Saturday 14 June 2008
NEW ZEALAND v ENGLAND
Match Preview

England captain Steve Borthwick leads a relatively experimental side against the All Blacks at Eden Park on Saturday, desperate to begin the post-Brian Ashton era strongly. Although lacking head honcho Martin Johnson for family reasons, not to mention a dedicated backs coach, confidence in the England camp is high. Although stripped of a number of frontline players including Danny Cipriani, Paul Sackey, Nick Easter, Jonny Wilkinson and Simon Shaw because of injury, Borthwick said England, the last side to win a Test in New Zealand back in 2003, were determined to mark the first game of the Johnson era with a performance to remember.

"First and foremost, when you come down here it is formidable and you have to have courage to take New Zealand on," he said. “We have got to be relentless in the way we approach the game because this New Zealand team will expose any mistake and we have got to be ambitious in the way we try to play. We have to set our goals high. Challenges don't come much bigger than this one and it is very clear that we will have to be at the best of our ability this weekend."

Andy Sheridan, the sole survivor of the 2007 World Cup final starting team heads up a front row including Lee Mears and Matt Stevens, both having been on outstanding form for Bath all season. Their destructive scrummaging, as well as work in the loose should give England a fair bit of go forward. Borthwick is joined by Wasps lock Tom Palmer after his impressive club form. The withdrawal of Nick Easter means Luke Narraway is given the number 8 shirt, lining up with James Haskell and Tom Rees, the latter dislodging first choice Six Nations openside Michael Lipman from the team, in a surprising move from selector Rob Andrew.

Steve Borthwick in action against Ireland earlier this year

Olly Barkley is back at inside-centre after missing the Six Nations after Ashton decided to remove him from the squad as the Bath star contested assault charges which were subsequently dropped. The absence of Cipriani and Wilkinson sees Sale fly-half Charlie Hodgson make his first Test start since damaging knee ligaments against South Africa in November 2006. Hodgson was part of an England side overwhelmed 36-3 and 36-12 four years ago in New Zealand but was a regular in the 2005 Lions' unbeaten midweek team when he won praise from All Blacks coach Graham Henry.

"I draw on the experiences like 2004 and, like everyone says, you learn more from the bad ones," he said. “Yes, perhaps I am more experienced and more relaxed about the way things are. The fortunate thing about rugby, is you get the chance to put things right.

With Sackey out, Harlequins and London Irish flyers David Strettle and Topsy Ojo are England’s wingers, while Mike Brown is at fullback.

Wasps back-rower James Haskell

The All Blacks have lost the likes of Carl Hayman, Luke McAlister, Doug Howlett, Byron Kelleher and Jerry Collins since the World Cup after they decided to call time on their careers in New Zealand, with the All Blacks refusing to pick players who play outside the country. But they still have plenty of strength in depth and go into the match on the back of a not entirely convincing 21-11 win over Ireland.

Coach Henry said: "We should benefit from another week of training together. It will take a bit of time to establish this team and we need to take another couple of steps forward this weekend. We'll have to be a bit sharper if we are to defeat England. They have some very experienced internationals plus some new players coming through who might not be well-known in New Zealand, but will be a real challenge on Saturday."

Ireland showed last week that the All Blacks are in a state of transition themselves, and even in their home country, they looked more than beatable. The weather was a real leveller; Ireland, however, showed that with concentration, commitment and discipline, New Zealand can be unsettled, especially at this early stage of their redevelopment. Their control of the restarts at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington was particularly poor; and if dominance can be found in the scrums and lineouts, England should be able to control possession and pressurise an All Black side that is far less imposing than they have been for years.

New Zealand: Muliaina; Tuitavake, Smith, Nonu, Sivivatu; Carter, Ellis; Tialata, Hore, Somerville, Thorn, Williams, So'oialo, McCaw (capt), Kaino.
Replacements: Mealamu, Schwalger, Boric, Lauaki, Cowan, Donald, MacDonald.

England: Brown; Ojo, Tindall, Barkley, Strettle; Hodgson, Wigglesworth; Sheridan, Mears, Stevens, Palmer, Borthwick (capt), Haskell, Rees, Narraway.
Replacements: Paice, Payne, Kay, Worsley, Care, Noon, Tait.