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       #Post#: 129528--------------------------------------------------
       O/T England v ABs
   DIR By: Banstead Quin
       Date: October 29, 2024, 12:04 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       England: Furbank; Feyi-Waboso, Slade, Lawrence, Freeman; M
       Smith, Spencer; Genge, George (capt), Stuart; Itoje, Martin;
       Cunningham-South, T Curry, Earl.
       Replacements: Dan, Baxter, Cole, Isiekwe, B Curry, Dombrandt,
       Randall, Ford.
       Centre Henry Slade will resume his starting role in England's
       midfield against New Zealand on Saturday despite playing only 54
       minutes of club rugby this season.
       Slade had shoulder surgery in the summer and only made his
       comeback in Exeter's defeat by Harlequins last weekend.
       Elsewhere, Ben Spencer, whose previous six caps have all come as
       a replacement, comes in for the injured Alex Mitchell at
       scrum-half, with Bristol's Harry Randall on the bench.
       Tom Curry is included in the back row alongside Chandler
       Cunningham-South and Ben Earl, with brother Ben among six
       forwards replacements.
       George Ford, fit again after a quad injury, is also on the
       bench, but there is no place for Sam Underhill, who started both
       England's July defeats in New Zealand, in the matchday squad.
       Ellis Genge, who missed the summer tour with a calf injury, is
       back at loose-head prop and named as one of four vice-captains
       to back up skipper Jamie George.
       Second row and new Saracens captain Maro Itoje, Ford and Earl
       complete the on-pitch leadership group.
       "We’re excited for the challenge of playing against one of the
       best teams in world rugby," said head coach Steve Borthwick.
       "We’ll need to be accurate, keep our discipline, and maintain a
       level of intensity throughout the match, from the first whistle
       to the final moment.
       "With just two games at Allianz Stadium in our last 15, it’s
       fantastic to be returning to play in front of our home crowd
       again."
       England drew 25-25 in their most recent Twickenham meeting with
       New Zealand in 2022.
       Although England famously trumped the tournament favourites at
       the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, they have to go back to 2012
       for their last win over the All Blacks on home soil.
       #Post#: 129530--------------------------------------------------
       Re: O/T England v ABs
   DIR By: Bod
       Date: October 29, 2024, 1:28 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       I always appreciate Campese's observations, and he's typically
       not far wrong!
       “England were as boring as batshit in the World Cup and Six
       Nations."
  HTML https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/other/david-campese-hits-out-at-boring-england-s-lack-of-ambition-and-calls-for-steve-borthwick-to-let-marcus-smith-run-the-show/ar-AA1t88ff?ocid=msedgntp&pc=ASTS&cvid=53c7403b3ab74612a272899bcc43ff2b&ei=56
       #Post#: 129536--------------------------------------------------
       Re: O/T England v ABs
   DIR By: KentQuin
       Date: October 29, 2024, 6:13 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       I really don't understand Borthwick. These are glorified
       friendlies. Roll the dice and see what others have to offer.
       We have an embarrassment of back row options but we're picking
       Tom Curry and Dombrant who haven't played for a month....  Ford
       on the bench but hasn't played....same with Martin.... Slade
       walks into the side after a nothing performance against us....
       I appreciate you can't rip up the starting XV in it's entirety
       but this reeks of ignoring premiership form.
       #Post#: 129538--------------------------------------------------
       Re: O/T England v ABs
   DIR By: Fearless Fred
       Date: October 30, 2024, 3:18 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Thing is that these games *do* have something more than Friendly
       status. The draw for the next RWC will depend on World Ranking
       points, so any chance to slip down to the second level of the
       draw, particularly with the expansion of the competition to 24
       teams could have a big impact on who a team end up facing. The
       only "friendly" games in a Head Coaches' mind now are BaaBaas
       and A-Team (and even the latter of those will have some bearing
       on squad makeup etc...)
       Plus Borthwick is only allowed so many changes to the previous
       squad.
       #Post#: 129540--------------------------------------------------
       Re: O/T England v ABs
   DIR By: deadlyfrom5yardsout
       Date: October 30, 2024, 3:41 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Another way of looking at it is that The Coach is disrespecting
       the oppo and bringing in several "returning from injury" type
       players just to give them a run out.
       #Post#: 129542--------------------------------------------------
       Re: O/T England v ABs
   DIR By: Banstead Quin
       Date: October 30, 2024, 4:32 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       I think the "can't make many squad changes" thing only feeds the
       nepotism of picking favourites. KQs observations above re
       players are solid other than Dommers who only had a hand injury
       for a few weeks but was still able to physically train as where
       others are still, in effect in a pre-season. Let them miss the
       autumn and build up and then if they have a good spell over
       December/January, you can then add them to the 6N squad. It
       won't be a good look if any of them break down in the next two
       weeks. Add in these new fangled central contracts and Ford will
       still be playing in his 60s and would still have played less
       club rugby than Johnny Sexton did!
       It should always be on form but I get you need to build cohesion
       over a 4 year period for the WC.
       #Post#: 129545--------------------------------------------------
       Re: O/T England v ABs
   DIR By: Fearless Fred
       Date: October 30, 2024, 5:20 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       The restricted number of changes was partly at the request of
       the clubs, as they wanted clarity that a coach couldn't simply
       toss out the complete EPS & pull in a whole new load of players.
       Clubs wanted certainty that when they recruit, they can have a
       fair knowledge of who they can rely on having for the whole
       season in club colours, who's going to probably be called up,
       and who's a "possible/A-Team" to allow them to plan accordingly.
       #Post#: 129546--------------------------------------------------
       Re: O/T England v ABs
   DIR By: MaidstoneQuin
       Date: October 30, 2024, 5:37 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Slade is the worst call, he’s rarely set the international stage
       alight and he’s given a start without proving his form.
       This is Alex’s last chance saloon I think in terms of making an
       impression. The gentle consensus outside of the Quins camp is he
       is a great club player but not able to step up. You feel if he
       dosent shine if given the chance the likes of Willis will surely
       be in the conversation for 6 nations if he continues his form.
       I’m just hoping England actually compete the full 80. It was
       evident over Summer after about 60 minutes they just ran out of
       steam and ideas and lacked the game management to kill the game
       off (like us vs Bath)
       #Post#: 129547--------------------------------------------------
       Re: O/T England v ABs
   DIR By: Brown Bottle
       Date: October 30, 2024, 5:41 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: Fearless Fred link ---
       >
       > The restricted number of changes was partly at the request of
       the clubs, as they wanted clarity that a coach couldn't simply
       toss out the complete EPS & pull in a whole new load of players.
       Clubs wanted certainty that when they recruit, they can have a
       fair knowledge of who they can rely on having for the whole
       season in club colours, who's going to probably be called up,
       and who's a "possible/A-Team" to allow them to plan accordingly.
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       Partly? Surely the clubs are the sole beneficiaries? It was
       PRL's idea; I can't see why the RFU would care and I absolutely
       can't see why the England coach would want it.
       #Post#: 129549--------------------------------------------------
       Re: O/T England v ABs
   DIR By: boroughquin
       Date: October 30, 2024, 5:50 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: MaidstoneQuin link ---
       >
       >
       > This is Alex’s last chance saloon I think in terms of making
       an impression. The gentle consensus outside of the Quins camp is
       he is a great club player but not able to step up. You feel if
       he dosent shine if given the chance the likes of Willis will
       surely be in the conversation for 6 nations if he continues his
       form.
       >
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       Agree with you. I haven't met one non-Quins supporting fan who
       believes that Dombrandt is the 2nd best 8 in the country. We
       know better than anyone else what he's capable of but it's just
       not happened for him on the international stage yet. Not always
       easy coming on for 15-20 mins when the games gets a bit
       disjointed. Really hope he shines over the coming weeks.
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