England take on the All Blacks at Twickenham, London, England on Saturday. We take a look at how this match might unfold.

England, under the hand of Martin Johnson has yet to impress me. They are still unperperforming, to the extent that they are now one of the “lesser Six Nations Teams”. In addition they are short of a few players due to injury, yet Johnny Wilkinson is back, they boast a solid scrum and a few possible game breakers.

The All Blacks is a side in transition mode, still unsure of their squad going forward, experimenting wildly with all sorts of combinations. Although they won against a dogged Italy last week with their 2nd stringers, the scrums seemed less than solid. 13 Changes have been made though, bringing the Team much closer to their eventual settled squad. We all know the prowess of Richie McCaw, the abilities of Carter, the danger of Muliaina, the strenght of Nonu, the guile of Conrad Smith and the pace of Sivivatu, so in the game breaker division they are probably sill unrivaled in world rugby…. but there is a strange vulnerability…

I predict that the All Blacks will win and win convincingly… All Blacks by 14.

 

Players to watch:

For England: England pivot Jonny Wilkinson will get a chance to enhance his reputation against formidable opponents while Ugo Monye will be determined to bounce back after a torrid test last week. Up front, flanks Joe Worsley and Lewis Moody‘s ability at the breakdown will also be crucial to England’s cause while Simon Shaw makes a welcome return to the starting line-up.

For New Zealand: Ace All Black playmaker, Dan Carter will, as always, be a key figure for the visitors, while Ma’a Nonu‘s line-breaking will make him a marked man on Saturday. Skipper Richie McCaw will be a menace at the breakdown while the returning Tony Woodcock will look to stamp his authority in the scrums.

Head-to-head: All eyes will be on the superstar showdown between the world’s premier pivots, Dan Carter and Jonny Wilkinson but the breakdown battle between James Haskell, Lewis Moody and Joe Worsley against Keiran Reid, Richie McCaw and Adam Thompson, will be equally important to the outcome of the match. The tussle between the No.2’s, Andrew Hore and Dylan Hartley is also an interesting prospect.

Recent results:
2008: England 6-32 New Zealand, London
2008: England 12-44 New Zealand, Christchurch 
2008: England 20-37 New Zealand, Auckland 
2006: England 20-41 New Zealand, London
2005: England 19-23 New Zealand, London
2004: England 12-36 New Zealand, Auckland
2004: England  3-36  New Zealand, Dunedin
2003: England 15-13 New Zealand, Wellington
2002: England 31-28 New Zealand, London
1999: England 16-30 New Zealand, London (World Cup)
1998: England 10-40 New Zealand, Auckland
1998: England  22-64 New Zealand, Dunedin

 

Teams:

England: 15 Mark Cueto, 14 Matt Banahan, 13 Dan Hipkiss, 12 Ayoola Erinle, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Paul Hodgson, 8 James Haskell, 7 Lewis Moody, 6 Joe Worsley, 5 Steve Borthwick (captain), 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Duncan Bell, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Tim Payne
Replacements: 16 Steve Thompson, 17 David Wilson, 18 Louis Deacon, 19 Tom Croft, 20 Danny Care, 21 Shane Geraghty, 22 Mathew Tait

New Zealand: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Zac Guildford, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Adam Thomson, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Corey Flynn/Aled de Malmanche, 17 John Afoa, 18 Anthony Boric, 19 Jerome Kaino, 20 Andy Ellis, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Tamati Ellison.

Date: Saturday, November 21
Venue: Twickenham, London
Expected weather conditions: Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. Wind 30 to 50 km/h.
Kick-off: 14.30 (GMT 14.30; 03.30 NZ time, November 22)
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Alan Lewis (Ireland), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
TMO: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)

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