England recalled experienced props Joe Marler and Will Stuart to face New Zealand in the first Test in Dunedin on Saturday.
Uncapped prop Fin Baxter and wing Ollie Sleightholme — son of former England wing Jon Sleightholme — are poised to make their first appearances for England from the bench.
The two-Test series sees Scott Robertson starting his tenure as the All Blacks’ new head coach.
The second Test is a week later at Auckland’s Eden Park, where the All Blacks have not lost since 1994.
England have won eight of 43 Tests against the All Blacks, but only two of those victories were on New Zealand soil.
The All Blacks have not played since losing the 2023 World Cup final to South Africa in Paris in October, while England finished third in this year’s Six Nations.
England — 15 George Furbank; 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Tommy Freeman; 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell; 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South; 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje; 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Joe Marler.
Subs: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Alex Coles, 20 Tom Curry, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Fin Smith, 23 Ollie Sleightholme.
© Agence France-Presse
Photo: Hannah Peters/Getty Images
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
