New Zealand vs England 6th July Dunedin

England (Copied from Poorfour's post)
Furbank
Feyi-Waboso
Slade
Lawrence
Freeman
Smith M
Mitchell

Marler
George
Stuart
Itoje
Martin
CCS
Underhill
Earl

Replacements
Dan
Baxter
Cole
Coles
Curry
Spencer
Smith F
Sleightholme

The match is under cover, at the Forsyth Barr stadium

Kick off is 7:05pm local time and 8:05am UK time.

The build-up has been very low-key. While both Tests are expected to sell out, the NZRU says around 800 tickets are still available for Saturday. Official capacity for the Forsyth Barr is 30,748. Pushed to name England players, most New Zealand supporters would struggle to come up with more than Tuilagi, Farrell, Vunipola and Lawes, who have all gone. Some might remember Ford's World Cup masterclass against Argentina, and he's not on tour either.

Marcus Smith does get coverage. When Wigglesworth appeared on "The Breakdown" yesterday, Jeff Wilson remembered how he changed the game against New Zealand at Twickenham. Aside from him, though there's not a lot of awareness, and most probably don't know that Jamie George is captain.

The real focus in NZ has been on Scott Robertson, and what he might bring to the table. "The Breakdown" says the All Blacks have fourteen tests this year, including away fixtures against South Africa, Ireland, France and England. While no New Zealander wants to countenance losing any matches, Mils Muliaina suggested he might be satisfied with just 9 wins across the season.

Team’s up:

Furbank
Feyi-Waboso
Slade
Lawrence
Freeeman
Smith M
Mitchell

Marler
George
Stuart
Itoje
Martin
CCS
Underhill
Earl

Dan
Baxter
Cole
Coles
Curry
Spencer
Smith F
Sleightholme

A good level of continuity from last week. The key change is to the props - interesting to see Baxter get his debut against NZ in NZ (albeit off the bench). I thought Rodd may have done well enough against Japan to hold his place, but clearly Borthwick wants the stronger scrummaging option.

Glad to see young Fin Baxter get his chance. I didn't think that Bevan Rodd did enough previously so Fin steps up. Given that he destroyed Ben Tamefuina (sp?) against Bordeaux, I can't see him being fazed by the occasion. He's one to watch. Could be a starter in a year's time if he continues along this path.

Not sure that the team have enough skill or pace, but the defence has got so much better recently and the attack is immeasurably different to the stodge we had previously.

That said, pretty much everyone said the same thing about the Semi-Final in 2019. Let's see...

Sounds like the main reason Baxter and Sleightholme weren't in the squad for Japan, is because they joined up late, with no previous experience of England camps.

I don't expect that England will win, but we are finally on an upwards trajectory, and the AB's don't have the same aura of invincibility that they used to. Interesting times

Rugby Fan wrote:Sounds like the main reason Baxter and Sleightholme weren't in the squad for Japan, is because they joined up late, with no previous experience of England camps.

Baxter was one of the earlier joiners, but presumably they wanted extra time to prepare him for scrummaging against what's likely to be a pretty brutal NZ front row.

Scott Barrett on the Aotearoa rugby podcast

Poorfour wrote:

Rugby Fan wrote:Sounds like the main reason Baxter and Sleightholme weren't in the squad for Japan, is because they joined up late, with no previous experience of England camps.

Baxter was one of the earlier joiners, but presumably they wanted extra time to prepare him for scrummaging against what's likely to be a pretty brutal NZ front row.

That or they needed him dialled into the defence and the requirements in attack where he might need to carry a bit more than at Quins when paired with Cole.

I think this is pretty much strongest 15/23 available. Whether it's enough is another matter but fair play to Borthwick he is giving it a go.

Mr Bounce wrote:Glad to see young Fin Baxter get his chance. I didn't think that Bevan Rodd did enough previously so Fin steps up. Given that he destroyed Ben Tamefuina (sp?) against Bordeaux, I can't see him being fazed by the occasion. He's one to watch. Could be a starter in a year's time if he continues along this path.

Not sure that the team have enough skill or pace, but the defence has got so much better recently and the attack is immeasurably different to the stodge we had previously.

That said, pretty much everyone said the same thing about the Semi-Final in 2019. Let's see...

Well, as they say, gonna be interesting.  Seems the Kiwis don't really have a good feel for their team, and though we know the England squad a little better, it is still such a work-in-progress, so going in with question marks too.  England didn't set the world alight in the Six Nations.  And the Super Rugby I watched this spring, granted not so much this year, was fairly mediocre by Super Rugby standards.  So only thing to do is go out and play.  All to play for.  

