England vs. New Zealand - The Third Test

Many of us hoped and prayed to a higher being that this Test in Hamilton would be the decider, however after that narrow 28-27 loss last weekend it was not to be and the tour slipped out of England's grasp. Due to that fact this Test could be called ‘nothing match’ or if I were a Kiwi journalist I might dare to call it ‘a mere formality’ for the home side however being the English lady that I am I beg to differ. This Test should never be placed same sentence as the words ‘nothing’ or 'formality', it is actually rather important for both sides in terms of their current and future development and its result cannot conclusively be predicted prior to kick off. 

Anger, hurt and despair are all emotions that last weekend’s England Test team will have been feeling acutely since the final whistle in Dunedin and one question that I have been pondering over this week is just how do you recover from feeling like you have hugely let yourselves down for a second time in a row? There is no doubt about the fact that it is tough and on Saturday our England side must show that they are as strong emotionally as they are physically, even at the end of their tortuously long season. 

Once again there is a huge call to arms, however it is a focused one since  the previous two tests have shown that the All Blacks are not untouchable and in fact they are eminently beatable. Obviously selection for this final fixture has been dictated slightly due to a couple of key injuries to a Farrell and Care however Ben Youngs and Freddie Burns are two players that will seize the opportunity to ‘do the job’ for their side and in the process showcase their own worth. Elsewhere in the backs Brown, Yarde and Ashton will take care of things from deep with an Eastmond and Tuilagi centre partnership. In the First Test we saw glimpses of how potent this could be and I hope that after 80 minutes in Hamilton we are singing the praises of both centres and their work together. England have a huge amount of power and experience up front and under Graham Rowntree's guidance it is becoming a huge area of strength. A Marler, Hartley and Wilson front three should make for delightful viewing especially at scrum time and England's enforcer Courtney Lawes will aim to cause a destruction from the word go with Joe Launchbury replacing an injured Geoff Parling. Parling was immense in the Second Test, his stats said it all; he made 32 tackles, secured 11 lineout s& hit nearly 40 rucks...! His presence will be missed however Joe Launchbury is World Class and he'll dig deep for this final match of the season. Finally a Wood, Robshaw and Vunipola back row has a great balance to it and certainly a huge amount of go forward. Once again England's bench is jam packed with impact players and every single one will add an extra dimension as and when they enter the match on Saturday. 

Casting our eye over to the All Blacks for moment, finally, after 3 weeks of waiting they are able to play their trump card... welcome to the party IRB Player of the Year 2013 Kieran Read! Read, like his back row partner the great Richie McCaw, adds an extra element to the already star studded line up simply by being there and obviously his positional contribution is mighty too. It is not surprising in the slightest that Ben Smith retains the 15 jersey above Israel Dagg, I'm expecting another masterclass in rugby from him and Malakai Fekitoa is handed his first All Black start. The 22 year old Highlander continues his rise through the International ranks and it certainly will be captivating watching him go head to head with a certain 23 year old powerhouse wearing white!

As previously mentioned English emotions will be high, their desire to prove themselves will be greater than ever before and the fact that they have only one opportunity left to do so will add even more pressure however England must keep their emotions in check. To put it very simply England must deliver from minute one to minute eighty one and critically they must be confident in their collective ability. Over the past two test matches the players in white shirts have shown that Hanson’s men are indeed just men, they are not gods and as mentioned before they are not untouchable. England have eighty minutes of rugby left of this tour and rest assured when every single man finishes their work, be that after fifty minutes, sixty minutes or when the final whistle is blown they will have given it their all and will have absolutely nothing left to give. Will it be enough? Only time will tell, however I sincerely hope that it will be, because this squad's progression and desire truly deserves to return home with a victory under their belts. 

All Blacks; Ben Smith; Cory Jane, Malakai Fekitoa, Ma'a Nonu, Julian Savea; Aaron Cruden, Aaron Smith; Kieran Read, Richie McCaw (C), Jerome Kaino, Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Owen Franks, Dane Coles, Tony Woodcock Replacements: Keven Mealamu, Wyatt Crockett, Charlie Faumuina, Patrick Tuipulotu, Liam Messam, TJ Perenara, Beauden Barrett, Ryan Crotty
England: Mike Brown, Chris Ashton, Manu Tuilagi, Kyle Eastmond, Marland Yarde, Freddie Burns, Ben Youngs; Joe Marler, Dylan Hartley, David Wilson, Courtney Lawes, Geoff Parling, Tom Wood, Chris Robshaw (C), Billy Vunipola Replacements: Rob Webber, Matt Mullan, Kieran Brookes, Joe Launchbury, Ben Morgan, Lee Dickson, Danny Cipriani, Luther Burrell