Fortress Eden Park awaits England with the All Blacks unbeaten at the Auckland venue since 1994 – a run that includes 48 wins and two draws. Darry Worthington previews.
New Zeland v England
Saturday 12 July 2024 – 09:05
Eden Park, Auckland
There was little between the two sides last weekend as an extremely tight score line suggested and we could well be in for another close run thing out in Auckland this weekend.
To Win Match
New Zealand 1/5 | Draw 25/1 | England 37/10
Handicap
New Zealand (-10.5) 9/10 | England (+10.5) 9/10
He’s no Ian Foster, that’s for sure! Gone was the stern-faced seasoned coach sitting in the New Zealand coaching box. In his place was an animated younger man who lived every minute of Saturday’s nervy fixture with Scott Robertson’s face showing more emotional dexterity than Jim Carey in his prime. In fairness to Robertson, it was an extremely tense affair on the South Island with England refusing to go away.
The Kiwis took the lead on the 13-minute mark with Sevu Reece – one of Robertson’s stars during his years at the helm of the Crusaders – scoring the first try of the Razor error. England would hit back with a try of their own a few minutes later with Maro Itoje dotting down from close range. Marcus Smith added the conversion which put England two points up with just over a quarter of the fixture played. A touch of brilliance from Blues man Stephen Perofeta would set Ardie Savea up for a try five minutes later. Damien McKenzie would miss his second shot at goal for the night and an England penalty just before half-time saw the sides go into the sheds with the score locked at 10-10.
The English would have the better of it during the opening phases of the second stanza as they moved the lead with winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso dotting down in the 46th minute. Damien McKenzie then converted to penalties to hand the All Blacks a 16-15 lead with 15 minute left in the game. McKenzie – who had enjoyed a decent if not spectacular game up until this point – then saw a 78th-minute attempt at goal timed out which meant New Zealand would have to defend for the final minute of the fixture. They managed to do just this ensuring the ‘Razor Robertson Era’ got off on the right foot.
Both teams have a lot to work on following the fixture with goal kicking an area that let both down. Marcus Smith left a lot of points out there as did his opposite number.
The English will also need to make a couple of changes for this one with veteran prop and part-time comic, Joe Marler, ruled out due to a foot injury, while New Zealand are likely to be without veteran scrumhalf TJ Perenara who looked to have sustained a rather serious knee injury.
Verdict: New Zealand (-10.5) 9/10
The handicap is a lot smaller than last weekend, which is justified considering how tight the first Test was. I reckon with Robertson’s first Test now out of the way see will see a less nervous Kiwi side. My money is on the hots finding their attacking groove in the second half of this one and clearing the handicap with a second stanza blitz.