Not terribly enthused with Spencer as the back-up 9, so hoping when he comes on England have a lead to defend.  But this could go any which way.  Forsyth Barr Stadium is a nice little venue so the crowd usually gets into it pretty well.

I'm very happy with that 23.

Baxter for Rodd and Spencer for Randall are good calls. Simply better players IMO.

I'm excited to see how Baxter in particular goes. He's got Cyril Baille vibes to him, albeit lesser developed. A very good all round skillset.

They've continued with one prop who can carry more and one who's rock solid at set-piece. In the Six Nations it was Genge/Cole or Marler/Stuart. The only aberrations to that being injury preventing it. That was in R1 when Cole and Marler played 20 minutes together, but due to Obano not being trusted until the 75th minute. They tried to always have one prop who could carry off 9 decently. I think it's an astute tactical decisions given England have needed more carrying options for a while now.

It'll be very fun seeing how CCS goes starting against the ABs too. I think he's a brilliant talent but averages 40 mins an appearance this season. For comparison, Earl is at 73 minutes and even Underhill, who gets subbed most games for England and Bath, is at 68 minutes. CCS has only played 80 minutes twice in his pro career and one of those was in the PRC. His game time has generally been managed by club and now country to maximise impact whilst his conditioning comes along. It's going to be very interesting seeing how he does across presumably 50+ minutes of the ABs pace of play.

NZ are favourites but it is a decent time to play them. Several big retirements, the massive loss of Will Jordan* and Razor installing new systems.

Aaron Smith is a gigantic loss. He was world class for so many years. He didn't drop off at any point, unlike Brodie after the injuries or Whitelock and Coles as they aged. Nuggy should be the hardest to replace.

* Jordan has 31 tries in 31 matches. If Beaudy or Reiko don't overtake Howlett's ABs record of 49 tries then Jordan certainly should.

Seeing as most of us in England won't be able to watch it live, are there re-runs or highlights being shown on terrestial tv?

Mr Bounce wrote:Seeing as most of us in England won't be able to watch it live, are there re-runs or highlights being shown on terrestial tv?

Why do you think people won’t be able to watch it live? I suppose if you don’t have Sky at home the pubs probably won’t be open, but you could get a NOW tv day pass for the price of a couple of pints.

I don't have Sky, just wouldn't get value from having it so I'll wait for highlight clips etc and listen on radio live.
NOW tv day pass sounds interesting, I'll check it out.

Poorfour wrote:

Mr Bounce wrote:Seeing as most of us in England won't be able to watch it live, are there re-runs or highlights being shown on terrestial tv?

Why do you think people won’t be able to watch it live? I suppose if you don’t have Sky at home the pubs probably won’t be open, but you could get a NOW tv day pass for the price of a couple of pints.

Nearly everyone I know who has Sky don't have the Sports extension because they can't afford it. 

However the Now TV pass does sound like a cracking idea. Thanks.

Mr Bounce wrote:

Poorfour wrote:

Mr Bounce wrote:Seeing as most of us in England won't be able to watch it live, are there re-runs or highlights being shown on terrestial tv?

Why do you think people won’t be able to watch it live? I suppose if you don’t have Sky at home the pubs probably won’t be open, but you could get a NOW tv day pass for the price of a couple of pints.

Nearly everyone I know who has Sky don't have the Sports extension because they can't afford it. 

However the Now TV pass does sound like a cracking idea. Thanks.

Of course I would never endorse illegal behaviour (my definition of illegal does have a certain....ahem, situational flexibility.....built in) but it might be cheaper in the long run to use a VPN and stream in if all one wants is the Rugby.  In America 95% of all Rugby is on two platforms which combine to cost ~$25 per month, which is loosely £20 per month.   Includes replays on-demand like most streaming services.

How is it screened in NZ, on a free to air channel there or behind pay wall? If fta then VPN will do the job.

mountain man wrote:How is it screened in NZ, on a free to air channel there or behind pay wall? If fta then VPN will do the job.

From the NZ Herald......

All Blacks v England How to follow the action
For live commentary of All Blacks v England, join Elliott Smith on Newstalk ZB, Gold Sport and iHeartRadio.

You can watch the game on Sky Sport 1 and live streaming on Sky Sport Now; an alternative commentary option from the Alternative Commentary Collective is available on iHeartRadio, Hauraki and Sky Sport 9.

