"History Makers?" - Predicting the England team to face the All Blacks at Eden Park

It has been an arduous 2023/24 campaign for Steve Borthwick's men, with the finish line in sight after this final Test against the All Blacks. Whilst the best that England can do in the two-match series is come away with a draw, the All Blacks have raised an even grander target upon their Auckland fortress, as they propose the Test for England to end their three decade run of dominance.

There will be at least one change to Steve Borthwick's match day 23, given Joe Marler's foot injury in the first Test against the All Blacks. The Harlequins loose-head was replaced by fresh-faced debutant Fin Baxter, and it was later confirmed by Borthwick that Marler will play no part in the team to face New Zealand at Eden Park.

So, with a 30-year record on the line for the All Blacks and nothing to lose for England this Saturday, here are RUCK's predictions for Steve Borthwick's England team to play New Zealand in the second Test of the 2024 series.

Regular readers of our prediction pieces will recognise a trend upon our back-three, as we expect Steve Borthwick to once again go with the duo of Northampton flyers and the immense Exeter wing. All three men were impressive in Dunedin, yet the plaudits have to go to Furbank's outstanding performance in the 15 jersey.

Furbank's exhilarating line breaks and hard-hitting defensive acumen caught the attention of the All Blacks, with his opposite man Stephen Perofeta singling out Furbank as an impressive performer from the first Test. The Blues man had a tough day at the office against his opposing fullback, as Furbank embodied the fearless mentality of youth, that Borthwick hopes will generate a long overdue England win at Eden Park.

To echo an earlier predictions article, 'if it ain't broke...'. This is certainly the case for Steve Borthwick and his back-three, with the England head coach evidently sure in his selections across the 11 and 14 shirts. The combination of Tommy Freeman and Manny Feyi-Waboso imposed a threatening unexpected element upon the All Blacks, after Sevu Reece confirmed that the New Zealand squad did not know too much about the young England wings during the week.

The midfielders remain unchanged in our opinion, after Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence took it to the experienced All Black partnership of Jordie Barrett and Reiko Ioane. The West Country once again combined to see Exeter and Bath's stand-out midfielders take centre stage, and we expect more of the same after a rather impressive outing against the All Blacks. The boys in white fronted up against their opponents, both in attack and defence.

Beginning with the defence, the order of the day was once again 'blitz'. Slade and Lawrence took it upon themselves to pressurise their opposition centres, with the Exeter man's efforts applauded by defence coach Felix Jones (article coming soon). Lawrence also made an assortment of strong hits against the All Black ball carriers, with the New Zealand outside backs admitting to have been put through the ringer by the England line-speed.

Upon the front foot, Slade and Lawrence once again combined to punch holes through the New Zealand defence, with the inter-changeable pass and receive options asking plenty of questions of the All Black tacklers. We expect more of the same from Borthwick's selection ahead of Saturday, and once again we anticipate there to not be a centre amongst the replacements. As much as Fraser Dingwall has impressed in Northampton's Premiership winning campaign, we can't see the centre making the 23 shirt this time around.

Now we move onto a real area of contention, as once again the England fly half spot comes into discussion. Marcus Smith did not have the best performance in the opening match against New Zealand, as the Harlequin left eight points on the pitch that proved to be decisive. Smith's inaccuracy from the tee left England trailing at important points, and yet the squad rallied around the England 10 once the side departed at full-time in defeat.

Whilst it would certainly be a statement from Steve Borthwick to drop Marcus Smith from the starting XV, we don't expect the England head coach to leave the halfback out of the side to take on the All Blacks from the get go. Whilst Fin Smith continues to wait in the wings, as the Northampton fly half only had a brief cameo in the match's final stages, we expect to see the fly half amongst the replacements in the 22 shirt once again.

The scrum half starter could well have been a different story, had Ben Spencer hit his top stride off the bench against the All Blacks. However, after Alex Mitchell had a solid effort in his starting run-out, Spencer fell below his high expectations as he came off the bench. Whilst Mitchell kept the All Blacks on their toes with some back of ruck snipes, and alternating directional distributions, Spencer's one dimensional pass and box kick was easy to read from the New Zealanders, as the match hit the closing stages.

For a relatively unchanged starting side all things considered, we have opted to change up two thirds of the England front row to play New Zealand this Saturday. Beginning at loose-head, we would love to see Fin Baxter get his first start in an England jersey (after we correctly predicted his inclusion on the bench for debut in Dunedin, we may add).

Baxter was excellent up-front against Ofa Tu'ungafasi, as he the young Harlequin replaced his mentor Joe Marler after just 20 minutes of play. Whilst Marler will be sorely missed by England fans in the second Test, his position is in safe hands with one of the Premiership's top scrummagers irregardless of age. Accompanying Baxter upon his first senior England start is of course Jamie George, with the England captain set for one last hit-out for the 2023/24 season.

The opportunity to finish the campaign as Eden Park record breakers is one that George would savour, as he gets set to take charge from the two jersey. Rounding off our re-vamped England front row is the old stalwart of the squad, with Dan Cole set for a start in our opinion. The Leicester prop had been used as an alternating experienced figure alongside Joe Marler, with one of the two old friends starting, and the other amongst the replacements. Also, Will Stuart did not have the finest day at the office in the first Test, and we can see him take a seat on the bench.

Onto the locks now, and we see no replacing the dynamic duo of Maro Itoje and George Martin. In the absence of Ollie Chessum, Martin has become the opportune Tiger to take up the England five jersey, and hammered home some formidable hits against the All Blacks last weekend. Understandably upset with the full-time result, England head coach Steve Borthwick recently discussed a conversation he had with Martin, in how the set-backs will only improve him as an all-round player.

And we have selected Maro Itoje, with the Saracen lock set for his 33rd and final match of the exhaustive 2023/24 season. With an impressive campaign that has seen Itoje overcome a knee injury and remain in the squad for his club and country, Itoje has all eyes on a history making win. The lock expressed in a post match interview following England's defeat to New Zealand, Itoje lined up the All Blacks 30-year record of success at Eden Park and said 'records are meant to be broken'.

And rounding off the starting XV, we have opted for an unchanged trio from that who started against the All Blacks in Dunedin. Tom Curry's season long absence has certainly opened up the door for Chandler Cunningham-South, with the Harlequin taking full advantage of the vacancy left by the former England captain. The New Zealand born back row even spoke with the reporting media today, about how he grew up in Auckland in awe of the All Blacks, with it surreal that he now faces the haka on the opposition end of the pitch.

Sam Underhill is our pick once more on the open side, with the Bath man leaving his opponents rather sore after flying out the line. The direction is clear for Underhill, as he has been sent firing out of the line time and again, after taking full orders from defence coach Felix Jones. Underhill enjoyed an albeit brief re-kindling of the 'Under-Curry' partnership, that left bruises on England's opponents at the end of the Eddie Jones era, with another reunion in store should Cunningham-South empty the tank.

And last, but by no means least, Ben Earl brings up the number eight role for the potentially history making match against New Zealand. The Saracen has pushed on with his goal to become the best player in the world, and enjoyed the challenge of going head to head with Ardie Savea in Dunedin.

Whilst Alex Dombrandt is by no means out of the picture, there is simply no replacing Ben Earl in the starting XV with the form that he is in. Earl has been impressing fans across both hemispheres, and could well be England's man to take the lead for an unforgettable end to their Summer tour.