England v All Blacks combined XV: Marcus Smith features but New Zealand dominate
Split image of England's Marcus Smith and All Blacks' Ardie Savea.
As we gear up for a mighty clash between England and the All Blacks at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, we run through the two teamsheets and select a combined XV.
Not much split these two sides in the two previous meetings this year with New Zealand clinching a 16-15 victory in Dunedin and backed it up a week later with a 24-17 win in Auckland.
Like the results, there were some incredibly tight calls when selecting the combined XV with quality all over the pitch, as form and fitness ahead of the Test match weighing heavily in our decisions.
Combined England v All Blacks XV
15 Will Jordan (New Zealand): Already a tough call but the brilliant All Black just edges it for us against the ever-consistent England number 15 George Furbank. Jordan has the ability to break a game wide open and his ridiculous try-scoring rate is a testament to that. Furbank has a vastly different approach to the game with playmaking ability and calmness at the back which makes this an even more intriguing head-to-head.
14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (England): He simply has to be in the running for the World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year and he beats the 2023 winner of that award, Mark Tele’a, to a spot in our team. Feyi-Waboso has been sublime for England since making his Test debut earlier this year and as mentioned above, form has factored heavily into our decisions. Exeter have yet to win a game in the Premiership but Feyi-Waboso has still managed to be a standout while Tele’a has yo-yoed in and out of the All Blacks team this year.
13 Rieko Ioane (New Zealand): Earlier this year, this would have been a much closer call but Henry Slade has played just 50-odd minutes in the Premiership and while Ioane hasn’t set the world alight in 2024, he has done enough to edge the England veteran.
12 Jordie Barrett (New Zealand): Baby Barrett missed the All Blacks’ final game of the Rugby Championship but was a mainstay in the side before then and while he hasn’t been at the brilliant best he was at the World Cup, he has still been the glue in Scott Robertson’s backline. The wonderfully talented centre returns this weekend and goes toe-to-toe with the ever-improving Ollie Lawrence.
11 Tommy Freeman (England): Caleb Clarke enjoyed a breakout run of form in the Rugby Championship but Northampton Saints and England star Freeman has just been more consistently brilliant for his respective teams whether playing centre or wing.
10 Marcus Smith (England): This one might cause a bit of a debate as it did with the Planet Rugby selection committee as Beauden Barrett is undoubtedly one of the modern greats of the game. However, the All Blacks legend has played mostly at full-back this year and off the bench, so that gave Smith – who has been unreal in his own right – the edge. Still, this is going to be a stunning head-to-head on Saturday.
9 Cortez Ratima (New Zealand): A potential nominee for the Breakthrough Player of the Year along with Feyi-Waboso is the All Blacks’ new number nine Ratima, who enjoyed an outstanding Rugby Championship campaign. He gets the nod ahead of Ben Spencer – who earns his first start for England on Saturday – and again there wasn’t much splitting the two players as the Bath skipper has been excellent for his club.
The pack
8 Ardie Savea (New Zealand): We were tempted to shift Savea or Ben Earl onto the side of the scrum but that would be a disservice to other exceptional back-rowers that will be on display on Saturday. Instead, it is the All Blacks star who takes the number eight jersey. Some might argue that the current World Rugby Player of the Year isn’t quite at the level that he was in 2023 but he has still been magnificent for the All Blacks on both sides of the ball and been key in big moments in matches. Another incredibly tight call.
7 Sam Cane (New Zealand): Again, as we mentioned above, form and fitness factored into our selection and Cane has simply played more recently than Tom Curry. Both players are superb in contact and excellent at the breakdown which will make this another tasty head-to-head.
6 Chandler Cunningham-South (England): Two rising stars of the back-row collide in their first of what we believe will be a regular fixture in the years to come when these sides face off. There are many similarities that can be drawn between Cunningham-South and Wallace Sititi as both players can play at eight and on the side of the scrum and both have enjoyed stunning starts to their international careers. The Englishman is just further along in his than Sititi at this point in time and that was the deciding factor, again barely a hair in it.
5 Maro Itoje (England): While we opted not to shift the number eights, we did the locks as we accommodate both of the starting number fours. Itoje effectively plays loosehead lock anyway alongside the powerhouse George Martin – who is also unlucky not to make the combined team.
4 Scott Barrett (New Zealand): The All Blacks skipper joins Itoje in the second-row and boy do we have a battle on our hands in the engine room this weekend with Tupou Vaa’i also hitting excellent form in 2024. The set-pieces and breakdowns will be a war zone.
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3 Tyrel Lomax (New Zealand): Right now it’s hard to argue against Lomax being the best tighthead prop in the game. Frans Malherbe and Tadhg Furlong stake good claims but neither are quite as good as him around the park while he is certainly one of the best scrummagers in the game too. While Will Stuart has impressed with Bath, he hasn’t quite translated that form to the international stage.
2 Jamie George (England): Literally a coin toss. George was heads, Codie Taylor was tails and it landed the England captain’s way.
1 Tamaiti Williams (New Zealand): The final call that came down to fitness and Williams has played more Test rugby than the brilliant England loosehead prop. Ellis Genge will be keen to get struck right in but he misses by a fine margin to the ever-improving 24-year-old All Black.
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