You can also find live updates at nzherald.co.nz.

All Blacks squad:

Stephen Perofeta, Sevu Reece, Rieko Ioane, Jordie Barrett (vc), Mark Tele'a, Damian McKenzie, TJ Perenara, Ardie Savea (vc), Dalton Papali'i, Samipieni Finau, Patrick Tuipulotu, Scott Barrett (c), Tyrel Lomax, Codie Taylor, Ethan de Groot

Reserves: Asafo Aumua, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Fletcher Newell, Tupou Vaa'i, Luke Jacobson, Finlay Christie, Anton Lienert-Brown, Beauden Barrett

A number of pundits predicted Ethan Blackadder would start in the back row but he doesn't even make the bench. James Parsons, a former hooker, said on the Aotearoa podcast that he would want Finau, who, at 196cm, is a genuine lineout option. That is the way Robertson has gone.

Perofeta at full back, with Beauden Barrett on the bench, is another talking point.

Seen some comments about this is a new NZ squad but a lot of very familiar and very good players there!
Barretts, Savea, Tele'a, Mckenzie, Papali'i, Taylor, de Groot....you get picture.

Hmmm, I was rather hoping England might pull off unexpected with a win in 1st Test but I'm not hopeful.

Different playmaking fullback to the one expected. Stephen Perofeta plays a fair bit at flyhalf so expect him to be a secondary kicking option as well.

Samipieni Finau is a big hitter on the blindside. A lot of pundits seemed to favour Blackadder but he doesn't make the 23. Finau has come under fire for some borderline late hits and I've seen an article pre team announcement suggesting he should be aimed at Marcus Smith so expect some roughing up of our flyhalf.

The props are massive so will be a big ask at scrum time. The aerial capabilities of Barrett at 12 will 100% be used to test our backfield coverage. Furbank really will need to take control of that area early and stamp his authority on affairs.

The NZRU has kindly uploaded the 2nd Test from our 1985 tour. We had a bright start...

Scott Robertsons words are interesting. Most coaches would say "this is 23 to take on England" or "this is 23 to challenge England" etc
but he's gone for "this is 23 to beat England". I don't think he's saying they will beat England with this but it's a good statement of intent.

Nothing wrong with that and how coaches should say it. Far too many Cat foot around, be respectful but if you are there to win then don't be shy to say it.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/c06k53xnjgxo

I'm interested to see Aumua at this level - he was hugely impressive at U20 a few years ago and i was surprised it's taken him this long to break through to the senior side.

If Finau really has been picked for his tendency to put in "after the pass" hits on the fly half, then I hope he is refereed correctly. And also that, at least once in the game, Smith spots him coming and dances out of the way into the gap he's left.

Well we've got a good referee for this one, it's Nika Amashukeli. Not a man afraid of dishing cards out either. One of the best in the world currently as well.

If Finau wants to charge up put the line then hopefully we have a runner off the shoulder of the first receiver. IFW dancing through shoulder tackles will soon stop that method of targeting the playmaker.

Poorfour wrote:I'm interested to see Aumua at this level - he was hugely impressive at U20 a few years ago and i was surprised it's taken him this long to break through to the senior side.

If Finau really has been picked for his tendency to put in "after the pass" hits on the fly half, then I hope he is refereed correctly. And also that, at least once in the game, Smith spots him coming and dances out of the way into the gap he's left.

You beat me to it....late tackles become penalties, yellows and reds!

And yes im sure Smith will be looking for the gaps....

Geordie wrote:

Poorfour wrote:I'm interested to see Aumua at this level - he was hugely impressive at U20 a few years ago and i was surprised it's taken him this long to break through to the senior side.

If Finau really has been picked for his tendency to put in "after the pass" hits on the fly half, then I hope he is refereed correctly. And also that, at least once in the game, Smith spots him coming and dances out of the way into the gap he's left.

You beat me to it....late tackles become penalties, yellows and reds!

And yes im sure Smith will be looking for the gaps....

If the ABs send a player for a little hug and a kiss after a pass, then the game should properly revert to 1990 and police itself.
See it
Say it
Emasculate the offender
Sorted

England looked a bit underpowered once C-S and Martin came off against Japan and I think the loss of Ewels exacerbates that. Best hope is that NZ come into a little undercooked but with it being Robertsons first game not sure we can rely on that norm. Probably going to be fairly close for about 50 then NZ to pull away.

doctor_grey wrote:

Geordie wrote:

Poorfour wrote:I'm interested to see Aumua at this level - he was hugely impressive at U20 a few years ago and i was surprised it's taken him this long to break through to the senior side.

