New Zealand v England: second men’s rugby union Test – live | Rugby union
Key events
2 min: Itoje almost nabs the kick-off with England taking the kick but it is S Barrett who takes it, the hosts work it left and send it up in the air to give England their first attack. They go through the phases but New Zealand are hugely impressive at the breakdown who turn over.
Kick-off! New Zealand 0-0 England
Here we go then. Can England destroy New Zealand’s Eden Park record? Or will the All Blacks continue to make it a fortress? All to come.
The teams cross over one another as the All Blacks get in position for the Haka. England stand arm-in-arm in a line to face it with New Zealand’s Codie Taylor leading. It is as intimidating and beautiful as ever.
It is a packed Eden Park and the England fans are most definitely outnumbered but they male themselves heard during the anthem. But the real noise comes with the New Zealand anthem, spine-tingling.
The players have emerged at Eden Park after a light show at the iconic ground. We will have the anthems and the Haka before we get underway in this second Test.
An important read here:
England boss Steve Borthwick told Sky Sports on George Furbank being replaced by Freddie Steward because of injury: “Fred is a young man but he is an experienced international rugby team. It is a young side but and exciting England side, we unfortunately lost Geroge Furbank but we have a player like Freddie coming in.”
New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson was asked about the 30-year Eden Park record by Sky Sports: “We have covered it briefly. You don’t talk about it, you do it with action.”
And he added on the scrum discussions this week: “It is good when you talk about scrums and you aren’t a front rower, the game is going great.”
I’d love to hear from you and find out where you are watching the game/getting your updates today. Are you on a beach on holiday? Cozy on your sofa? Get in touch and let me know via email or X (@rendellx).
Here’s a good read to preview the second Test from Rob Kitson who is in Auckland:
New All Blacks captain Scott Barrett has said of his new role: “I don’t think I’ll ever feel comfortable in the role and I think that’s a good place to be.
“I’ve got to play well. I’ve got to lead by example up front. That’s where my focus is and that will be my continued focus going forward.”
England head coach Steve Borthwick said: “If there’s one area I’d want to improve upon, there was a feeling midway through the second half that we weren’t as aggressive with the ball as we wanted to be. We’ve got such talent, pace and skill within this team. I want the players to go on to the grass on Saturday and play big.”
Read more:
The injury to George Furbank means Freddie Steward starts for England for the first time since the team played Wales in this year’s Six Nations. Since then Northampton Saints’ Furbank has been the preferred option.
The team news is here. New Zealand have made one change to their starting XV with Finlay Christie coming in at scrum-half for the injured TJ Perenara.
New Zealand: Stephen Perofeta; Sevu Reece, Rieko Ioane, Jordie Barrett, Mark Tele’a; Damian McKenzie, Finlay Christie; Ethan De Groot, Codie Taylor, Tyrel Lomax, Scott Barrett, Patrick Tuipulotu, Samipeni Finau, Dalton Papali’i, Ardie Savea
Replacements: Asafo Aumua, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Fletcher Newell, Tupou Vaa’i, Luke Jacobson, Cortez Ratima, Anton Lienert-Brown, Beauden Barrett
England, meanwhile, has made two changes. When Steve Borthwick announced the team there was only change with Fin Baxter coming in for the injured Joe Marler.
However, during the week another change has been made as George Furbank is injured. Freddie Steward now starts.
England: Freddie Steward; Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Henry Slade, Ollie Lawrence, Tommy Freeman; Marcus Smith, Alex Mitchell; Fin Baxter, Jamie George, Will Stuart, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Chandler Cunningham-South, Sam Underhill, Ben Earl.
Replacements: Theo Dan, Bevan Rodd, Dan Cole, Alex Coles, Tom Curry, Ben Spencer, Fin Smith, Ollie Sleightholme
Preamble
Hello and welcome to what is going to be a tasty second Test between New Zealand and England. The All Blacks secured a one-point victory in Dunedin last weekend but the performance will fill England with confidence that they can have a slice of history.
An England men’s team have not won a match against the All Blacks in New Zealand since 2003. Can they do so today? They are capable but they will have to topple the All Blacks at Eden Park, something no team has done for 30 years.
Both teams have been hampered by injuries and so on that basis they are on a level-playing field. We will have a look at the full team news shortly but it is interesting that Scott Robertson has opted for Stephen Perofeta again over Beauden Barrett.
The new head coach is certainly putting his print on the team after taking over from Ian Foster following the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Let’s take a look at that team news now before kick-off at 8.05am BST.
