England are up against New Zealand again on Saturday in their Second Test against the All Blacks.
Seven days on from their agonising loss in Dunedin, Steve Borthwick’s side will have to pick themselves up and go again in a bid to finish their summer tour on a high.
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Though the impressive tourists certainly played their part in a tense First Test at Forsyth Barr Stadium, they ended up going down by a solitary point, 16-15, despite being level at half-time and twice leading on the night - including with just over 15 minutes to play.
Damian McKenzie saved an otherwise errant night from the tee with a couple of crucial late penalties to see the All Blacks squeeze home in Scott Robertson’s first game in charge and their first match since losing the Rugby World Cup final to South Africa in similarly close fashion in Paris in October.
Marcus Smith also had a kicking performance to forget, missing two straightforward penalties and a tough conversion in a tightly-contested, ultra-physical showdown.
Maro Itoje and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso had a try in each half for England, while Sevu Reece and Ardie Savea both notched in the first period for a New Zealand team in transition as they head into a fresh era.
It was unquestionably a spirited showing and a valiant effort from Borthwick’s men, but it was difficult to shake the feeling that they had missed perhaps the best chance they will ever get to topple an All Blacks team in their own backyard - something they have only managed twice ever and not since 2003.
A trip to Eden Park is simply as daunting a challenge as there is in the sport, with the All Blacks having incredibly not tasted defeat there since losing to France back in the summer of 1994 - a remarkable run that stretches back some 48 matches.
New Zealand vs England date, kick-off time and venue
The Second Test between New Zealand and England takes place on Saturday July 13, 2024.
The 50,000-capacity Eden Park in Auckland will host the contest, with kick-off scheduled for 8:05am BST - which is 7:05pm local time.
How to watch New Zealand vs England
TV channel: The Second Test will be shown live in the UK on Sky Sports. Coverage begins on both Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Action at 7:30am BST.
Live stream: Those with a Sky Sports subscription can also watch the match live online via the Sky Go app.
Live blog: Follow Saturday’s huge showdown live with Standard Sport’s dedicated match blog.
New Zealand vs England team news
Both sides initially made only one injury-enforced change each to their respective starting lineups from the bruising First Test in Dunedin.
England’s came in the front row, where prop Fin Baxter will make his first senior international start deputising for Joe Marler, having replaced his fellow Harlequins loosehead to make an early debut off the bench last weekend when the latter suffered a foot injury that has ruled him out of the remainder of the tour.
Baxter’s promotion means a place on the bench for Bevan Rodd, who had started for England in their 52-17 thrashing of Japan in Tokyo last month on the first leg of their summer tour before being dropped.
Otherwise Borthwick at first named the same squad, with veteran tighthead Dan Cole poised to come on as a replacement again to earn his 115th cap, moving clear of Jason Leonard for second place behind podcast partner and long-time Leicester team-mate Ben Youngs on England’s list of all-time appearance-makers.
However, George Furbank has since been forced to withdraw with a back injury, leading to Freddie Steward to take the No15 jersey in what will be his first Test appearance since February.
New Zealand’s only change is at scrum-half, where TJ Perenara is unavailable having been taken off at half-time in the First Test with a knee injury.
Finlay Christie replaced him off the bench in Dunedin and now starts, with the uncapped Cortez Ratima in reserve.
Flanker Samipeni Finau is fine to start again having gone off for a head injury assessment (HIA) last weekend.
Robertson has resisted the urge to recall vastly-experienced playmaker Beauden Barrett to his starting XV, with the versatile full-back having been benched last weekend in a big shock from the new head coach.
New Zealand vs England lineups
New Zealand XV: S Perofeta; S Reece, R Ioane, J Barrett, M Telea; D McKenzie, F Christie; E de Groot, C Taylor, T Lomax; S Barrett (c), P Tuipulotu; S Finau, D Papali’i, A Savea
Replacements: A Aumua, O Tu’ungafasi, F Newell, T Vaa'i, L Jacobson, C Ratima, A Lienert-Brown, B Barrett
England XV: F Steward; I Feyi-Waboso, H Slade, O Lawrence, T Freeman; M Smith, A Mitchell; F Baxter, J George (c), W Stuart; M Itoje, G Martin; C Cunningham-South, S Underhill, B Earl
Replacements: T Dan, B Rodd, D Cole, A Coles, T Curry, B Spencer, F Smith, O Sleightholme
New Zealand vs England head to head (h2h) history and results
England remain winless against the All Blacks in New Zealand since 2003, with their only other victory to date in the Land of the Long White Cloud coming all the way back on their 1973 tour.
The rest of their eight wins have all been at Twickenham, with the exception of their epic victory in the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
England had avoided defeat in their previous two games against the All Blacks before the First Test, having produced a roaring comeback to draw 25-all during the autumn international series of 2022.
New Zealand wins: 34
England wins: 8
Draws: 2
New Zealand vs England prediction
England deserve a lot of credit for how they performed in the First Test last weekend.
Amid a red-hot atmosphere underneath the bright lights and closed roof of the noisy Forsyth Barr Stadium, they more than held their own and but for a better kicking performance from Smith and a bit more attacking edge could have been celebrating their first win on New Zealand soil for 21 years.
After the absolute nadir of last summer, the progress we saw during the shock run to the World Cup semi-finals, throughout large parts of the Six Nations and then against Eddie Jones’ inexperienced Japan team is certainly continuing, with England a match for all of the world’s best sides on their day.
However, it is very difficult to escape the notion that they ultimately could not take advantage of their best chance to beat the All Blacks on their own turf, with New Zealand beginning a new era under former Crusaders coach Robertson and far from their firing best as they shook off the rust in their first match of 2024 minus a wealth of experience following the post-World Cup retirement of several stalwarts.
You get the sense that things will be far tougher this time around, not least because the All Blacks have long since forgotten what losing at Eden Park feels like.
Many of their current squad were not even born the last time New Zealand were defeated there way back in August of 1994.
It will take some effort from England to end that stunning streak, and it feels more likely that the impacts of a long and gruelling season will finally start to show during a more comprehensive loss than we saw in Dunedin.
New Zealand to win, by at least 10 points.
New Zealand vs England match odds
New Zealand to win: 2/9
England to win: 7/2
Draw: 30/1
