New Zealand vs England Preview
The summer rugby union tests are underway with a massive match in the southern hemisphere. New Zealand will host England on July 6th in Dunedin at 8:05 am. This is a fascinating clash between two of the sport’s titans.
New Zealand will play for the first time under their new head coach, Scott Robertson. There’s an element of the unknown about the All-Blacks adding intrigue to this game. Meanwhile, England wants to show they’re improving under Steve Borthwick.
The All-Blacks enter this game as a significant favourite. England will see a massive opportunity to get a result down under. This is a New Zealand in transition and it will be exciting to see how they look.
New Zealand vs England Key Stats and Head-to-Head
England vs New Zealand has taken place 43 times throughout history. However, the All-Blacks have dominated this old rivalry with 33 victories. The English have only won eight matches against the Southern Hemisphere giants. Just two of these victories came in their past 10 meetings.
However, the English emerged victorious in their last clash with the All-Blacks. This was in 2019 in the Rugby World Cup semi-final in Yokohama. They won 19-7 on a famous day for the Red Roses.
Manu Tuilagi’s score and George Ford’s penalty helped the English blaze their way into a 10-0 lead. The officials ruled out two England tries as they dominated the early stages. But the All-Blacks can change a game in an instant and they came roaring back. Ardie Savea narrowed the gap to 13-7 when he crossed the line. However, Ford didn’t blink and his clinical penalties were the difference. This was one of the best games of his England career. Unfortunately, he is unavailable for this test.
Marcus Smith is emerging as a key player for England under Borthwick. He was massively influential in the destruction of Japan in their last test. Ford’s injury may have helped Borthwick to make an easier decision over the position. Fin Smith is breathing down his namesake’s neck after an excellent season for Northampton.
Discipline is potentially a problem for the English because they’ve received needless cards in their past couple of games. Charlie Ewels is unavailable after a red card while Smith also earned a yellow against the Japanese. England can’t afford to lose the latter, so Borthwick must calm his players down.
Much has been made of this being a new All-Blacks side. However, England is also in transition and missing several very experienced stars. Owen Farrell is unavailable after he moved to France. Veterans like Elliot Daly and Ellis Genge are also out of this Test series.
Scott Robertson raised eyebrows by including Pasilio Tosi in his 32-man squad. The gigantic prop only started six games for the Hurricanes this season, but ‘Razor’ likes what he saw. Meanwhile, Robertson has already received criticism for leaving out Hoskins Sotutu after an excellent year in Super Rugby. Sotutu was the joint top try-scorer and had the most lineouts in the competition.
Meanwhile, some analysts are accusing him of bias. The Crusaders have more players in the squad than the Blues despite their contrasting years. None of this will matter if Robertson’s team starts strongly. However, All-Black managers are always under pressure.
One man we expect to see against England is Beauden Barrett. The New Zealand icon returns to his country after a stint in Japan. He’ll probably wear the No. 15 shirt because Damian McKenzie will start at out-half. The latter is an unbelievable player, and it’s time for him to show his qualities in front of the world.
England will enter this game in mixed form after a tumultuous Six Nations campaign. They lost against France and Scotland but beat Ireland and Wales. It’s almost pointless looking at New Zealand’s last six games. They won every match except for the World Cup Final against South Africa and now Robertson is their new coach.
Don’t underestimate the significance of intrinsic motivation. This is a chance for the Red Roses to win their first away Test series against New Zealand. They’re desperate to do it and this will spur them on.
Ben Earl’s battle with Ardie Savea is going to be one of the most exciting contests in this game. Earl wants to be the best in the world and there’s no better way to prove it. This is going to be a furious battle between two elite stars.
New Zealand vs England Predictions
Predicted Score: New Zealand 30 – England 15
We predict New Zealand will dominate and win this rugby union game. The English are missing several key veterans and are a growing team under Steve Borthwick. They showed signs of improvement against a limited Japanese side. However, the All-Blacks are on another level.
