Allianz Stadium TWICKENHAM, LONDON 3:10pm (GMT)
- England’s New Look for November Series Opener Against All Blacks
- Cunningham-South Takes Blindside Flanker Role
- Smith and Slade Key in England’s Backline
- Marler Sparks Controversy Over Haka Remarks
- England’s Starting XV for the Clash Against the All Blacks
- De Groot’s Omission Highlights Team Protocol Breach
- Williams Takes Over at Loosehead Prop for All Blacks
- Wholesale Changes in the All Blacks Line-up
- All Blacks Starting XV Announced for England Test
England’s New Look for November Series Opener Against All Blacks
Ben Spencer will get his first test match start, on his seventh appearance, after being named at halfback in the team for England’s opening November series test against the All Blacks at Twickenham on Sunday.
Cunningham-South Takes Blindside Flanker Role
Chandler Cunningham-South has been selected as the blindside flanker, joining Tom Curry and Ben Earl in the back row, while regular back rower Sam Underhill has not been included in the squad.
Smith and Slade Key in England’s Backline
Marcus Smith is the starting first five-eighth, with George Ford on the bench, while Henry Slade starts at centre having proved his fitness playing his first game of the season for Exeter at the weekend.
Marler Sparks Controversy Over Haka Remarks
Joe Marler has fanned the flames ahead of England’s game against New Zealand on Sunday by calling for the All Blacks to get rid of the haka, claiming the pre-match tradition is “ridiculous”.
Marler took to social media to state, “The haka needs binning. It’s ridiculous.” Although the England prop won’t be playing in this weekend’s match at Twickenham, his remarks are likely to heighten tensions between the two teams as England prepares for its first game of the autumn.
The 34-year-old has been sidelined since breaking his foot during the first test against New Zealand earlier this summer and has yet to return to action for either club or country. Ellis Genge will start at loosehead prop for England this weekend, with Fin Baxter, Marler’s teammate at Harlequins, named on the bench.
England’s Starting XV for the Clash Against the All Blacks
THIS JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU WHAT AN IDIOT THIS GUY IS..
England: George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Henry Slade, Ollie Lawrence, Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer, Ben Earl, Tom Curry, Chandler Cunningham-South, George Martin, Maro Itoje, Will Stuart, Jamie George (captain), Ellis Genge.
Reserves: Theo Dan, Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Ben Curry, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall, George Ford
De Groot’s Omission Highlights Team Protocol Breach
All Blacks loosehead prop Ethan de Groot has paid a heavy price for breaching team protocols.
De Groot has been dumped from the All Blacks team to play England in London on Sunday morning (NZT), with coach Scott Robertson confirming his omission had nothing to do with his on-field performances.
“Ethan didn’t meet internal standards,” Robertson said.
When asked for more details by a reporter at the press conference, Robertson offered: “Just the internal standards. In general he didn’t meet them, so he’s not available for selection this week.”
Williams Takes Over at Loosehead Prop for All Blacks
Tamaiti Williams has been named to start at loosehead prop against England. Ofa Tu’ungafasi has been listed on the reserves bench as cover De Groot, when available, has been the first-choice loosehead for the All Blacks for the majority of the season.
He started both tests against England in Dunedin and Auckland in July, and has totalled six appearances this year. De Groot didn’t play the tests against the Springboks in Johannesburg and Cape Town because of a neck injury.
Last year the All Blacks axed wing Mark Tele’a from their team to play Ireland in the World Cup quarterfinal in Paris for breaching team standards. It was understood Tele’a broke curfew during the lead-up to the game.
Tele’a returned to start in the No 11 jersey for the semifinal and final.
Wholesale Changes in the All Blacks Line-up
Robertson has made wholesale changes to the side that beat Japan 64-19 last weekend.
Only loose forwards Wallace Sititi and Sam Cane, along with Williams, remain from the forward pack that started against the Brave Blossoms in Yokohama.
Sititi has shifted to blindside flanker, to allow Ardie Savea to slot into No 8. Just one of the starting backs from the test against Japan has been retained. Tele’a has shifted from the left wing to the No 14 spot. He replaces Sevu Reece.
Beauden Barrett has won the race for the No 10 jersey ahead of Damian McKenzie. The latter played in Japan, while Barrett was in the advance of party of 11 players went to London to prepare for the England test.
Veteran halfback TJ Perenara has been omitted from the match-day 23.
Cortez Ratima will start at halfback, with Cameron Roigard on the bench.
All Blacks Starting XV Announced for England Test
All Blacks: Will Jordan, Mark Tele’a, Rieko Ioane, Jordie Barrett, Caleb Clarke, Beauden Barrett, Cortez Ratima, Ardie Savea, Sam Cane, Wallace Sititi, Tupou Vaa’i, Scott Barrett, Tyrel Lomax, Codie Taylor, Tamaiti Williams.
Reserves: Asafo Asumua, Ofa Tu’ungafsi, Pasilio Tosi, Patrick Tuipulotu, Samipeni Finau, Cam Roigard, Anton Lienert-Brown, Damian McKenzie
What to expect.
Anyone who has watched an England-All Blacks test at Twickenham knows that when the majority of the 80,000-strong crowd is excited and noisy, it feels like the stadium is built on a foundation made of jelly.
Everything seems to shake and the sound swirls around inside the famous arena.
The locals also don’t mind giving the visitors plenty of stick, and given the coaches sit outside, not in a cosy enclosed box, they should be prepared to cop a bit of lip.
England will be well up for this. Coach Steve Borthwick has lost a couple of assistant coaches during the northern summer, but the replacements will be instructed to groom the players to reproduce their efforts from the tour to New Zealand.
Expect a fast defensive line from the hosts, and to counter it the All Blacks will probably use Beauden Barrett to deliver cross-kicks to his outside backs. The All Blacks had a superior scrum in Dunedin and Auckland. Even with de Groot having been dropped, their set-piece shouldn’t disappoint.
England haven’t played a test since their two-match tour of New Zealand in July.
Although they lost both matches, the Englishmen departed with their dignity intact. The All Blacks, and their supporters, tipped their hats to the side led by Jamie George.
England’s lineout caused the All Blacks a lot of angst, especially Maro Itoje, and their blitz defence repeatedly rattled their opponents’ backline.
But the All Blacks held their nerve. The 2-0 series win was the perfect way for new coach Scott Robertson to begin his reign. It was followed by an easy win over Fiji in San Diego.
Then came the mighty crash back to reality. The All Blacks lost to Argentina in Wellington, just the second defeat to that opponent on New Zealand soil. A couple of weeks later, the All Blacks announced assistant coach Leon MacDonald had departed.
The All Blacks then slumped to two consecutive losses to the world champion Springboks in South Africa, and although they retained the Bledisloe Cup against the Wallabies they failed to defend the Rugby Championship crown.
Last week the All Blacks beat Japan in Yokohama. The team named to play England is vastly superior to the one rolled the Brave Blossoms.
The heavy hitters are back – apart from loosehead prop Ethan de Groot. He’s been dropped for internal discipline reasons.
This will be a tight game with only a couple of points deciding the winner.
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