I’m thinking back to Stuart Barnes’s column yesterday: it’s all very well holding back your best players for the end of the game, but what if the ABs are out of sight by then? Oh, and England have just lost their third lineout.
Scott Barrett talked about silencing the Twickenham crowd on Friday, and the All Blacks have done that. Pin drop stuff, suddenly, at times here.
Marcus Smith on for Freddie Steward, who departs for an HIA. Do England change the kick-to-compete plan for ten minutes? They haven’t had too much joy from that yet, bar a couple of crumbs. Some kicks have just been too long.
England have been punished
Alex Lowe, at Twickenham
England fail to take chances and then make error upon error. Ain’t gonna beat the All Blacks playing like that. Four careless minutes that give England a mountain to climb.
How quickly things can change
Will Kelleher, at Twickenham
Wow, and now look, it’s all New Zealand. Try, Ford kick-off out on the full, Roigard 50:22, Jordan break. Back the other way, Taylor try with England cut to ribbons. Uh oh…
Wonderful execution from the All Blacks.
TRY! England 0-12 New Zealand
That’s another score for New Zealand, this time from hooker Codie Taylor. Two tries in three minutes. A lovely break from Will Jordan creates chaos in the England defence.
New Zealand get the ball wide and Taylor, stood out in the wide channel on the left, gathers the ball and steps inside Alex Mitchell to dive over unopposed. No mistake from the tee this time from Barrett.
TRY! England 0-5 New Zealand
Leicester Faingaʻanuku, or to use his full name, Leicester Ofa Ki Wales Twickenham Faingaʻanuku, powers over through a crowd of England defenders to give the All Blacks the lead.
Beauden Barrett misses the conversion
Alex Lowe, at Twickenham
England spent the first eight minutes in NZ territory, attacking with lightning quick ball (every ruck coming in below three seconds) but they came away with nothing.
That is an early concern. In defence, England are bringing the heat. High speed, high pressure forcing NZ back 30 metres…only for Freddie Steward to shank a kick and Beauden Barrett drills a touch-finder and takes play into England’s 22.
Good start from England, but nothing to show for it
Owen Slot, at Twickenham
The All Blacks are properly back in this game now. I’m already reflecting on England’s electric start. Those linebreaks into the Kiwi 22 — zero points.
That is brilliant from Savea
Will Kelleher, at Twickenham
Ardie Savea with a game-stopping turnover there. Richie McCaw talked about him on The Ruck — the “old dog” — in that exact context with us this week. His ability to change the momentum of games is exceptional.
Will Kelleher, at Twickenham
This crowd is so engaged, but in a different way to usual. The big moments they’re right up for, and we get a sudden burst of volume, and then it goes all tense and quiet to the point where you can hear the players chatting in the defensive line. Expect the decibel-o-meter to rise significantly if there is an early England try.
Alex Lowe, at Twickenham
Great intensity from England right from the off. Big tackles from Sam Underhill and Freddie Steward; a great take from the full back and then a beautiful line from Ollie Lawrence.
As expected, the crowd are loving every intricacy. George Ford sticks up a perfect spiral bomb which causes more chaos at the back for NZ. Enthralling start.
England challenge the haka
England players replicate Yokohama 2019 and form a V shape in response to the New Zealand haka, which gets a mighty roar from the Twickenham crowd.
Will Kelleher, at Twickenham
“No flying-V this week, Maro?” I asked Itoje this week. “Haha, no flying-Vs”
I never believed it for a second. Great theatre!!
Owen Slot, at Twickenham
Henry Pollock’s face during the haha — hilarious. At one point he actually licked his lips.
England have to build the score whenever they can
Alex Lowe, at Twickenham
There is a big game buzz inside the stadium today. Jerusalem got a hearty roar. It’s the kind of game when I can see every high ball, every tackle, every break getting a roar from the crowd. This is not a day for aesthetics.
