nine watch on
Dan Cole is set for a milestone game for England.
Following the announcement of Steve Borthwick’s matchday squad for their upcoming Test against New Zealand at Eden Park, we pick out the winners and losers from the selection.
Borthwick’s charges delivered an impressive performance in last weekend’s opening match at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin as they gave their hosts an almighty scare before suffering a narrow 16-15 defeat.
The Red Rose will be hoping to build on that performance but face a daunting task as the All Blacks have not lost at Eden Park in their last 48 matches – a run which stretches back to 1994.
Here’s the winners and losers from Borthwick’s line-up.
Winners
Dan Cole
It will be a momentous occasion for 37-year-old Dan Cole as he is set to win his 115th cap when he comes off the bench and, in doing so, he will become England’s second most capped men’s player of all time behind Ben Youngs as well as his country’s most-capped men’s prop.
Despite his advancing years, the experienced tighthead showed that he can still do a job at international level when he came on as a second-half replacement in the opening Test and will be hoping for a similar display this weekend.
Marcus Smith
Although he had an off day with his goal-kicking in Dunedin – missing three shots at goal with one of them from right in front of the posts – Marcus Smith‘s general play was of a high standard and Borthwick has backed him to deliver the goods this weekend.
An improved performance off the tee is a must but the 25-year-old also has the ability to change the course of a match with his vast array of skills. If he gets good front foot ball from his forwards, Smith’s playmaking ability could help England to only their third win on New Zealand soil and the first one since 2003.
Fin Baxter
The young loosehead prop faced a baptism of fire when he made his Test debut as a replacement for Red Rose veteran and fellow Harlequin Joe Marler but he gave a good account of himself during a 63-minute stint in Dunedin and Borthwick has rewarded him with his first start in the international arena.
While he ultimately came off second best in the scrummaging department against Tyrel Lomax and Fletcher Newell, Fin Baxter impressed with ball in hand and on defence and will be determined to continue where he left off in those departments, while also delivering an improved effort in the set-piece battle.
Ollie Sleightholme
The Northampton Saints speedster came into the tour after showing his class with several outstanding performances for his club during their triumphant Premiership campaign and finished the season as that competition’s leading try-scorer.
Ollie Sleightholme became England’s latest international when he made a brief cameo off the bench last weekend and will again be keen to make the most of the opportunity this Saturday. Blessed with power and plenty of pace, he is sure to test the All Blacks’ defence late on.
Bevan Rodd
The Sale Shark was unlucky to miss out to Baxter last weekend but will get an opportunity off the replacements bench at Eden Park where he will be hoping to make up for lost time.
If England are to win this Test, the impact of their bench players will be crucial and Rodd will hope to be at the forefront of that onslaught. The 23-year-old has shown plenty of promise in the past and not let down his country in his previous Test appearances.
Losers
Joe Marler
Unlike fellow veteran front-row Cole, Marler will not have fond memories of this visit to New Zealand as he only lasted 17 minutes before suffering a foot injury in Dunedin which has ended his participation on this tour.
The 95-Test stalwart will be determined to make 100 international appearances for his country but if Baxter continues on his current upward trajectory, he could usurp Marler in the pecking order for both Harlequins and England.
Alex Dombrandt
After Ben Earl emerged as a world class number eight at last year’s Rugby World Cup in France, the writing was always on the wall for Alex Dombrandt and he needed to produce the goods at club level for Harlequins if he wanted to stay in the reckoning at Test level with England.
While he had some good moments with Quins and earned a call-up to the Red Rose squad for his first tour to New Zealand, he will not have fond memories of this trip as he won’t be seeing any action after failing to make the matchday 23 against Japan and for the Tests in Dunedin and Auckland.
Unused players
Following on from that it’s a similar story for Gabriel Oghre, Joe Heyes, Ben Curry, Ethan Roots, Fraser Dingwall, Luke Northmore, Joe Carpenter and Freddie Steward, who have not featured against the Brave Blossoms and All Blacks in June and July.
Emmanuel Iyogun and Nick Isiekwe will no doubt not be as disappointed, due to their late arrivals in the squad, but for the aforementioned eight plus Dombrandt, not playing a minute must be hugely frustrating as they hoped to press their case to Borthwick.