New Zealand will also want to prove they’re still global rugby’s most dominant force. South Africa’s recent successes stung their ego and they’re desperate to reassert themselves. Unfortunately, the Red Roses may find themselves on the wrong side of a hammering.
It will be interesting to see how Scott Robertson adapts to test rugby. He’s one of his country’s greatest club coaches ever and has a brilliant tactical mind. If he can get the best out of his team, they will be a dangerous force to be reckoned with.
His lack of experience at this level is England’s best chance of winning. Borthwick has some excellent players at this disposal and they’ll be desperate to beat the All-Blacks in New Zealand.
Check out live betting during this game in case the Red Roses take a shock lead into halftime. New Zealand has lethal players like Mark Telea who can help them achieve a comeback. No lead is enough when facing the All-Blacks because they can score a try from nothing.
New Zealand vs England Betting Tips
Betting on New Zealand to win this game outright doesn’t make sense because they’re 1/6 favourites. A €10 stake would only win €1.67 if successful. Luckily, you can find better value in making prop bets on our sports betting platform.
Why not place a wager on the winning margin? It’s 11/10 for the All-Blacks to win by 15 or more points. This correlates with our predicted scoreline. They have elite players like Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie, who can take control of a game.
Check out the over/under-betting odds for the number of tries and penalties. It may also be worth wagering on the number of yellow cards. England has had several sin-binned players in their past couple of matches.
If you want to bet on the underdog, England is available at a profitable 4/1. This time, a €10 stake would make a €40 profit. New Zealand is and should be the favourites, but they’re an unknown quantity under Scott Robertson. England could pull off a surprise victory. This is an excellent opportunity to use our welcome bonus. Remove the risk while maximising the potential returns.
Betting on rugby is fun because there are so many markets. Players can even place a stake on the match’s total points being odd or even. It’s 17/20 for the game to finish with an even total, with €10 returning €8.50 in profit.
There are several huge Summer Test Internationals this weekend. Ireland travel to South Africa as underdogs. Meanwhile, Wales will play Australia and France will take on Argentina. Why not create an accumulator with all the favourites?
Ready for the challenge 🌹
England head coach Steve Borthwick has named his 23-man squad to face the @AllBlacks in Dunedin on Saturday.#NZLvENG | #WearTheRose | @O2 pic.twitter.com/ShmhfyOppV
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) July 2, 2024
New Zealand Team News and Predicted Lineup
Robertson has some massive decisions to make for his first starting line-up. Crusaders star Sevu Reece will probably play ahead of Emoni Narawa. Mark Telea is under pressure from Caleb Clarke but will start.
Damian McKenzie will be Robertson’s 10 and this will force Beauden Barrett to play at fullback. Wallace Sititi is one of the most intriguing uncapped players. Richie Mo’unga and Will Jordan are two of the biggest injury losses.
- Lineup: Beauden Barrett, Sevu Reece, Rieko Ioane, Jordie Barrett, Mark Telea, Damian McKenzie, TJ Perenara, Ardie Savea, Dalton Papalii, Ethan Blackadder, Patrick Tuipulotu, Scott Barrett, Tyrel Lomax, Codie Taylor, and Ethan de Groot.
England Team News and Predicted Lineup
Borthwick has a decision to make at scrum-half between Alex Mitchell and Ben Spencer. However, we expect Mitchell to start ahead of the Bath captain. Similarly, it’s a straight pick between Marcus and Fin Smith at out-half. The former will start after a great game against Japan.
England is without the likes of Elliot Daly and Ellis Genge. Owen Farrell is ineligible for selection after joining Racing 92. Charlie Ewels is serving a suspension.
- Lineup: George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Tommy Freeman, Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Alex Mitchell, Marcus Smith, Joe Marler, Jamie George, Will Stuart, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Sam Underhill, Chandler Cunningham-Smith, and Ben Earl.