If Finau really has been picked for his tendency to put in "after the pass" hits on the fly half, then I hope he is refereed correctly. And also that, at least once in the game, Smith spots him coming and dances out of the way into the gap he's left.

You beat me to it....late tackles become penalties, yellows and reds!

And yes im sure Smith will be looking for the gaps....

If the ABs send a player for a little hug and a kiss after a pass, then the game should properly revert to 1990 and police itself.  
See it
Say it
Emasculate the offender
Sorted

Oh i know...i dont complain when Mr Lawes does it....

Geordie wrote:

Oh i know...i dont complain when Mr Lawes does it.... ;)

Lawes is uniquely good, in the modern game, at staying just the right side of the line. His tackles make you wince even watching at home, but it's hard to think of one where he wasn't fully committed before the ball was passed.

Poorfour wrote:

Geordie wrote:

Oh i know...i dont complain when Mr Lawes does it....

Lawes is uniquely good, in the modern game, at staying just the right side of the line. His tackles make you wince even watching at home, but it's hard to think of one where he wasn't fully committed before the ball was passed.

Very true...

No 7&1/2 wrote:England looked a bit underpowered once C-S and Martin came off against Japan and I think the loss of Ewels exacerbates that. Best hope is that NZ come into a little undercooked but with it being Robertsons first game not sure we can rely on that norm. Probably going to be fairly close for about 50 then NZ to pull away..

Mate, I think this is one of those games for which it is nigh on impossible to predict, at least for me. I could see England with a decent enough win or England could be flattened like yesterday's crepe.

The ABs will come out fast and aggressive for their new coach. But will they be over-aggressive or playing a sustainable or a dominant approach at this level with their new coach? And frankly do they have the horses? I didn't watch too much Super Rugby this season, but what I saw was generally not great (nor terribly interesting).

England played some nice Rugby towards the end of the Six Nations, but a win and a loss to end the Six Nations just doesn't get my English heart beating faster. I have no idea what we will see from them. And the loss of Lawes doesn't help my confidence level. This is still part of the fundamental Borthwick question. England are now clearly playing to a plan and seem like a decent enough team. But can Borthwick et al move England up the required next rungs of the ladder? Mongo don't know. Mongo only pawn in game of life.
Quoth The Doctor: "Who knows?"

Geordie wrote:

Poorfour wrote:

Geordie wrote:

Oh i know...i dont complain when Mr Lawes does it....

Lawes is uniquely good, in the modern game, at staying just the right side of the line. His tackles make you wince even watching at home, but it's hard to think of one where he wasn't fully committed before the ball was passed.

Very true...

He's also improved his technique to the point now where the questions around Lawes timing are no longer there. Might also be because Lawes isn't as quick as he used to be.

While the NZ press expects England to have a solid set piece, that's probably the area where the All Blacks could cause us trouble. In the worst case, it could be a repeat of the Japan-England match, with England playing the role of Japan.

If we can get at least parity, then it might play out more like the Six Nations games against Ireland and France. Anthony Watson is optimistic that our rush defence will put more pressure on D-Mac than he saw this season in Super Rugby. Ben Youngs thinks he has the footwork to handle it and cause us trouble.

Has the prodigal son returned? Better slaughter the fatted cow.

formerly known as Sam wrote:

Geordie wrote:

Poorfour wrote:

Geordie wrote:

Oh i know...i dont complain when Mr Lawes does it....

Lawes is uniquely good, in the modern game, at staying just the right side of the line. His tackles make you wince even watching at home, but it's hard to think of one where he wasn't fully committed before the ball was passed.

Very true...

He's also improved his technique to the point now where the questions around Lawes timing are no longer there. Might also be because Lawes isn't as quick as he used to be.

Well, who IS as fast as this?  Certainly no one else from England who was on the pitch a the moment.  Or was able to run the length of the pitch to make a try saving tackle.  But that was back a couple of years ago:  https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=420031366434774

Quite refreshing to be able to see a high level test match and have no idea how it's going to go.

I really hope for the sake of their sanity that the England lads ignore the media hype. I don't know on what basis everyone keeps saying they have "a really good chance for a test series win". Robinson has chosen on form and that's highly relevant to this. Combinations do take a few games to click but the standard of play in the Super Rugby season was very high this year. In other words, there's only so 'bad' that New Zealand could possibly be.

