Quilter Nations Series: England v New Zealand
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham Date: Saturday, 15 November Kick-off: 15:10 GMT
Coverage: Listen to commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds and follow live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app.
England have injury concerns over Tommy Freeman and Ollie Chessum ahead of Saturday’s autumn international with New Zealand. Freeman is being assessed for a hamstring problem, while second-row Chessum has a foot injury and was seen on crutches at the team hotel. Both Lions members started the wins over Australia and Fiji but missed Monday’s training.
Head coach Steve Borthwick has several wing options if Northampton’s Freeman is unavailable. Elliot Daly is available after recovering from the fractured forearm he suffered on the Lions tour, though he has not played since facing the Queensland Reds on 2 July.
Tom Roebuck appears to have overcome an ankle issue and Henry Arundell strengthened his case for a starting spot with a brilliant try in Saturday’s 38-18 win over Fiji. Freddie Steward, who started against Australia, looks to have recovered from a hand injury and will compete with Daly and Marcus Smith for the full-back role.
Captain Maro Itoje began the Fiji match on the bench and could replace Chessum in the second row, while Alex Coles retained his starting place. England are on a nine-Test winning run under Borthwick and moved up to fourth in the world rankings this week, overtaking France after their defeat to world champions South Africa.
The All Blacks, ranked second, have won both of their autumn matches, beating Ireland 26-13 in their opener and overcoming Scotland 25-17 thanks to a late Damian McKenzie try. England have not beaten New Zealand since the 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-final in Yokohama and last beat them at Twickenham in 2012.
Former captain Jamie George urged England to embrace the occasion and not be overawed by New Zealand’s reputation. “You’ve got to be at your best because they’re not just another team,” he said. “They are arguably the best team in the world at the minute. They’ve got world-class players. They are as complete a team as there is out there. They’re fantastic and they seem to step up a gear when they come to Allianz Stadium. We’ve got to come up with a clear gameplan that’s going to put them under as much pressure as possible and then go out and execute it perfectly because that’s what we’ll need to do to win.”
Flanker Sam Underhill warned of the challenge New Zealand’s attack poses. “They are a very athletic team,” he told BBC Sport. “They have a lot of very good ball-carriers and are a very good wide attacking team. They are famous how they light up in attack and how quickly they move the ball and take advantage of space. You have to keep them as shut down as you can. They have a very good attacking skillset but also jackal threat with guys like Ardie Savea and Wallace Sititi at the breakdown.”
