ENGLAND vs NEW ZEALAND RUGBY INTERNATIONAL MATCH:
Date: Saturday 6 November 2010
Time: 14:30 (GMT/UTC/UK)
Vanue: Twickenham, London
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England have pretty young side and they must be preparing for the World Cup 2011 which is exactly 1 year after this match and although England have kind of injected new and young blood in the team I dont see them getting anywhere near the All Blacks in this match. Having said that many expert believe that England would teach New Zealand a lesson in intensity at Twickenham, after all they have achieved in the recent year or so and their performecnes in the Tri Nations dont bother English Squad at the moment.
ENGLAND vs NEW ZEALAND MATCH PREVIEW :
Fans at Twickenham on Saturday are set to witness a clash of two very different styles of rugby as England aim to end an eight-match losing streak against the All Blacks.
A couple of things happened in the build up to this game that are worth noting. If you weren't following the news this week, here's a quick recap:
- A former New Zealand Rugby League international was named to start in the All Blacks midfield.
- A former New Zealand Rugby League international was named to start in the England midfield.
- One of the England coaching staff said that the Tri-Nations "isn't Test rugby."
We're going to be sending England defence coach Mike Ford a bill for a fire extinguisher and a new email server because as soon as we published his comments our inboxes sent into meltdown.
Just why he would say such a thing? In reply to suggestions from some fans in the South, we can confirm that he isn't smoking crack. We're also pretty sure that he didn't do it on a dare.
Are England trying to wind the All Blacks up? It is some kind of ploy to get the world's number one ranked team to prove him wrong by recklessly throwing the ball around?
To be fair, the world press has sensationalised Ford's remarks somewhat. He wasn't trying to trash the quality of rugby in the southern hemisphere - he referred to last week's game in Hong Kong as "fantastic" - but was rather suggesting that it lacks a certain amount of defensive grit.
Whatever his intentions, the remarks do give us an insight into the mentality in the England camp, or should I say confirmed our worst fears. Assuming it's all not a smoke screen (which we doubt very much) and judging by their other comments made this week, England appear to be planning to try take the All Blacks from one set piece to another and bully the tourists into submission.
Has anyway bothered to tell the England coaching staff that it's 2010? The days of Test matches being won by handful of penalties are over!
There is a limited number of tackles you can make and scrums you can win in 80 minutes. With the current laws favouring attacking teams that look to keep ball in hand, you can bet your bottom Kiwi Dollar that a side with as much firepower as the All Blacks will find their way to the try-line. So coming up with some inventive ways of scoring a few of tries of your own might not be such a bad idea.
It's not like the All Blacks have a Mickey-Mouse pack that obliges them to fling it about like schoolgirls either. To all intents and purposes the visitors have welcomed England's threats of 'old-fashioned aggression' and have promised to take their hosts on, head on.
"You don't become the number one side in the world if you don't have more than one bullet in the gun," was the reply from assistant coach Steve Hansen.
All that said, can we really blame England for taking the smash-em, bash-em approach?
Many would argue that trying to beat the All Blacks at their own game would be suicide for England and that Martin Johnson's men should play to their strengths. And they do have strong case. But the fact remains that one-dimensional rugby is past it's sell-by date. It will get the occasional result, but in the long run you're going to be left behind.
Let's hope for those who forked over their hard-earned cash to go to Twickers that the men in white will at least try to play some positive rugby this weekend and in the near future.
Players to watch:
For England: The only non-Kiwi to feature in the midfield, Mike Tindall has a huge responsibility. Not only is he tasked with chaperoning Shontayne Hape, but he'll go head-to-head with Mr. Muscles himself in the black number thirteen jersey. In a team featuring a few young faces, Tindall's vast experience will be vital. He'll also have to make a whole lot of those big tackles mentioned above. If he can stop Williams, the youngsters around him will believe they can win.
For New Zealand: There could only be one choice here. If ever the was a man to watch on debut, it's Sonny Bill Williams. It's incredible to think how much hype has surrounded a player that has yet to win a Test cap. It'll be unfair to judge him on one performance but such a fuss has been made of the Canterbury centre that there will be a lot of disappointed viewers if he doesn't have a big game.
Head-to-head: The front rows. It all starts up front, especially when England is involved. The hosts' last Test win was based around their dominance at scrum time, but there is little chance the New Zealand set piece will capitulate the way the Wallabies did in Sydney. Andrew Sheridan is back in white but Owen Franks is no push over. It'll be brutal.
Previous results:
2009: New Zealand won 19-6 at Twickenham
2008: New Zealand won 32-6 at Twickenham
2008: New Zealand won 44-12 in Christchurch
2008: New Zealand won 37-20 in Auckland
2006: New Zealand won 41-20 at Twickenham
2005: New Zealand won 23-19 at Twickenham
2004: New Zealand won 36-12 in Auckland
2004: New Zealand won 36-3 in Dunedin
2003: England won 15-13 in Wellington
2002: England won 31-28 at Twickenham
Prediction: For all my criticism of the England game plan, the home starting XV looks strong enough to give the tourists a run for their money. It's difficult to see them being strong enough to win however. New Zealand by twelve points
The teams:
England: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton,13 Mike Tindall, 12 Shontayne Hape, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody (c), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Steve Thompson, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Harltey, 17 David Wilson, 18 David Attwood, 19 Hendrie Fourie, 20 Danny Care, 21 Charlie Hodgson, 22 Delon Armitage.
New Zealand: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Sonny Bill Williams, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Hika Elliot, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Anthony Boric, 19 Liam Messam, 20 Andy Ellis, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Isaia Toeava.
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