England have employed two of these Springboks’ most criticised strategies into their game ahead of their showdown with the All Blacks this week.
England head coach Steve Borthwick has named Springbok-esque lineup for his team’s Test showdown against the All Blacks at Twickenham on Saturday.
In a double move straight out of the Springboks’ playbook, Borthwick not only picked a team consisting of a 6-2 bench split, he also revealed his lineup on a Tuesday, a play which was heavily criticised in New Zealand media when Rassie Erasmus did so in the Rugby Championship.
Jamie George will lead England as captain, supported by four vice-captains: Maro Itoje, Ben Earl, Ellis Genge and George Ford.
Genge returns to the front row alongside Will Stuart and Jamie George to anchor the England scrum.
Lock George Martin will partner Itoje in the second row, covering for Ollie Chessum’s recent knee injury.
Tom Curry strengthens the back row, joining No 8 Earl and Chandler Cunningham-South on the opposite flank.
Scrumhalf Ben Spencer will make his run-on debut alongside flyhalf Marcus Smith in the halfback pairing for England’s end-of-year opener at Twickenham.
Outside centre Henry Slade, recovered from shoulder surgery, resumes his midfield role alongside Ollie Lawrence. Fullback George Furbank, too, is back and links up with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Tommy Freeman in a dynamic back three.
ENGLAND BOSS KEEN TO TAKE DOWN ALL BLACKS
“We’re excited for the challenge of playing against one of the best teams in world rugby,” he said. “We’ll need to be accurate, keep our discipline, and maintain a level of intensity throughout the match, from the first whistle to the final moment.
“With just two games at Allianz Stadium in our last 15, it’s fantastic to be returning to play in front of our home crowd again. The energy and passion of our supporters always give the team an extra lift.”
ENGLISH TEAM VERSUS ALL BLACKS
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JUST IN :All Blacks v England: Joe Marler calls for haka to be banned before Twickenham clash due too…
Joe Marler has fanned the flames ahead of England’s game against New Zealand on Sunday (NZT) by calling for the All Blacks to get rid of the haka, claiming the pre-match tradition is “ridiculous”.
Marler posted on social media: “The Haka needs binning. It’s ridiculous.” Marler has since deleted his account on X – formerly Twitter.
While the England prop is not involved in this weekend’s match at Twickenham, his comments are bound to increase tensions between the two sides leading into England’s first game of the autumn.
Marler, 34, broke his foot during the first test between England and New Zealand earlier this year and has not played since then for club or country. Ellis Genge will start at loosehead prop for England this weekend, while Fin Baxter, Marler’s Harlequins teammate, has been named on the bench.
Marler has history when it comes to the haka, notably crossing the halfway line during the build-up to the 2019 Rugby World Cup semifinal. Marler was told to move back by referee Nigel Owens, and England went on to be fined £2000 ($4357) by World Rugby for breaching tournament rules “relating to cultural challenges”.
Marler later explained on The Jonathan Ross Show that England had confused how they were supposed to line up in response to the haka, ending up in a “V” formation.
“The issue was, Ben [Youngs] drew it up the night before … he got up and he did it on a flipchart and he marked it all out with Xs and Os,” Marler said at the time. “The issue I had with it is I look at that board and thought, “It’s not to scale” … I thought we were meant to be closer than what the picture said.
“[I went over the line] which I thought we were all going to do but then I looked back and they weren’t doing it but I thought, I’ve already committed now.”
All Blacks v England, Sunday 4.10am. Live commentary on Newstalk ZB, Gold Sport and iHeartRadio. Live match blog at nzherald.co.nz
