England vs. New Zealand: Steve Borthwick recalls big-hitters for All Blacks battle as England eye 10th straight win
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
England eye first home win against All Blacks since 2012
England pulled off one of the biggest upsets at the 2019 Rugby World Cup by beating New Zealand 19-7, a result that ended the All Blacks' reign as the kings of global rugby. Check out our England vs. New Zealand prediction for today’s blockbuster matchup.
Since then, though, the Red Roses have suffered four consecutive defeats to the Southern Hemisphere heavyweights, including three Tests in 2024. Notably, those losses last year all came by very slender margins.
However, Steve Borthwick’s side enter this clash with renewed confidence, as they are currently riding a nine-match win streak against all opponents, dating back to the 2025 Six Nations Championship when they lost to Ireland.
During this win streak, England’s first two victories were by a single point, but the seven thereafter were by an average of 25 points. Last weekend, they secured a fairly comfortable 38-18 victory over Fiji here at Twickenham, confirming our rugby predictions.
New Zealand, meanwhile, have won both games in this year’s Autumn Nations Series, albeit neither victory was entirely convincing, as they left it late against the Shamrocks in Chicago on week 1 and needed a moment of brilliance from Damian McKenzie last weekend at Murrayfield.
Itoje returns to lead England at Twickenham this weekend
Steve Borthwick went early with his squad selection for this weekend’s match, announcing his 23-man outfit on Tuesday, which features seven changes to the group that faced the Pacific Islanders last week.
Maro Itoje returns to the starting 15 and will resume captaincy, while there is plenty of movement in the pack, with Ben Earl shifting to number eight and Sam Underhill getting the nod at seven. Joe Heyes, Jamie George and Fin Baxter make up the front row.
Tom Roebuck and Freddie Steward are both set to rejoin the team, having shaken off injuries, and they will be joined by Immanuel Feyi-Waboso in an exciting back three. Tommy Freeman is the player who makes way on the right wing.
Borthwick has gone with a 6-2 split on the bench - the ‘Pom Squad’ - to which Scott Robertson has responded by moving Leicester Fainga’anuku to the wing and dropping Wallace Sititi to the bench for this weekend’s clash.
Like England, the All Blacks will be looking forward to the return of their skipper Scott Barrett for this match, and he is joined by Fabian Holland, Simon Parker, and the marauding Ardie Savea in a solid second row behind Ethan de Groot, Codie Taylor and Fletcher Newell.
England Squad vs. New Zealand:
England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Guy Pepper, 5 Alex Coles, 4 Maro Itoje (C), 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Jamie George, 1 Fin Baxter
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Chandler Cunningham-South, 20 Tom Curry, 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Ben Spencer, 23 Marcus Smith
New Zealand Squad vs. England:
New Zealand: 15 Will Jordan, 14 Leroy Carter, 13 Billy Proctor, 12 Quinn Tupaea, 11 Leicester Fainga’anuku, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Peter Lakai, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Simon Parker, 5 Fabian Holland, 4 Scott Barrett (C), 3 Fletcher Newell, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Pasilio Tosi, 19 Josh Lord, 20 Wallace Sititi, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Damian McKenzie
Eng vs NZ - Match details:
Date: Saturday, November 15
Time: 15:00 GMT (04:10 NZDT)
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
Live coverage: TNT Sports or via our rugby livescores
Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)
Assistant referees: Luc Ramos (FFR), Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
