Category: Rugby Union

Steve Borthwick has picked six British & Irish Lions on his bench with a further nod to the growing importance of the endgame

Selecting your best XV to start a big rugby match feels increasingly quaint these days, as redolent of a different era as the Generation Game or Starsky & Hutch. To the point where you half expect to find the home teamsheet to face New Zealand this weekend has D‑N‑A‑L‑G‑N‑E printed at the top of it. Even with the All Blacks in town, the traditional order of selection no longer applies.

Instead it is all about the endgame. On this occasion Steve Borthwick has picked six British & Irish Lions on his bench compared with only four in his starting lineup. At some point around the 50th minute on Saturday there will be a mass discarding of XXL tracksuits and a fresh set of white orcs will rumble on. As South Africa’s “Bomb Squad” have long since shown, it can be mighty hard to combat.

• Head coach urges side ‘to give absolutely everything’

• Ford returns at fly-half with Itoje back to captain side

Steve Borthwick has called on his side to prepare for “pain and suffering” if they are to end their losing run against the All Blacks, demanding the most selfless England team in history in the showdown on Saturday.

Predicting an aerial bombardment from New Zealand, Borthwick has recalled George Ford, insisting his fly‑half general “will be an England coach in the future”, and again loaded his bench with the “Pom Squad”, including six British & Irish Lions among his replacements.

The veteran All Black duo both grew up on dairy farms and may not have flourished in English rugby’s rigid system

This week’s column is being compiled slightly differently. It’s not easy to type while looking upwards and smiling warmly at the bookshelf but, hey, that’s the price to be paid for method sportswriting. When you’re putting together a piece on Damian McKenzie, the All Blacks’ so-called “smiling assassin”, it’s important to try to get into character.

The head bandage took time to apply as well, as did the fake-blood drizzle of ketchup down the cheek. Anyone who watched the later stages of New Zealand’s win against Scotland on television on Saturday, however, will appreciate why the extra touches felt appropriate. It is not every day a player preparing to kick the clinching points in a major Test resembles a happy, beaten prizefighter.

• Steve Borthwick faces major headache before showdown

• Alex Coles expected to partner Maro Itoje at second row

Ollie Chessum and Tommy Freeman are serious injury doubts for England’s clash with New Zealand, handing Steve Borthwick a major headache before the showdown at Twickenham on Saturday.

The two British & Irish Lions players sat out training on Monday and their participation against the All Blacks is in jeopardy. Chessum is struggling with a foot injury and was seen on crutches at England’s training base in Bagshot. He was replaced after 70 minutes of the 38-18 victory against Fiji last weekend and, in the likely event he is ruled out, Maro Itoje’s expected second-row partner would be Alex Coles.

The All Blacks resisted a ferocious second-half fightback to maintain their unbeaten record against Scotland

2 mins. A very solid receive, recycle and boot drill from Scotland, featuring 0% nonsense, despatches the ball to touch. NZ warm some of their carriers’ hands with the possession won from the lineout, but it comes to nothing before the ball is spilled forward.

Barrett puts his foot through the ball to get the test match underway