HALFBACKS
10. Marcus Smith (England and Harlequins)
9. Finlay Christie (New Zealand and Blues)
Whilst Marcus Smith came under scrutiny for leaving crucial points on the pitch in Dunedin, the Harlequin had a stunning performance around the park in all other respects. After Scott Barrett name-checked the fly half as a top England threat in the pre-match media, it was abundantly clear that the All Blacks had their eye on the playmaker, with pressure mounting upon the 10 channel throughout the Dunedin battle.
Smith reached down into his arsenal for the Eden Park match, and put on a scintillating display in Auckland. Two cross-field kicks provided the assists for Feyi-Waboso and Tommy Freeman’s tries, with Smith also starring at fullback in the absence of George Furbank and later Freddie Steward. It was a tough call between Finlay Christie and Alex Mitchell for the scrum half spot, but we have decided to stick with the Blues nine as he stepped up to start.
After TJ Perenara suffered a knee injury in Dunedin, Christie rose to the occasion off the bench to orchestrate the second half offensive against the touring side. Christie would then be named to start in the Eden Park return match, and spent the week nurturing Chiefs hotshot Cortez Ratima, with the replacement scrum half making a debut off the bench. Christie had a solid outing upon both occasions, with his off-field work getting him the nod ahead of the Northampton halfback.
FRONT ROW
1. Fin Baxter (England and Harlequins)
2. Jamie George (England and Saracens)
3. Tyrel Lomax (New Zealand and Hurricanes)
The easiest position to occupy was the loose-head spot, after Fin Baxter ran the gauntlet and came out unscathed upon his debut. The 22-year-old stepped up off the bench and dominated the scrum, with Joe Marler forced off after just 20 minutes with a foot injury. Baxter was brilliant on debut in Dunedin, and rolled this momentum round excellently for his first Test start at Eden Park. Baxter put in a monstrous 70-minute shift in the second Test, and rightly received the plaudits from Dan Cole after the match.
Joining Baxter in the front row is his England captain Jamie George, with the bulk of the reason behind his selection exemplified in his performance at Eden Park. George and his All Black counterpart Codie Taylor were like-for-like in Dunedin, with the Saracen given the nod to start, after his replacement ‘u-turn’ at Eden Park. George was substituted off for Theo Dan, yet just 30 seconds later his Saracens understudy vacated the pitch after taking a heavy hit to the head. George returned to see out the match, and was impressive at scrum-time.
Rounding off the front row is Tyrel Lomax, as the All Blacks prop was New Zealand’s best scrummager and worked well in the loose. After plenty of mid-week discussions around Ethan de Groot’s unpenalised scrummaging in Dunedin, Lomax silenced the critics and won a handful of scrum-penalties from the tight-head. Whilst Fin Baxter took a starring role up front in Dunedin, there is no mistaking that Lomax was the box office prop at Eden Park.