There was a late change to the England squad ahead of the second Test against the All Blacks, as fullback George Furbank has been withdrawn from the fixture at Eden Park. England scrum coach Tom Harrison discussed Furbank’s exit to the reporting media, just a matter of minutes after the Northampton man was ruled out of the squad.
“This morning George woke up and wasn’t quite right.” Harrison said. “So, he flagged it to the medics and the medics do what they do and the decision was made between the medics, Steve and George that he would be unavailable for selection this weekend. It is massively disappointing for George, he has been brilliant in the way he has been playing this season.”
Coming in for Furbank and starting at 15 against New Zealand is Freddie Steward, with the Leicester Tigers man set for his first England cap since February. Steward last ran out for a Test match in the second round of the 2024 Guinness Six Nations against Wales, with Harrison excited to see what the fullback brings to Eden Park tomorrow.
“That was done this morning but on a brighter note we have got depth in that position and a world class player in Freddie Steward coming in. He’s got 33 caps. He’s played in big Test matches consistently for England so it is a great opportunity for him. I think there are strengths of his game that he can bring to our game-plan.”
A scrum coach by trade, Harrison is giddy with excitement to see how England’s latest propping protege Fin Baxter will fare upon his first test match start. The Harlequin made his debut off the bench against the All Blacks last Saturday, as he had an immediate impact in replacing Joe Marler, with the veteran prop picking up a foot injury after 20 minutes. Baxter was reaping the plaudits following his first cap, and Harrison could not be prouder of the 22-year-old loose-head.
“Fin’s brilliant.” Harrison said. “He’s not taken his cap off.” England back row Sam Underhill added in the pre-match media session. Harrison then said; “He Probably hasn’t, been in his room wearing it. “He’s come through the pathway works really hard at his game with Adam Jones at Harlequins and Joe Marler, he’s someone we’ve been tracking for a while.
“Then he’s gone well in training and he got the opportunity on the bench last week, and then he got thrown on early on and I was impressed. I think every player in our squad will say that coming to New Zealand is not easy.
“Getting your first cap against New Zealand away from home when you come on within 20 minutes of the game kicking off, and he just took it in his stride. Even on the side of the pitch when I’m telling him to go on, he’s repeating to me the three things he needs to do and he just takes it in stride and I’m stood their like ‘Wow.’
“So as a young man I’ve been very impressed with him. Again now it is a different challenge this weekend. Where he’s known that he’s going to be starting in how he prepares himself. But again I’ve got no issues with him and confident in him. Look, I’m sure there’s lots of learning to be done. I’m sure he’ll do that learning but I’ve got all credit and belief in what he can achieve.”
There has been plenty of discussion regarding the scrum, with Fin Baxter in the forefront of the heavily scrutinised All Blacks pack. Whilst the first half saw Will Stuart take Ethan de Groot to scrummaging school for some early scrum penalties, the enrolling of Fin Baxter added an unexpected element, which tore up the scrum in the absence of an injured Joe Marler.
“I’m expecting a contest. Jason Ryan (New Zealand forwards coach) has done a great job since he came into place with New Zealand. He’s improved their scrum dramatically. They’re one of the top two scrums in the world, so I’m expecting a strong contest there. I think it’s been blown out of proportion slightly, every week in Tests World Rugby send out a clarification video around officiating, and the scrum was part of that like every week.
“We’ve spoken to World Rugby about how the scrum will be officiated, so we expect a good, clean contest for both teams there.”
“There are slight nuances with every referee. It’s for the players to understand that and what they need to do. What we’ve focussed on is things we can control. We can’t control how New Zealand scrummage, and how the referee sees it. We focus on what we can control.”
England are set to take on the All Blacks at Eden Park, with the shot at ending New Zealand’s 30-year unbeaten run of Test match victories on the line. Despite the opportunity to make some incredible English sporting history, in the same week that Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions have reached the Euro 2024 Final, Harrison expressed how the pressure is all on the All Blacks to defend their record.
“I understand the New Zealand history behind it, yeah, and the record here. We haven’t focused on that. It’s not our record to protect, it’s New Zealand’s record to protect. We’re here to compete and play a game of rugby.”
Whilst England are set for the first visit to Eden Park for a decade, one man who is set to return to the Auckland amphitheater after a short break away is former All Blacks coach Andrew Strawbridge. The New Zealander left the All Blacks amongst the back-room staff shake-up, which followed the 2023 Rugby World Cup Final defeat to South Africa. Harrison has been enjoying some of Strawbridge’s teachings, with his experience proving invaluable upon the tour of his homeland.
“He has been brilliant for me, as a young coach, he has got many years of wisdom. He has been brilliant in how he interacts with coaches and also how he gets his message to the players in a unique way. There are definitely learnings for me as I develop as a coach.
“I have learned some new (New Zealand) words from him. Being direct is knowing what the player requires or needs in that moment. It is something you gain through a sense of feel and the feel he has in terms of knowing when to communicate and interact has been exceptional.
“For me, taking a step back and watching him communicate with players and going ‘wow’ the way he did that and the way he understood the player and what they required in that moment is pretty impressive. He has been a great addition to our coaching teams.”
5 Ex-Rugby Players With SHOCKING Post-Retirement Body Transformations
elow is a look at five players who lost a ton of weight after their rugby union careers ended.
#1. Richie McCaw
Rugby fans cannot believe McCaw’s body transformation as the All Blacks legend showed off he has lost muscle mass since hanging up his boots.
Since retiring, the double World Cup-winner has become obsessed with ultra-hardcore marathons and has shifted a lot of that weight to give him a speed advantage.
The 41-year-old, who weighed 107 kg, is now closer to 87kg since dropping the weight.
For context, that’s a weight drop of over three stone.