Good luck to England. A strong England is a strong Lions next year and we all want that.

Hmm not sure many are saying England will win a game let alone two for series?
Most say if any time to get an away win in NZ it's now what with new coach etc but it's still going to be a formidable challenge and NZ team is still packed with brilliant players.
At least any hype around England rugby is miniscule compared to circus around football team. Now that really is ridiculous hype.

doctor_grey wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:

Geordie wrote:

Poorfour wrote:

Geordie wrote:

Oh i know...i dont complain when Mr Lawes does it....

Lawes is uniquely good, in the modern game, at staying just the right side of the line. His tackles make you wince even watching at home, but it's hard to think of one where he wasn't fully committed before the ball was passed.

Very true...

He's also improved his technique to the point now where the questions around Lawes timing are no longer there. Might also be because Lawes isn't as quick as he used to be.

Well, who IS as fast as this?  Certainly no one else from England who was on the pitch a the moment.  Or was able to run the length of the pitch to make a try saving tackle.  But that was back a couple of years ago:  https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=420031366434774

Lawes is still a class act but as you'd expect from someone in their mid thirties the first few metres of acceleration isn't what it was. Lawes was great at getting off the line shockingly quick for a big man and then pulverising halfbacks who thought they had more time. His later career has seen more defending in the line (smashing bigger blokes) and an often overlooked ability at the breakdown.

As you say he hasn't become slow. Could be in for another Lions Tour if he really fancies it and can get the release.

George Carlin wrote:... I don't know on what basis everyone keeps saying they have "a really good chance for a test series win"....

On the BBC podcast (link below), Chris Jones points out that England have never had such good preparation time for a summer tour. In 2014, Premiership final players weren't even available for the first Test. This time round, we've had a camp in England, a match against Japan, and a two week gap before the first NZ Test.

That doesn't make us favourites, and I haven't seen anyone talking about a series win with any real confidence. It does mean the circumstances are about as favourable as they are ever going to be from a preparation perspective.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7y0GYSvCv30d4Ic8IgECqZ?si=0287992affc044c8

I dunno, I just fancy England to take this one.

That's probably jinxed you now.

mikey_dragon wrote:I dunno, I just fancy England to take this one.

That's probably jinxed you now.

Thanks, mate.

The reality is, it's two teams who have had mixed results in the last couple of years and are both early in the process of rebuilding. NZ have been putting it better performances overall but it's their first run out under a new set of systems. It shouldn't be underestimated that for all that Razor is an excellent coach, it's the first time in 20 years that NZ have had a new head coach who hasn't been promoted from inside their setup. There will be some rough edges. But they're at home, in a venue they love and their overall standard and the experience in their squad is high.

England are a little further along in their development but still putting the pieces together. There are some known weak spots - the fringe defence in particular - and some big unknowns (is Fin Baxter ready? Can Marcus Smith show the same control he exercised in Japan under a very different sort of pressure?), but they have had longer together and we know they are capable of upsets. Borthwick has a track record of designing gameplans to target specific opposition, and England have been competitive in their key games since he took over (while less than impressive in other games - but often with the caveat that these have been where he's been taking risks in selection or preparation in one way or another).

History says NZ should win. The question is how close England can push them.

Behind the scenes at the All Blacks

George Carlin wrote:Quite refreshing to be able to see a high level test match and have no idea how it's going to go.

I really hope for the sake of their sanity that the England lads ignore the media hype. I don't know on what basis everyone keeps saying they have "a really good chance for a test series win". Robinson has chosen on form and that's highly relevant to this. Combinations do take a few games to click but the standard of play in the Super Rugby season was very high this year. In other words, there's only so 'bad' that New Zealand could possibly be.

Good luck to England. A strong England is a strong Lions next year and we all want that.

Mate, you hit on a number of points which require comment.  Not because I have anything of value to add to the discussion, but you have fired my juvenile mind and it's your fault for feeding one of the animals in the zoo.....

George Carlin wrote:I really hope for the sake of their sanity that the England lads ignore the media hype. I don't know on what basis everyone keeps saying they have "a really good chance for a test series win".

England haven't achieved anything - since not winning the 2019 RWC.  They even found a way to settle for a draw against NZ when a chance to actually 'win' was in the cards!  Hype?  That's a four letter word and England better understand that (which I reckon was one of your points!).