If I was England, and given their struggles in converting pressure into points, I would be taking drop goal attempts early and often. Build the score…3 – 6 – 9…
Ballsy Steve Borthwick giving England an identity the All Blacks lack
We don’t know exactly how Scott Robertson really wants his All Black team to play. He has nearly completed two years as head coach and they haven’t yet nailed down an identity. A New Zealand Herald columnist has compared Robertson’s team with the All Black “Invincibles” of 1924-25 and “The Incomparables” of 1996 by dubbing this lot “The Inconclusives”.
Steve Borthwick’s team, meanwhile, are progressing towards conclusions. He has moved England away from a team traditionally built on the foundations of a heavyweight pack to one built around the bountifully rich skills of a highly athletic back row; even to the point where he is considering one of them on the wing.
Lots of high balls in the warm-up
Will Kelleher, at Twickenham
Steve Borthwick has been starting an England warm-up match with a contestable high-ball each time, with Freddie Steward and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso competing for the tap-back, and the receivers waiting for the “crumbs”. Do we think that might be a theme of the day!? You betcha.
‘The aura has been chipped away’ — how the All Blacks lost their fear factor
The famed All Blacks aura. It was once about mystique; this team of sublime and exotic rugby players from the other side of the world, armed with their own war cry, whom we so rarely saw play.
But these days, everyone knows that the All Blacks are beatable. New Zealand operate with a 76 per cent win record under Scott Robertson, who took charge after the 2023 World Cup and immediately lost an experienced core of players.
They have match-winning players, no doubt, and a victory at Twickenham would leave New Zealand needing only a win in Cardiff to complete a grand-slam tour, their first clean sweep of the home nations in 15 years. New Zealand are not a poor team but nor is this a vintage All Blacks side. England will be disappointed if they do not win, just as Scotland were last weekend. Narrow defeats by New Zealand are no longer signs of progress.
Hoping for better process at Twickenham
Stephen Jones, at Twickenham
Hope the England v New Zealand game avoids the endless interruptions which have disfigured the Italy v South Africa game. Why do all three officials have to gather in a meeting when there is a ref and a TMO for every incident? Time taken for argument is ridiculous.
And then after a final decision is made why on earth do refs feel obliged to call the two captains together to explain. The call isn’t going to change, the captains had speak to the ref later in the team room. Game is making a fool of itself.
Why Steve Borthwick has put faith in breakdown beast Guy Pepper
The numbers showcase how balanced England’s new back row is — and why Borthwick has again turned to Guy Pepper and Sam Underhill either side of Ben Earl against New Zealand this weekend.
Pepper stands out most at the breakdown. Since the start of the 2024-25 season, when he joined Bath from Newcastle Falcons, the 22-year-old leads the way in the Gallagher Prem for turnovers won and number of rucks hit in attack and defence.
When the opposition have the ball, Pepper’s “effectiveness” at rucks is rated as 22 per cent, the highest figure among England back-row forwards, most of whom are around the 15 to 20 per cent mark, although Chandler Cunningham-South is at zero.
Late change for New Zealand
Will Kelleher, at Twickenham
All Blacks forced into a change. Fabian Holland has been withdrawn from the match with illness. Josh Lord will start in the No5 jersey and Sam Darry comes onto the bench.
Sam Warburton: There for the taking? All Blacks prove that theory wrong every year
How many times have New Zealand come to these shores for an autumn series and everyone has been saying that they are there for the taking? It has probably been the case every year since the 2015 World Cup, but every year they just rock up and do the business.
If I try to put myself in the shoes of the All Blacks players, I would be thinking, “Here we go again!” But there is one thing I will say about this New Zealand team: they can be outmuscled for periods of the game when the opposition gather momentum.
Having played against them and watched them, I would never say they’re not a physical side but teams have shown recently that it is possible to get on top of them physically at certain times in matches. Scotland showed it last weekend. Ireland showed it a little bit, but not much, and that’s why they did not win the game in Chicago.
Will Kelleher en route to Twickenham
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Enable cookiesAllow cookies onceInteresting happenings in Turin
Stuart Barnes, at Twickenham
In the warmth of the press room pre match; the food (lamb) is excellent. Sat watching the early kick-off between South africa and Italy in Turin. The decision to send off Springbok second row Franco Mostert for a high tackle will rightly infuriate Rassie Erasmus. Never a straight red.
