England have confirmed that Freddie Steward will step up to start against the All Blacks, with regular starting fullback George Furbank ruled out of the second Test. The Northampton Saints man suffered a back injury in the first fixture, and Furbank was unable to recover from the injury in time for Saturday’s battle at Eden Park.
Thankfully for Steve Borthwick, his England squad is blessed with an equally talented fullback to replace Furbank. Steward is set for his first England Test since the second round of the 2024 Guinness Six Nations, as the Leicester Tigers man last represented his country against Wales back in February. Steward was amongst the players in focus, with All Blacks assistant coach Scott Hansen asked how his side will adapt defensively to tackle the powerful player.
“Freddie Steward at the back, we understand his strengths. He’s very, very strong in the air, a big composed boy. They will adjust and be able to adjust some things, we possibly expect them to go in the air more. But they’re all things we’ve acknowledged during the week.
“England are going to focus on what they do well and their DNA, and Freddie Steward is a class fullback. Possibly (miss George Furbank) but again, there’s an opportunity for someone else to step up there. What we need to do is defend.”
The All Blacks have only made one change this week, with Scott Robertson opting for a all but unchanged match day 23 from the side that beat England 16-15 in Dunedin. The sole alteration sees TJ Perenara out of the squad with a knee injury, and Finlay Christie gets set to start at scrum half. Supporting the Blues halfback is Cortez Ratima, with the Chiefs man hopeful to make his debut off the bench at Eden Park.
Hansen’s message to Ratima this week was clear; “enjoy your game son.” The coach then elaborated to express how Ratima and Christie have been settling into their roles this week, with the halfbacks set to take the All Blacks forward into this new era without their long standing scrum half Aaron Smith not internationally retired.
“He’s (Ratima) been really calm, has been composed. The experience around him with TJ (Perenara) with him this week, has just given him that guidance and that care. Like any All Black is an opportunity for him to go out and represent, we know he’ll do that well, at the end of the day, he’s earned the right to be here, he’s getting treated the same as everyone else.”
“Finlay again, very comfortable with us in this environment now. He’s earned his start. We’re excited to see when they go out. And he’s acknowledged some learnings from last week and he’s led really well this week.”