England face their toughest Test of the year this coming weekend as New Zealand are back in town and looking to avenge last years’ defeat. This week’s O2 Inside Line previews the game and gives you another behind the scenes look in the England camp.
Following victory over Argentina, England have been preparing for the big clash with unbeaten New Zealand. The home side won a year ago, but doing the same again will be a mammoth task.
“We have to compete with these teams every time we step out on the field,” said Owen Farrell.
“They are No.1 in the world and that is where we want to get to. They have been setting the standard for a long time. We have to make sure, if we want to be up there, that we do the same.
“Last year is irrelevant. We have to make sure we are a team getting better,” he added.
In this week’s O2 Inside Line Alex Payne returns as host and Joe Launchbury and David Wilson give some technical analysis on where they can improve, while Danny Care and Joe Marler go through a banter-filled session of Team Mates. We also learn a bit about S&C coach Dave ‘Tweety’ Silvester.
England team:
Mike Brown; Chris Ashton, Joel Tomkins, Billy Twelvetrees, Ben Foden; Owen Farrell, Lee Dickson; Joe Marler, Dylan Hartley, Dan Cole, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, Tom Wood, Chris Robshaw (c), Billy Vunipola. Replacements: Tom Youngs, Matt Mullan, David Wilson, Geoff Parling, Ben Morgan, Ben Youngs, Toby Flood, Alex Goode.
New Zealand:
Israel Dagg; Charles Piutau, Ben Smith, Ma’a Nonu, Julian Savea; Dan Carter, Aaron Smith; Tony Woodcock, Keven Mealamu, Owen Franks, Brodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock, Liam Messam, Richie McCaw (c), Kieran Read. Replacements: Dane Coles, Wyatt Crockett, Charlie Faumuina, Luke Romano, Steven Luatua, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Aaron Cruden, Ryan Crotty.
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