The sport has its cards in a right mess….look forward to England v NZ and Rassie’s reaction to events. See what you think to the sending off.
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Enable cookiesAllow cookies onceThe sledging has begun already
Will Kelleher, at Twickenham
Man on the Tannoy by the stadium: “to all those from New Zealand, please cheer up. We know you’re wearing black for a reason but this is a rugby match not a funeral.”
Let’s call it mild sledging. A more confident air about England today? Misplaced? Can’t wait to find out who has what today.
England hunt their ‘Manu moment’ to prove they are real deal
It was inside the training hub during a team meeting on Thursday morning that Jamie George harked back to one special day in particular: December 1, 2012, when Manu Tuilagi ran riot as England defeated New Zealand 38-21 at Twickenham. Man, the old stadium was alive that afternoon.
None of this squad were playing Test rugby 13 years ago. Maro Itoje, the England captain, was in sixth form at Harrow School. Chandler Cunningham-South was growing up on a farm north of Auckland. Henry Pollock was at primary school. But that was the point. This is a fixture that England only tend to win once in a generation and George, 35, wanted to outline the scale of the opportunity that awaits them on Saturday.
“‘Jamie said ‘Why can’t we be the next team that they talk about? The 2025 England team’. It’s definitely part of my motivation,” George Ford, the England fly half, said.
Richie McCaw: An All Black should be ready to perform, not developing
The prizes Richie McCaw gathered over 148 Test matches — suffering only 16 losses — fade further into the background with every passing year. He is 44 now, and it is ten years since the All Blacks won a World Cup.
So what does McCaw make of the sense that the present-day New Zealand team are eminently beatable but on a development path?
“One thing I never like talking about is that you’re developing as an All Black,” he told The Ruck podcast earlier this week. “You should be ready to go and perform.”
• Read the full story with the former All Black captain
The All Blacks are boosted by the return of their captain Scott Barrett. He starts at lock having missed the 25-17 win over Scotland last Saturday with a cut leg. Leicester Fainga’anuku moves from centre to the left wing, as Caleb Clarke is injured, with 6ft 3in Simon Parker starting at blindside flanker for his size.
Scott Roberston, the New Zealand head coach, has left Damian McKenzie and Wallace Sititi on his bench, in order to help diffuse Borthwick’s “Pom Squad”.
New Zealand team to play EnglandWill Jordan; Leroy Carter, Billy Proctor, Quinn Tupaea, Leicester Fainga’anuku; Beauden Barrett, Cam Roigard; Ethan de Groot, Codie Taylor, Fletcher Newell, Scott Barrett, Fabian Holland, Simon Parkwe, Ardie Savea, Peter LakaiReplacements Samisoni Taukei’aho, Tamaiti Williams, Pasilio Tosi, Josh Lord, Wallace Sititi, Cortez Ratima, Anton Lienert-Brown, Damian McKenzie
Steve Borthwick has backed his “Pom squad” bench full of British & Irish Lions to overcome the All Blacks, helped by the calming influence of fly half George Ford who he says could one day follow him as England head coach.
Borthwick has left Lions Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Will Stuart, Tom Curry, Henry Pollock and Marcus Smith in reserve, hoping to continue the team’s recent theme of improving as the game progresses. However, injuries mean he has had to shuffle his pack and back line for the match at Twickenham.
Ollie Chessum (ankle) and Tommy Freeman (hamstring) are unfit, so Freddie Steward starts at full back. Tom Roebuck returns from an ankle injury he suffered in training last week to start on the right wing instead of Freeman, with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso retained on the left wing.
Hello and welcome to our coverage of the Quilter Nations Series Test between England and New Zealand at Twickenham.
Steve Borthwick’s side have only beaten the All Blacks eight times across 46 games, and have not won on home soil since 2012.
Our writers will be bringing you analysis from HQ, stay tuned.