England at Twickenham presents many challenges. One non-negotiable is a relentless, combative physical battle. In this regard, the comparably youthful All Blacks forward pack confront their coming-of-age test this weekend.
Last November at the same revered London venue, the All Blacks fielded a forward pack featuring incumbent tighthead prop Tyrel Lomax, first-choice lock Tupou Vaa’i and they then welcomed influential impact off the bench from vastly experienced Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu.
With those figures absent through injury, half the All Blacks starting forward pack this weekend are expected to be 25 or younger.
Test forwards, generally, hit their prime in their late 20s, early 30s, when they bank the experience of locking horns against contrasting opposition and grizzled veterans throughout the rugby world.
The All Blacks, though, are promoting their next generation, partly through the necessity of injuries, and attempting to accelerate their development curve.
That maturation comes to a head against England.
Dynamic loose forwards Wallace Sititi (aged 23) and Peter Lakai (22) are again favoured to start alongside Ardie Savea.
Sititi turned heads at Twickenham last year but the impressive, in-form Lakai will meet England for the first time.
Youth extends to the second row where rookie test lock Fabian Holland (23) will pack down alongside the returning Scott Barrett, with Josh Lord (24) shifting to the bench after impressing in the All Blacks captain’s absence.
Without Lomax, Fletcher Newell (25) will continue to anchor the scrum before fellow props Pasilio Tosi (22) and Tamaiti Williams (25) emerge off the bench.
In a youthful pack, Barrett’s return from a nasty gash on his knee that required a dozen stitches assumes greater significance.
“He’s our captain,” All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan said. “He’s done all the work he can to get that cut healed up. All going well he’ll get through another training day on Thursday [Friday NZT]. He’ll be great for us, especially up front the English are a big forward pack who we immensely respect so we’ll have to be on.”
For all England’s evolution they promise to provide the sternest test of the All Blacks set piece on this Grand Slam tour.
The All Blacks back their scrum to gain the upper hand but England will come for their maul defence after they conceded one try there against Scotland last week – and their shaky kick off receptions.
With Maro Itoje leading the menacing charge alongside loose forwards Sam Underhill and Tom Curry, England will also attempt to make a mess of the All Blacks’ desire to play at pace by targeting the breakdown.
And by including six forwards, two backs, on a bench dubbed the “Pom squad” featuring six British and Irish Lions, England have circled their combative intentions with red marker pen.
None of this is news to Ryan but after witnessing the likes of Lord stand tall in recent weeks, he is confident his pack will relish and rise to this week’s occasion.
“We’re reasonably young in a few areas,” Ryan said as the All Blacks trained at their Lensbury base. “When you look at our three locks [Holland, Lord and Sam Darry], I’m immensely proud of them in the last couple of weeks. Josh Lord has come of age. He’s been training extremely well and made the most of his chance.
“Last week in particular, when those boys aren’t looking to Scott Barrett, Patrick and Tupou Vaa’i, it’s them in the moment. We take a lot of confidence out of that.
“In this team, sometimes you don’t get many opportunities but when you do you’ve got to take it.
“We’ve got some good areas of our game we’ve got a little bit of confidence in at the moment, which is pleasing but by no means are we satisfied with where we’re at, so we’re looking forward to stepping up in a helluva contest.”
In their quest to play with width and speed, the All Blacks have developed a penchant for using their forwards to largely dish out the backdoor to create time and space for their playmakers.
While that’s worked well at times, they may be forced to earn the right to go wide through a more varied, direct approach, against England.
Losing Lions lock Ollie Chessum is a setback for the English pack but the All Blacks are well aware of the threat the world-class Itoje poses.
“He’s a great competitor and has been for so long for England and Saracens. He was immense for the Lions too. I love the way he competes on and off the ball. He runs their lineout and he’s a big part of their strategy. It’s a great opportunity for us to come up against him with our young locks.”
Ryan bristled at suggestions the All Blacks are viewed as more vulnerable than in previous visits to Twickenham. But with England on a nine-match winning run, Ryan also believes the All Blacks’ three tight victories over Steve Borthwick’s men last year hold little relevance.
“I’m sure we’ve got a couple of weaknesses they’ve seen. Good on them if they’ve got confidence. We have too. That’s what you want from all your players when you go out in the fiercest arena.
“They’ve evolved immensely, and we have as well. They’ve changed in how they like to break teams down. They’ve used the 6-2 split and found a bit of identity there and where that’s potentially working for them.
“England are on a bit of a roll and we’ve got a bit of confidence as well. It’s all set up for a heck of a test match.”
On the injury front, two All Blacks squad members are heading back to New Zealand with Samipeni Finau (family illness) and Luke Jacobson (head injury) ruled out for the rest of the season. Finau hasn’t played since the first Rugby Championship test against Argentina,while Jacobson hasn’t featured this season.
Christian Lio-Willie, Josh Beehre and Caleb Tangitau have joined the squad.
England team to play the All Blacks:
15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Guy Pepper, 5 Alex Coles, 4 Maro Itoje (C), 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Jamie George, 1 Fin Baxter
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Chandler Cunningham-South, 20 Tom Curry, 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Ben Spencer, 23 Marcus Smith
Liam Napier is a Senior Sports Journalist and Rugby Correspondent for the New Zealand Herald. He is a co-host of the Rugby Direct podcast.