England head coach Steve Borthwick has selected his squad, as England prepare for their final Test of an arduous 2023/24 season. Borthwick’s men take on New Zealand at their fabled home of Eden Park, with the All Blacks’ 30-year winning streak at the Auckland stadium on the line this Saturday.
Borthwick has made just one change to the match day squad, after his England side finished agonisingly close last Saturday in Dunedin. The Forsyth Barr Stadium almost witnessed the first England win against the All Blacks on New Zealand soil since 2003, yet Scott Robertson’s new side held firm for a nail-biting 16-15 win. Borthwick’s sole change sees Harlequins prop Fin Baxter get his first Test match start, as he replaces Joe Marler on the loose-head.
The veteran prop injured his foot and was seen around England’s team hotel upon crutches whilst wearing a medical boot. Marler is reported to have injured his foot in a scrum, yet remains in the England camp to mentor young Baxter, with the 22-year-old getting his first start this Saturday at Eden Park. Here are the top five talking points from Steve Borthwick’s press conference, beginning with the news of Baxter taking the number one jersey.
1. Fin Baxter set for his first start as England’s number one.
So, to immediately address the sole change of the match day 23, Baxter’s adrenaline is pumping as he prepares to take the fight to New Zealand for his first start in an England jersey. Steve Borthwick has been tremendously impressed by the quality of the young loose-head’s scrummaging, and is delighted to see Marler remain in camp as his protoge makes his maiden England start.
STEVE BORTHWICK: “We’re obviously disappointed that Joe (Marler) is injured and unavailable for selection. He had the option to go back home but he has decided to stay out this week and continue to help the team, which is a great statement about him and the spirit amongst the players here.
“I thought Fin did really well coming off the bench and, as you know, I want consistency in the team – I want to build the relationships in this young team and guys’ understanding of each other. I see a team that has grown. There’s still lots to learn but the team is growing.’
“I see him as a really composed, calm young man. He is eager to learn and clearly has a great relationship with Joe Marler, so he has a great mentor and assistance right there. He’s a guy who seems to take things in his stride.”
“The scrum is a great challenge. We knew before the game that New Zealand have a top-quality scrum – they and South Africa have the top two scrums in the world. It is a great challenge, especially for young props.
“We could talk about that before the Test match last week, we could show the players videos and try to replicate things in training, but now players like Fin have scrummed against them so they understand a bit more about their players and how they scrum.”
2. Dan Cole set to make a career appearence milestone with no talk of retirement
England prop Dan Cole is set to make an impressive appearence record this weekend, as the Leicester man overtakes Jason Leonard in all-time caps. Cole has been named on the bench for Saturday’s Test against the All Blacks, and upon making a replacement appearence he will accrue his 115th cap for England.
The 37-year-old will move up to second in the all-time charts, with just his long time Leicester friend Ben Youngs in his way, with 127 caps. Both Borthwick and his England captain Jamie George expressed their congratulations of the tight-head, with Cole set to receive a special pre-match commendation before England head to Eden Park on Saturday. The ‘Cola-Bear’ has had no retirement talks with Borthwick, with the head coach hammering this home today.
STEVE BORTHWICK: “That (Cole’s retirement) is not a conversation I have had with Dan Cole. Dan knows how much I value him. I am sure how much I value him and his wife certainly knows how important he is to the team. I have had that conversation with her as well.
“At some point after a break we will have a conversation like we did after the World Cup and after the Six Nations and I will ask him what his feelings are. I have enormous respect for him. After he got his 100th (cap) I sat at the post-match dinner with him and his wife and she said to me: ‘Steve thank you he is at peace now.’ I looked around just to check and said he has got plenty more Test matches for England in him. She said: ‘Yeah.’
“I asked him after the World Cup, how do you feel. I asked him after the Six Nations I will have that conversation again in due course but that’s not a conversation for this week. This week he has got a Test match to go and play and he has got a huge role in this Test match. Even if I tried to have the conversation with him this week, I think he would tell me ‘Steve, I have got a Test match to focus on.”
JAMIE GEORGE: “He hasn’t yet (had his commendation) there will be on Friday. That’s generally when we do things on the captain’s meeting the night before the game, it’s just the players. So we certainly will be acknowledging that, it’s an incredible achievement for an incredible man who’s done so many amazing things for English rugby.
“And I think, when you take into account the amount of time that he’s been out of this English team, and how hard he’s had to work to get back into it, I think it’s an incredible story, really, and he’s a huge inspiration to all of us. “To any young prop out there about how you know, he made the most out of what you have. I think he’s done that in spades.”