England's predicted starting XV for opening Autumn Nations Series clash against All Blacks

Today at 12:56 PM

The wait is almost over for England fans, as Steve Borthwick’s side commence their Autumn Nations Series campaign this Saturday. England have the tall order of hosting the All Blacks at the Allianz this weekend, as they seek out revenge following back-to-back Summer defeats down in New Zealand.

Injury news has been at the forefront of the preparations, with the likes of George Ford Joe Marler and Henry Slade bouncing back from the recovery wards in time for the Autumn internationals. Alex Mitchell remains on the side-lines with a neck injury, and Ollie Chessum is the latest to join him, having withdrawn from the camp following the weekend’s England training.

Whilst untimely injuries do cause the best laid plans to go out the window, they do open up the door for last minute call-ups. Bath back row Ted Hill has re-joined the England camp, as he takes up Chessum’s vacancy following a barnstorming performance in blue, black and white this past weekend. Hill is one such predicted player to be named in Borthwick’s England squad to play the All Blacks, with our full expected match day 23 listed below.

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England’s predicted starting XV:

BACK THREE

15. George Furbank (Northampton Saints)

14. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs)

11. Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints)

We commence the match day 23 with the outside backs, and we can't see Steve Borthwick making any changes to his trio that took on the All Blacks in Dunedin back in July. Beginning with newly coronated Northampton Saints club captain George Furbank, the fullback missed out on the second Test at Auckland's Eden Park, after suffering a back injury after a heavy coming together with New Zealand wing Sevu Reece.

Furbank was replaced by Leicester Tigers fullback Freddie Steward for the second Test, yet the Northampton man has been in impressive upon the return of the green, black and golds in recent weeks. Whilst Furbank may be a step away from the grade compared to Steward's dominance under the high ball, the Saint's versatility is what he really brings to the table, proving himself indispensable to Borthwick as Swiss army knife of covering options.

Tommy Freeman is our pick to resume ownership of the 11 jersey, with the Northampton flyer running out for his first full 80 minutes of the season, against Exeter this past Saturday. Freeman was amongst the England players that had a staggered re-introduction to their clubs, after the announcement of the Professional Group Partnership in September.

Freeman silenced the All Blacks fans with his try at Eden Park in July, and would want nothing more than to emulate this with a try-scoring roar from the Twickenham faithful this coming November. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso certainly left his mark in an England shirt this past Summer, as the Exeter Chiefs wing scored three tries on the tour, crossing over in each match against Japan and New Zealand.

Feyi-Waboso ensured that he left New Zealand with the All Blacks remembering his name, after Sevu Reece admitted to not knowing who the Exeter Chiefs man was ahead of the opening Test in the Forsyth Barr Stadium. Feyi-Waboso scored a brace of tries in the Chiefs defeat to Northampton this past weekend, as the wing is back firing at his best ahead of a return call to the England squad.

CENTRES

13. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)

12. Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby)

All eyes were on Henry Slade for this past Sunday’s sole Premiership fixture, as the England midfielder made his long awaited return from a lengthy injury layoff. Slade sustained a tear in the undearm-shoulder region in the 2024 Guinness Six Nations, as he attempted to tackle Duhan van der Merwe in the lead up to one of the Scotland wing’s stunning solo tries.

Slade was able to manage the injury for the remainder of the season 2023/24 season, and utilised the time away from the pitch to go under the knife, following the Summer tour of Japan and New Zealand. Slade has spent the past three months rehabbing his shoulder, and returned in Exeter’s defeat to Harlequins at Sandy Park. Despite coming away on the losing side of the result, Slade would be happy to get the first game back under his belt in preparation for the incoming All Blacks.

Bringing flexibility into the centre options is Bath's Ollie Lawrence, who plays for the blue, black and whites at 13, yet has been recently utilised by Borthwick in the 12 shirt. Lawrence was England's go to man in the inside centre for both the 2024 Six Nations and the latest Summer tour, and did it all whilst alternating back to outside centre in Bath's run to the Premiership Final.

Borthwick utilised the Lawrence-Slade midfield axis in Dunedin and Auckland this past Summer, and the England head coach has spoken previously about the importance of Test match consistency. Outside of the West Country duo, Alex Lozowski provides an unused threat in the England midfield, with Northampton’s Tommy Freeman also recently running out in the 13 shirt to provide Borthwick with further options if needed.

HALFBACKS

10. Marcus Smith (Harlequins)

9. Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby)

Just a matter of days again, the England 10 shirt could have been printed in advance with ‘Smith’ plastered on the back. With George Ford seemingly unavailable with injury, the tug of war came down to Marcus and Fin Smith, to lead the England back-line against the All Blacks. However, Ford was named by Borthwick as a match fit player in Sunday’s squad update, with question marks surrounding the Sale man’s involvement this weekend.

As Ford has not played any on-field minutes since sustaining his unfortunate quad injury against Saracens, we can’t expect the fly half to take the starting shirt. We expect Borthwick to pick Marcus Smith to take the 10 jersey, with Ford surpassing Fin Smith to a seat amongst the replacements. Marcus Smith has been in impressive form for Harlequins in recent weeks, with the fly half predicted to make the short walk from the Stoop to the Allianz for Saturday’s blockbuster.

The fly half baton once again rests with Smith, who led the line for England at 10 in the Summer tour of Japan and New Zealand. Smith was excellent against Eddie Jones' Brave Blossoms, as he scored a try and grabbed two assists in the emphatic 52-17 win out in the Far East. Smith's kicking performance in the first Test against the All Blacks, mirrored that of Jonny Wilkinson's shortcomings at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The halfback left eight crucial points on the pitch, and is eyeing up revenge from the All Blacks win in Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium.

Ben Spencer was arguably in the form of his career, as he guided the blue, black and whites to the Premiership Final this past season. Spencer was appointed the Bath captaincy from Johann van Graan, and has stepped up to the role with great aplomb on the pitch. Spencer began the new Premiership calendar with a try in the win over Northampton, as Bath made amends in a re-match of the previous season finale.

With Spencer expected to step up in Mitchell's absence, we predict to see Bristol’s Harry Randall take up the 21 jersey. Randall has been firing at his best form in recent weeks, with the scrum half a genuine contender to the nine shirt, that was previously held captive by Alex Mitchell. Randall surpasses Jack van Poortvliet to a seat on the England bench, despite the Leicester man’s best efforts for his own England comeback.

FRONT ROW

1. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)

2. Jamie George (Saracens)

3. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)

Moving on to the front row, and Bristol Bears loose-head Ellis Genge will be chomping at the bit for a return to the Test match stage. Genge missed out on the Summer tour to Japan and New Zealand, as he sustained the most untimely calf injury. Genge was firmly in the plans for the Summer expedition, but picked up the injury in Bristol's last match of the Premiership season to fall agonisingly close at the final hurdle.

The 'Baby Rhino' locked horns with highly rated tight-head prospect Afolabi Fasogbon, with the two sharing a nice post match show of respect. Fasogbon could well be on his way to the England squad, with a call-up for at least the England A squad expected to be in 20-year-old's future.

The England captain needs no introduction, with Jamie George set to continue his command of Steve Borthwick's side into this Autumn. Appointed to the role following the standing down of Owen Farrell, George has risen to the occasion and relished in every opportunity to take up the armband for the national side. George has been guiding his Saracens understudy Theo Dan into the Test match landscape, with the 23-year-old hooker predicted to maintain his control of the England 16 jersey, for another explosive replacement appearence against the All Blacks.

We have opted for Dan Cole to run out upon the tight-head, with his long time friend Joe Marler and Northampton newcomer Trevor Davison named as the replacement props. Cole has made it known that he is taking things ‘day by day’ in regards to his England career, but the 115-capped veteran has once again been named in Steve Borthwick’s plans.

With Stuart and Northampton’s Trevor Davison in support as the tight-head options for the upcoming Autumn Series. Cole looks set to extend this last run with another battle with the All Blacks, and Davison’s excellent recent form has earned him a run off the bench in our eyes.

LOCKS

4. Maro Itoje (Saracens)

5. George Martin (Leicester Tigers)

England fans can breathe a sigh of relief, as Maro Itoje surpassed any injuries issues, after pulling up with a ‘grumbly knee’ against Sale Sharks earlier this month. Itoje has long been a stand out stalwart of Steve Borthwick's side, and having been given the added responsibilities of Saracens club captain, after Owen Farrell's move to Racing 92, Itoje has grown into a real leader of men. ‘The Pearl’ was identified as England's best player on tour by the All Black coaches, as well as legendary former lock Ian Jones.

We can see George Martin continue on with Itoje in their second row partnership, as the Leicester man stood out on tour in the repeated injury absence of Ollie Chessum. Martin has seemingly surpassed his Tigers teammate to the starting five jersey, with his specialist skill amongst the worst kept secrets in professional rugby. Martin is a certified missile in defence, as he flies out of the line and makes clattering chop tackles.

Martin starred for England as they utilised Felix Jones' blitz defence, and it remains to be seen whether England will continue on with the high press now Oyonnax head coach Joe El-Abd has been appointed to the Irishman's vacancy. El-Abd may well introduce his own brand of defence to the England set-up, that could benefit a returning Chessum or Northampton's Alex Coles better than the high octane Martin, with all answers set to be revealed this Autumn.

BACK ROW

6. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks)

7. Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby)

8. Ben Earl (Saracens)

The two flankers are amongst the contingency of players, that have also overcame recent injury set-backs in time for the All Blacks Autumn opener. Beginning with Tom Curry, and the Sale Sharks hard-hitter sustained a head injury in a recent Premiership fixture, and has successfully completed the required return to play protocols. Tom has joined up with his brother Ben Curry in the England camp, yet we only expect to see one of the twin brothers take to the pitch against New Zealand.

We expect Sam Underhill to partner Tom Curry on the flanks, as the Bath bruiser is in some fiery form after recovering from an ankle injury. Underhill stole the show in Bath’s recent comeback win over Harlequins, as he flew out of the line in his customary style, and left the likes of Marcus Smith feeling the effects of a collision with Underhill.

The ‘Under-Curry’ back row partnership was a staple of the late Eddie Jones era, and England fans would be delighted to see the dynamic duo back together for the All Blacks Test. This moves Chandler Cunningham-South out of the starting line-up that toured New Zealand, with Ted Hill predicted to take the Harlequin’s spot amongst the replacements. Hill’s aforementioned heroics in blue, black and white has rightfully rewarded him with an England return, with no space for Cunningham-South in our match day 23.

And wrapping up the England starting XV, in the number eight spot we have gone for Ben Earl, with the Saracens back row eyeing up another crack at Ardie Savea. Earl and Savea were not shy of complementing one another in the pre-match media sessions out in New Zealand this past Summer, with a mutual level of respect established between two of the world's very best back rows.

Earl is out to continue his mission of becoming the world's best in his position, and he would certainly stake a claim to the title by getting the upper hand on the 2023 World Rugby Men's Player of the Year in the Autumn Series opener.

REPLACEMENTS

16. Theo Dan (Saracens)

17. Joe Marler (Harlequins)

18. Trevor Davison (Northampton Saints)

19. Alex Coles (Northampton Saints)

20. Ted Hill (Bath Rugby)

21. Harry Randall (Bristol Bears)

22. George Ford (Sale Sharks)

23. Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints)

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