'Two Debuts Incoming' - 5 Talking Points: Steve Borthwick England Squad Announcement for All Blacks First Test

Borthwick spoke to the reporting media today, after naming his squad to take on the All Blacks for the first Test. A bonus talking point to come from the conversation with the England head coach, was that there has been no direct communication as of yet, with the players regarding a 'response' to the pre-match haka. In 2019, the Rugby World Cup semi-final saw England form the now famous 'V' ahead of the match, with Owen Farrell's smirking face etched in the rivalry folklore.

"We will respect the great tradition of international rugby and as ever it will be the players who make those decisions because they are the ones on the grass." Borthwick said, when asked about if any pre-match plans had been made to respond to the haka in Dunedin.

"As ever since we have been in Japan and since we arrived here in New Zealand we will be tremendously respectful of their tradition, but that will be conversation I have with Jamie (george) later in the week."

Steve Borthwick has made just two changes to his squad that beat Japan, to which will now be taking on the All Blacks this Saturday. The duo of new starters both come in the front row, as the loose-head and tight-head props get shaken up for the battle with New Zealand. Joe Marler comes in to start ahead of Bevan Rodd, with the Sale Sharks man out of the match day 23. Also, Will Stuart is preferred to start in the three jersey ahead of Dan Cole.

STEVE BORTHWICK: "Joe and Dan are exceptional players and are also incredibly influential on the players around them. And there are times they'll play together and there will be times on the pitch as happened in the Japan game where they play alongside each other.

"I also think it's great that the influence they have on the younger players in the squad and having that ability to have experience at the start and experience at the end of the game. Because to get the result you want, you need an 80-minute performance."

"I think that if you look at the loosehead side, in particular, Joe continues to be superb and still eager to develop his game and I think that's an important thing. Players wanted to keep improving. Joe wants to do that. Clearly Ellis (Genge) is unavailable to us in this series. He's been sending me his watt bike sessions and challenging me to do them and try and get his scores.

"So I think he is in pretty good shape back in England. And we've got Fin (Baxter) and Bevan (Rodd) so I think we’ve got some good players in that part of the team.”

The England head coach has named two potential debutants for the All Blacks match, in what could be a baptism of fire for the new-coming talents. Harlequins loose-head prop Fin Baxter and Northampton Saints' flying wing Ollie Sleightholme both get the go-ahead, and take their respective seats amongst the replacements for off the bench involvements.

STEVE BORTHWICK: "Both have spent some time in the squad and have an understanding of what we're trying to do as a team given neither were part of the World Cup squad or the Six Nations squad. So having had extra time getting used to the systems and looking at the way they have played all season. Ollie’s ability to try to find the try-line and the pace he brings into the team.

"Fin's ability to scrum against some very big packs in European rugby and this New Zealand team is a very big and really well drilled pack. So it’s a great contest. I'm looking forward to seeing how these young players go. I think they're going to be big parts of the England team for many years to come."

"I think then the scrum is clearly central, it's the first thing you'll look up for any prop forward. When you start also looking at his movement outside of the set-piece, he moves really well. I will ring people like Joe Marler and Dan Cole and get their opinion of people they are playing against. And with Joe obviously knowing Fin at the club, and get their view and both of them speak really positively."

New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson is eagerly anticipating his first run at the helm of his new side this Saturday. A proven winner in Super Rugby with the Crusaders, this is the first time Robertson has taken the lead with a senior Test match set-up. Despite the looming pressure that is building upon his opposite man, Borthwick believes that Robertson will be confident heading into the home of the Highlanders.

STEVE BORTHWICK: "I am sure he will be feeling very confident with the squad that he has got. He has clearly got a great record as a coach and given how many of the players have come through the Crusaders and how many he has coached previously and having that opportunity to bring his coaching team together and plan for this I am sure he is feeling very well prepared for this game on Saturday."

Borthwick was full of praise for England back-row Ben Earl, who goes head-to-head with one of the world's best this Saturday. Earl is expected to line-up against Ardie Savea in Dunedin, with the 2023 World Rugby Player of the Year chomping at the bit for a bruising battle with the Saracen. Borthwick expressed how Earl possesses 'international class', which he hopes will transfer to the opening Test on New Zealand's South Island.

STEVE BORTHWICK: "Ben has ability on the ball and his ability to pass as well as his footwork pre-contact means he finds space and he helps other players find space. That is his point of difference.

"From Six Nations 2023 and Ben was on the bench for two games and I asked him, we discussed areas to work on in his game, and he went away and worked exceptionally hard. Now when I look at his work rate it is very rare. The way we measure work rate of every player in every game, it is very rare any player has a higher work rate than Ben. So he has those incredible moments of skill and they are backed up by phenomenal work rate and that is exactly what you need in Test rugby.

"Then you look at the back row in Test rugby and the numbers for involvements and work rate are way above any other positional group. So to have Ben and Sam there, both normally sevens, they give us that constant work rate and I think that is what we are going to need on Saturday.

“The thing that also pleases me with Ben, we meet every week, is he also identifies what he needs to work on and improve. Clearly I have done that analysis as well but he brings it to me. I sense a hunger in him and a desire to just keep getting better and it is exciting to work with a player like that."

There is a core group of the England squad that have been lending crucial advice this week, as just 10 members of the touring group have experienced the Test match stage against the All Blacks. With such an abundance of young talent populating Borthwick's ranks for Saturday's fixture, the older members of the group have been passing on valuable words of wisdom from previous Kiwi encounters.

STEVE BORTHWICK: “We have only got 10 players in this squad who have played against New Zealand before, so many of them don’t know and there is a certain amount of excitement and the challenge of the players who want to play this game, because they want to see where they are against the best.

"What they want to focus on is very much, what are we doing to do and how are we going to do it? And they talk to me about we must bring our game onto the pitch on Saturday, that is what the players say to me and I am looking forward to bringing their game on the pitch on Saturday."

"The players got together last night and they shared some of their experiences. Near a match day, the players will have more players’ meetings and that’s when they’ll talk much more about the game as they get closer to matchday and the specifics of the game."