England have made two front-row changes for their rugby Test match with New Zealand in Dunedin.
Props Joe Marler and Will Stuart are the only changes to Saturday’s side which beat Japan 52-17 in Tokyo, replacing Bevan Rodd and Dan Cole.
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Stuart scored two tries as England scored 19 unanswered points in the last 10 minutes to draw 25-25 draw at Twickenham in the sides’ last meeting in November 2022.
Cole drops to the bench and is in line to win his 114th cap to equal Jason Leonard as England’s second-most capped men’s player, while Fin Baxter and Ollie Sleightholme could win their first caps.
Alex Coles replaces the suspended Charlie Ewels among the substitutes with Ben Spencer coming onto the bench for Harry Randall.
“It doesn’t get more challenging than playing New Zealand at home, but it’s exactly where we want to be,” England coach Steve Borthwick said.
“We want to find out more about ourselves and test ourselves against one of the best teams in the world.
“Test rugby is a game of fine margins, so our mindset is going to be very important on Saturday. We’ll need to be mentally strong, play a tactically smart game, and maintain our discipline.”
The two-Test series sees Scott Robertson starting his tenure as the All Blacks new head coach.
The second Test is a week later at Auckland’s Eden Park, where the All Blacks have not lost since 1994.
England have won eight of 43 Tests against the All Blacks, but only two of those victories were on New Zealand soil.
The All Blacks have not played since losing the Rugby World Cup final to South Africa in Paris in October, while England finished third in this year’s Six Nations.
ENGLAND (15-1):ย George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Henry Slade, Ollie Lawrence, Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith, Alex Mitchell, Ben Earl, Sam Underhill, Chandler Cunningham-South, George Martin, Maro Itoje, Will Stuart, Jamie George (capt), Joe Marler.
Replacements: Theo Dan, Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Alex Coles, Tom Curry, Ben Spencer, Fin Smith, Ollie Sleightholme
