Written by @QuintenLetcher for @Hollywoodbets. Follow them both on Twitter and Facebook now!
New Zealand vs England | Saturday 14 June | Forsyth Barr Stadium | 09:35
Failing to come away with the compelling victory so many expected against a heavily depleted English side in Auckland last week, the slightly humbled All Blacks head out in Dunedin this Saturday hoping to quell fears of their waning invincibility a mere year before the next World Cup kicks off. Despite starting out as strong 1/20 favourites at Eden Park, it took a 78th minute Conrad Smith try against Stuart Lancaster’s second-string roaming Red Roses (further weakened to fourteen men thanks to the unfortunate discovery of Marland Yarde on the wrong side of a ruck) to finally secure a less than celebratory victory for the home side. Both teams head out with points to prove in Dunedin; the rejuvenated Poms need the victory to keep their tour prospects alive, while the All Blacks will be looking to prove last weekend’s lacklustre performance was more a case of first Test jitters than a sign of their dominance in the sport beginning to wane.
To Win (80mins)
New Zealand 1/9
England 8/1
Draw 33/1
Handicaps
New Zealand (-13.5) 9/10
England (+13.5) 9/10
New Zealand
Steve Hansen has decided against brutally hacking up the side that were fortunate to sneak a last-gasp victory over their under-strength visitors, making the cruel, but accurate, statement in the press that dropping all those that performed poorly last week would render him unable to field a full side this Saturday. The injury-enforced replacement of Israel Dagg by Ben Smith, with Julian Savea returning to the wing, forms the only change to the side that started in the opening Test. Hansen believes last week’s horror-filled performance at Eden Park, which he holds to be the worst in his tenure, is due to a lack of preparation time, and having retained most of his run on side for the second Test expects to see a more fluid All Black attack this week. They will be greeted by a super-charged England attack, but if just half the current All Black side can show marked improvements this week, Hansen won’t have much to sweat over.
England
Stuart Lancaster had the tough task of deciding just how much to tinker with his sensational ‘B-side’ following their sublime performance in the first Test that almost secured an unthinkable series lead. With the players from the Aviva Premiership’s final now available to Lancaster, the optimistic tourists head out this week with five changes to the side that scared the over-confident locals, most of them in the backline as Lancaster hunts for the first English try of the tour. Danny Care starts at scrumhalf, forming one of the halfback duo, with Owen Farrell, who returns to replace Freddie Burns at flyhalf, completing the other. Billy Twelvetrees and Luther Burrell reclaim the midfield from Kyle Eastmond and Manusamoa Tuilagi, while in the forward pack Tom Wood replaces James Haskell at blindside flanker.
VERDICT : England (+13.5) 9/10
The All Blacks will be looking to rain down fire and brimstone at Forsyth Barr stadium this week following their near loss in the opening Test of the series. Hansen has backed his first choice side despite the utter-shambles that unfolded in Auckland, and with the Kiwis notoriously rusty in their first clash of the season, we will inevitably be exposed to far superior All Black performance in Dunedin this week. The English, however, have fielded a far stronger side than last weekend’s mix-n-match team, and while I can’t see them taking down the reigning World Champs on Saturday, I can easily see them keeping the heat on the home side for the full 80 minutes once again.
Think we’ve got it wrong? Well leave your comments below and tell us how you think this is going to play out.
