"Ford vs Barrett" - 3 Key Battles: England vs All Blacks - Autumn Nations Series

England's winning run began against France in the second week of the 2025 Guinness Men's Six Nations, after falling to Ireland in the opening round. England triumphed in the following four rounds, and rolled this momentum into a solid Summer series across Argentina and the USA. Borthwick's men then began their Autumn campaign with victories over Australia and Fiji, with Scott Robertson's side set to pose the toughest challenge of the Autumn thus far.

The All Blacks enter the fray in search of completing a history-making Northern Tour. New Zealand are half way to completing a stunning 'Grand Slam' of victories over the traditional Home Nations, with wins already secured against Ireland and Scotland ahead of their subsequent clashes against England and Wales. Robertson welcomes back his regular captain Scott Barrett this week, just Barrett's brother Jordie, along with explosive wing Caleb Clarke and lock Luke Jacobson will miss this match through injury.

So, with the all-important World Rugby rankings on the line ahead of December's 2027 Rugby World Cup draw, we've returned to a tried and tested pre-match hype builder ahead of Saturday's clash. Once again, we've picked out three key battles that could well dictate the outcome of the action at the Allianz, as the All Blacks look to end England's stunning run of recent Test match form.

This battle between the linchpins of England and New Zealand will be nothing less than box office, as George Ford goes tee-to-tee with Beauden Barrett for a world class meeting in the 10 channel. The last time New Zealand visited the Allianz Stadium, Ford was in the hot-seat, with the match remembered for an agonizingly close drop goal effort, that sliced wide of the posts in the final moments of the match.

It was an uncharacteristic miss from the Sale Sharks man, with the All Blacks able to hold out for the 24-22 win that went right to the wire. Ford has been unflappable upon his recent England run, as the fly half steered Steve Borthwick's side through a compelling Summer tour for a trio of wins across Argentina and the United States. After missing the grade for the British & Irish Lions, Ford was handed the 10 shirt for England's Summer expedition and collected his 100th cap. Ford has rightfully retained the jersey for England's biggest occasions from Fin and Marcus Smith, following the duo's return from Australia.

Ford was at the reins for England's commanding win over the Wallabies that kick-started the Autumn Series, before taking a back seat in the expected victory over Fiji. Ford is back at the helm for this fierce clash against the All Blacks, with Beauden Barrett set to line-up against England's peerless out-half. Barrett has enjoyed a recent run of personal victories against Steve Borthwick's side, dating back to his two pivotal camoes from the bench in the Summer of 2024.

Barrett starred from the bench as the All Blacks claimed narrow wins over England in Dunedin and Auckland, to guide New Zealand to a 2-0 Summer Series win. Barrett has been back to his brilliant best in the 10 shirt for the All Blacks, as the Blues man ran New Zealand's latest Rugby Championship campaign from the 10 channel. The 34-year-old dictated the attack with his classy play-making, which when coupled with his revered boot, can cause plenty of problems for Steve Borthwick's side this Saturday at 'HQ'.

Two back-row heavyweights are set to re-ignite their rivalry of mutual respect this weekend, as both Ben Earl and Ardie Savea have previously expressed their admiration of their positional counterpart. Back upon the 2024 Summer Tour, Savea revealed that he was a "big fan" of the Saracens hard-hitter, prior to the opening Test of the two-match series out in Dunedin.

The England and All Blacks back rowers bring upmost energy to every international clash, with both men paramount to the emotional drive for their respective nations. Earl's high intensity reactions are well documented, with the back row bruiser quick to show his devotion to the side, with a roar of celebration after each decision that goes England's way. Whilst Earl's antics have at times come under scrutiny, you cannot deny the burning passion on display from the 27-year-old.

Savea too leads his men in the emotional battle, with a key role amongst the All Blacks leadership group. The Moana Pasifika man also has plenty of experience in captaining the Kiwis, with his latest hit-out at the helm coming just this past weekend up in Edinburgh. With Scott Barrett out on the side-lines for the week, Savea stepped up with his steely intensity and stoic calmness, to keep the All Blacks calm in the latter stages, to secure a narrow triumph against Scotland after throwing away a 17-point advantage.

Whilst Earl and Savea utilise different approaches to providing a mental lift to their teammates, the two back row battlers are quite similar in how they go about their on-field efforts. Both Earl and Savea are brutal ball carriers with a knack for breaking the gain-line. As the pair are such well-known threats with the ball in hand, Earl and Savea are often multi-man targets from a defensive perspective, yet as the duo both possess neat passing skills, England and New Zealand often expose an over-commited defense thanks to their respective off-loading abilities.

Earl and Savea also bring a versatile dependency to their sides, with an adaptable nature to cover multiple positions. Earl starts in the eight jersey this Saturday, whilst Savea holds down the openside flank, yet it would not be uncommon to have either man rotated across the back row, or even see Earl unleashed in the midfield as centre cover for the closing stages of the match.

Closing out our key battles is an area of real contention, as the aerial contest between Freddie Steward and Will Jordan will likely decide some significant momentum shifts at the Allianz Stadium. After the law changes regarding 'escort runners', the air-born battle has become a paramount area to control upon the Test match stage.

England have already shown their desire to dominate the fly-zone in the current Autumn Series, as Steve Borthwick unleashed a kick-heavy offensive against Australia in the opening week. Fullback Freddie Steward and wing Tom Roebuck were on hand to rule the skies, in the win that marked a definite tactical triumph. Steward returns to the starting XV once again for the clash against New Zealand, with equally impressive aerial threat Tommy Freeman replacing Roebuck on the right wing.

Steward is considered to be one of the world's best under the high ball, with the Leicester Tigers man out to prove his might against another front-runner for that accolade in Will Jordan. Steward imposed his mid-air prowess over Australia's Andrew Kellaway a fortnight ago, and reclaims his starting 15 shirt from Marcus Smith for this upcoming clash with Scott Robertson's touring side.

Will Jordan had a stellar Rugby Championship campaign and the Crusaders man has rolled this flying form into his Autumnal efforts. Jordan was a constant threat for the All Blacks in the Gallagher Cup win against Ireland in Chicago, and also bagged a well-taken try against Scotland as New Zealand claimed back-to-back November wins. Jordan has a one-in-one strike rate at the Allianz Stadium, as he was on hand to score a first half try last November, to help the All Blacks build their first half Twickenham lead.