England Set for All Blacks Showdown at Twickenham

England is set to face New Zealand in their challenging Autumn Nations Series opener at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium on Saturday. Following two narrow summer Test defeats in New Zealand where they struggled to maintain leads, England aims to secure a win on home soil. Currently ranked fifth globally behind Ireland, South Africa, New Zealand and France, England also suffered a close defeat to France during the Six Nations.

Head coach Steve Borthwick seeks to demonstrate that his team has learned from their recent tight matches, stating that while they’ve improved in competing against top teams, they need to finish strong. The squad has undergone rejuvenation since their World Cup semi-final loss, integrating young talent but faced coaching changes with the departure of defense coach Felix Jones and strength and conditioning coach Aled Walters.

Joe El-Abd has stepped in as the new defense coach while Richard Wigglesworth is now Borthwick’s assistant. The absence of starting scrum-half Alex Mitchell due to injury poses a challenge leaving options like Ben Spencer, Jack van Poortvliet and Harry Randall vying for the position. England’s Autumn Nations Series includes matches against Australia, South Africa and Japan.

The All Blacks come into this match after two victories over England earlier this year but they seek redemption following disappointing results in the Rugby Championship. England looks to secure their first victory against New Zealand at Twickenham since 2012 aiming to build momentum ahead of their subsequent fixtures against other formidable opponents.