England recalls Marler, Stuart for 1st rugby test against the All Blacks in New Zealand

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — England has recalled props Joe Marler and Will Stuart in the only changes to its starting lineup for the first rugby test against New Zealand at Dunedin on Saturday.

Marler and Stuart replace Bevan Rodd and Dan Cole in the only starting changes from England’s 52-17 win over Japan in Tokyo 10 days ago.

Cole will have to come off the bench to play his 114th test, which would see him join Jason Leonard as England’s second most-capped men’s player.

Harlequins prop Fin Baxter and Northampton wing Ollie Sleightholme, son of former England wing Jon, are likely to make their test debuts from the bench while lock Alex Coles replaces the suspended Charlie Ewels, who was sent off in the Japan test. Scrumhalf Ben Spencer also joins the reserves in place of Harry Randall.

Stuart has history against the All Blacks, having scored two tries in a 25-25 draw when the teams last met at Twickenham in November 2022. Seven players remain from the England team which beat New Zealand 19-7 in the semifinals of the 2019 World Cup.

“It doesn’t get more challenging than playing New Zealand at home but it’s exactly where we want to be,” England coach Steve Borthwick said. “We want to find out more about ourselves and test ourselves against one of the best teams in the world.

“Test rugby is a game of fine margins, so our mindset is going to be very important on Saturday. We’ll need to be mentally strong, play a tactically smart game and maintain our discipline.”

Borthwick chose not to go with a 6-2 split of forwards and backs on the bench when he announced his team Tuesday, two days before New Zealand will reveal its lineup.

Marcus Smith will continue at flyhalf in a backline that includes exciting winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.

England hasn’t beaten the All Blacks in New Zealand since 2003.

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England: George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Henry Slade, Ollie Lawrence, Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith, Alex Mitchell; Ben Earl, Sam Underhill, Chandler Cunningham-South, George Martin, Maro Itoje, Will Stuart, Jamie George (captain), Joe Marler. Reserves: Theo Dan, Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Alex Coles, Tom Curry, Ben Spencer, Fin Smith, Ollie Sleightholme.

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby