The Ultimate Test - England vs. New Zealand

When you start to read the team sheets for this weekend’s QBE International the first names that you see at 15 are Mike Brown and Israel Dagg, next Semesa Rokoduguni and Ben Smith. As the list goes on through the half backs onto the forwards and across replacements I’m sure that you find, like I do, that the heart starts beating that little bit faster and the emotions start to build for you realise it is that time again. It is the time of the year when the giant of the Northern Hemisphere meets the giant of the Southern Hemisphere at Twickenham Stadium. Welcome to England versus New Zealand... 

2013 Test (22-30 All Blacks)

If we review the statistics it doesn’t take too much insight to come to the conclusion that there is one on paper favourite and they will be wearing all black; Steve Hanson’s side are ranked No1 in the World since 2009, they have only lost 2 matches under him and they house some of the most precocious talents in the history of the modern game. ‘The most precocious talents’ is a big statement however it one that I believe that few could disagree with if you pop the names Read and McCaw into that category. The All Blacks’ depth is particularly impressive, when you cannot find a place in your match day 23 for Dan Carter, even if he is returning from injury, then you are in a fortunate position. The adjective ‘impressive’ seems almost a little too fluffy to describe the side; Israel Dagg does things others can only dream out, Ben Smith is a pure delight, Sonny Bill Williams an enigma and as for Julian Savea... well I simply say all hail Savea. Up front Crockett, Coles and Franks can more than hold their own, the Retallick and Whitelock pairing is growing by the day and Kaino, McCaw and Read certainly know a thing or two about rugby!

Now you may be wondering why I haven’t yet mentioned Stuart Lancaster’s England, or the fact that the game will be played on home soil, well in all honestly I simply wished to contextualise the match we are about to witness based on the quality of opponents. I believe in England, I believe in Stuart Lancaster, his coaching team and their vision and path to the Rugby World Cup 2015 however I also believe that this weekend will be tough. Tough due to the fact that the All Blacks are that good, both individually and collectively and the recent Rugby Championship showed that in spades. Here comes the but.... but it is not impossible to beat them on Saturday afternoon or at any point in time. England showed that on that memorable day in December 2012 and during the course of the three tests in the Summer at Eden Park and at Dunedin in particular. England conquered the might through quietening Crockett and co up front and using that might as a huge platform. It created the platform to play off and they played with the ball in hand without fear or worry and this is what they must do again on Saturday. Marler, Hartley and Wilson will lead the charge, Lawes and Attwood must dominate the line out and in the loose boy do we need to be in the money. Backs... well it is time to show that Northern Hemisphere teams have some flair too and a lot of that responsibility will lie with Roko, Brown and Care.

Reading again down the team sheets do I feel we are weaker than the All Blacks in every single position? Hand on heart I do not, but do I think we have some question marks and areas that we as fans don’t know how are going to pan out. The clearest example is in the centres with the Kyle Eastmond and Brad Barritt combination; Kyle’s been outstanding for Bath and will be chomping at the bit to right his ‘wrongs’ of the summer and Brad is in the form of his life, however we haven’t seen them blend together or know definitively how they’ll cope against the Sonny Bill Williams and Conrad Smith machine. Is Jonny May defensively strong enough to pacify Julian Savea? What impact will our bench have versus the experienced Kiwi bench? These are all question marks and question marks that will go one way or the other. Crucially Chris Robshaw and has men always have a resilience and heart that exceeds any on paper statistic; in my eyes under Stuart Lancaster exceeding expectations is England's forte and whilst injuries have played a part already this year if this match day 23 exceed all of our expectations then they are capable of something remarkable.

England have been building for a number of years now, this side has already experienced many highs and many lows and this will be another experience in the bank. Never, in the time that Stuart Lancaster has been in charge, have England ever taken a step backwards and this first QBE International will be absolutely no different. England must believe that the All Blacks and their aura can be broken over the course of 80 minutes in South West London, even if the statistics and form book point against it. In the words of Andy Farrell it is time for 'the ultimate test'.  

England: 15 Mike Brown 14 Semesa Rokoduguni 13 Brad Barritt 12 Kyle Eastmond 11 Jonny May 10 Owen Farrell 9 Danny Care 1 Joe Marler 2 Dylan Hartley 3 David Wilson 4 David Attwood 5 Courtney Lawes 6 Tom Wood 7 Chris Robshaw (C) 8 Billy Vunipola Replacements: 16 Rob Webber 17 Matt Mullan 18 Kieran Brookes 19 George Kruis 20 Ben Morgan 21 Ben Youngs 22 George Ford 23 Anthony Watson

New Zealand: 15 Israel Dagg 14 Ben Smith 13 Conrad Smith 12 Sonny Bill Williams 11 Julian Savea 10 Aaron Cruden 9 Aaron Smith 1 Wyatt Crockett 2 Dane Coles 3 Owen Franks 4 Brodie Retallick 5 Sam Whitelock 6 Jerome Kaino 7 Richie McCaw (C) 8 Kieran Read Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu 17 Ben Franks 18 Charlie Faumuina 19 Patrick Tuiipulotu 20 Liam Messam 21 Thomas Perenara 22 Beauden Barrett 23 Ryan Crotty