England battle New Zealand in what is likely to be their toughest Autumn Nations Series Test at Twickenham today.
Eddie Jones’ side head into a massive challenge against the formidable All Blacks having recovered from their shock defeat by Argentina with a seven-try thrashing of Japan last weekend.
While England were still far from perfect against the Brave Blossoms, they were much more clinical in attack and will need to take another step up if they are to compete against New Zealand, with another tough Test against the world champion Springboks also looming.
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It’s been an eventful and inconsistent year for the All Blacks, one of the most iconic teams in the world of sport, with a summer series defeat by Ireland followed by their first home loss to Argentina, while they had also been beaten by France and the Irish last autumn to cause plenty of speculation over the future of head coach Ian Foster.
However, they rallied to seal their latest Rugby Championship title over the summer and are now looking to complete a statement northern hemisphere clean sweep, having held off both Japan and Scotland already on this tour either side of a 55-23 bullying of Wales in Cardiff.
New Zealand will be out for another convincing victory here as they seek to lay down a marker ahead of their challenge for a fourth global title in France next year, following in the footsteps of the women’s side who outlasted England in an epic World Cup final tussle at Eden Park last Saturday.
This is the first time the men’s teams have met since England’s masterful display in the 2019 World Cup semi-final in Yokohama, where they prevailed 19-7. Indeed, it is only the third clash in the last eight years, with the All Blacks fighting back to prevail by a single point at a rain-soaked Twickenham back in the autumn of 2018.
Date, kick-off time and venue
England vs New Zealand is set to be played on Saturday November 19, 2022 with a 5:30pm GMT kick-off time.
The autumn Test will take place at Twickenham Stadium in south-west London.
How to watch England vs New Zealand
TV channel and live stream: Today’s game will be broadcast live on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service.
A subscription to Amazon Prime currently costs £8.99 in the UK. The service can be viewed across multiple platforms including smart televisions.
LIVE coverage: You can also follow all the action today with Standard Sport’s live match blog, featuring expert analysis from rugby correspondent Nick Purewal at Twickenham.
England vs New Zealand team news
Jones has named two number eights to take on the All Blacks, with Billy Vunipola returning and Sam Simmonds shifted to blindside flanker - a position he has not played for club side Exeter since 2017. Tom Curry completes a formidable back-row trio.
That means Maro Itoje moves inside to lock alongside Jonny Hill, with last week’s debutant David Ribbans dropping to the bench. The front row is unchanged.
There are two changes in the backs, with Manu Tuilagi back in for Guy Porter at outside centre and Jack Nowell back on the wing after an abdominal injury made him a late scratch from the team to face Argentina. The sprightly Jack van Poortvliet continues over Leciester team-mate Ben Youngs at scrum-half.
Joe Cokanasiga, initially dropped altogether from the squad to meet Japan despite his try against the Pumas before being called back into the starting XV late, is out once more. Owen Farrell earns his 100th senior England cap in midfield, while Bath prop Will Stuart is on the bench after injury.
Brodie Retallick is back in the All Blacks second row alongside long-time partner Sam Whitelock after serving a suspension, also earning his 100th Test cap.
There are nine changes from the 31-23 win over Scotland at Murrayfield, with Aaron Smith and Richie Mo'unga reunited at half-back and Jordie Barrett partnering Rieko Ioane in the centres, moving Beauden Barrett to full-back.
Codie Taylor and Tyrel Lomax come into the front row, with Scott Barrett moving to blindside flanker as a result of Retallick’s return. Mark Telea continues out wide after his two-try debut against Scotland.
England vs New Zealand lineups
England XV: Steward; Nowell, Tuilagi, Farrell (capt), May; Smith, Van Poortvliet; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Sinckler, Itoje, Hill, Simmonds, Curry, B Vunipola.
Replacements: George, M Vunipola, Stuart, Ribbans, Willis, Youngs, Porter, Slade.
New Zealand XV: B Barrett; Telea, Ioane, J Barrett, Clarke; Mo'unga, Smith; De Groot, Taylor, Lomax, Retallick, Whitelock (capt), S Barrett, Papali'i, Savea.
Replacements: Taukei'aho, Bower, Laulala, Frizzell, Sotutu, Perenara, Havili, Lienert-Brown.
England vs New Zealand officials
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referee 1: Damon Murphy (RA)
Assistant Referee 2: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)
England vs New Zealand prediction
It’s been a funny 12 months or so for the All Blacks, with some notably off-colour performances, uncharacteristic inconsistencies and defeats leading to strong calls for Foster to go and be replaced by Crusaders coach Scott Robinson.
However, he received the necessary backing in the summer and has managed to mostly turn things around, with no shortage of influence from former Ireland coach Joe Schmidt, who is now back in his native New Zealand as attack coach having started as an independent selector.
A makeshift team were pushed hard by Japan in Tokyo, before a typically dominant battering of Wales was followed by another scare at Murrayfield as Scotland missed arguably their best chance to topple New Zealand.
This is certainly not mission impossible for England, as Jones has been keen to point out, with a nice combination of speedy dynamism and physicality throughout the side.
But when push comes to shove, more often than not the All Blacks have the edge and the Test know-how to see jobs through, with no shortage of experience in Saturday’s lineup.
New Zealand to win a gruelling contest by seven points.
England vs New Zealand odds
England win: 5/4
New Zealand win: 4/6
Draw: 25/1
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