George Carlin wrote:Robinson has chosen on form and that's highly relevant to this. Combinations do take a few games to click but the standard of play in the Super Rugby season was very high this year. In other words, there's only so 'bad' that New Zealand could possibly be.

That's funny, but the Super Rugby I saw this year I thought was pretty poor.  And boring.   Probably one of us - or both - were drinking when watching?????

George Carlin wrote:Robinson has chosen on form and that's highly relevant to this.

Robinson has Boris Johnson hair.  Before giving him any real cred, let's see how he gets down from being stuck on a zip line.  

George Carlin wrote:Good luck to England. A strong England..............we all want that.

Can I freely misquote you at inconvenient times, such as next year's Six Nations?????

They even found a way to settle for a draw against NZ when a chance to actually 'win' was in the cards!  



Not really, Smith had ball in England half(maybe 22?) and given where respective players were on each side if he'd risked attacking from where he was he was in danger of getting turned over and NZ winning. I think kicking ball dead was right call.
I'm typing this not watching end again as can't be arsed to do so but it's what I remember.

David Campese has a funny feeling England will win.

“England will push New Zealand all the way but this is Dunedin and the All Blacks are formidable. But something in me says that the extra Test in Japan might help the Poms so I’m calling this 33-21 to England and I’m donning my tin hat for the post match comments!”

He expects Australia to win a tight match against Wales, and the Boks to be too strong for Ireland.

https://www.planetrugby.com/news/david-campeses-predictions-tin-hat-on-after-all-blacks-call-and-the-assassin-who-could-decide-springboks-v-ireland

mountain man wrote:They even found a way to settle for a draw against NZ when a chance to actually 'win' was in the cards!  



Not really, Smith had ball in England half(maybe 22?) and given where respective players were on each side if he'd risked attacking from where he was he was in danger of getting turned over and NZ winning. I think kicking ball dead was right call.
I'm typing this not watching end again as can't be arsed to do so but it's what I remember.

We certainly agree about not going back to look again!  But where we differ is I don't care where England were.  They came back from a huge hole, had the ABs on their heels, and from what I recall, simply gave it up.  At that point after stinking up the joint for 60-65 minutes, they actually had better than a puncher's chance.  And given how they were moving through the ABs, which is very rare, why not go get them.  

What I vividly remember was that felt to me like surrender.  Nothing was gained by the draw, and since it felt like a loss, go get the win.  Just try.  If I were running the RFU, I would have fired EJ on the spot. Of course, if any of us were running the RFU, a lot of things would be different....

Rugby Fan wrote:David Campese has a funny feeling England will win.

“England will push New Zealand all the way but this is Dunedin and the All Blacks are formidable. But something in me says that the extra Test in Japan might help the Poms so I’m calling this 33-21 to England and I’m donning my tin hat for the post match comments!”

He expects Australia to win a tight match against Wales, and the Boks to be too strong for Ireland.

https://www.planetrugby.com/news/david-campeses-predictions-tin-hat-on-after-all-blacks-call-and-the-assassin-who-could-decide-springboks-v-ireland

Glad you posted that - just because I haven't been referred to, even indirectly, as a POM in such a long time!

Guardian on how George Furbank is potentally undermining his teammate.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jul/05/alex-mitchell-all-blacks-world-best-teams-not-unbeatable-rugby-union

One of Alex Mitchell’s strengths is his calm, unflappable temperament. Very little irritates the England scrum-half, an increasingly important cog in a team looking to play at a higher pace and tempo. There is an exception to every rule, however, and a recurring off-field issue has been disrupting the Northampton half-back’s preparations for the Test series against New Zealand.

Sharing a room on tour has long been part of the whole squad experience but, in Mitchell’s view, living with George Furbank, England’s full-back and a Saints teammate, is currently almost as awkward as facing the All Blacks. “We call him the ‘Facetime King’ because he’s constantly on Facetime to his girlfriend,” reports Mitchell. “The other night he was on the phone until midnight. We had training the next day and I was like, ‘George, you’re going to have to hang up’.

“Sometimes he’s on for hours. They’re like schoolchildren: talking about little things and giggling to each other. There was even one time when Furbs was lying on his front and kicking his legs up and down. I’m like ‘George, this is way too much.’ I’m single, so it infuriates me even more.”

Should Mitchell not be on absolutely sparkling form in the first Test we will now know why. And ditto, obviously, if Furbank has an absolute stormer.

One guy could stop Furbank for letting women distract him. Always keep it zipped before a game.....

George Furbank Link