The indications are that All Blacks skipper Scott Barrett will tonight be named to start against England at Twickenham - a potential return that will obviously strengthen the side but will not remove the requirement for young locks Fabian Holland and Josh Lord to continue to deliver.
The clash against England on Sunday morning NZT is looming as the toughest of the All Blacks’ Grand Slam tour and the intensity generated by the home pack in front of a partisan crowd will be unlike anything Holland, 23, and in his first year of international rugby, and Lord, 24, have experienced.
While England have not beaten the All Blacks since the 2019 World Cup semifinal, they are on a nine-Test winning streak and have found a game plan under Steve Borthwick that they are supremely comfortable with.
Should Barrett be passed fit from a gashed right leg suffered early in his team’s win over Ireland, which ruled him out of last weekend’s victory over Scotland, he will likely start alongside Holland, with Lord a potential impact player.
The unavailability of England lock Ollie Chessum is a blow for Borthwick’s men, but the set piece pressure brought by senior lock Maro Itoje and his teammates will be a huge test for a relatively young All Blacks pack.
For forwards coach Jason Ryan, the development of Holland and Lord (and to a lesser extent Sam Darry, who was on the bench at Murrayfield) is a big reason why the All Blacks are confident of a good performance against the No.4 team in the world.
“We’re reasonably young in a few areas – when you look at our locks, we’re immensely proud of them in the last couple of weeks especially. Lordy has come on and trained extremely well and made the most of his chance.
“Last week in particular when those boys aren’t looking for Scott Barrett, Patrick [Tuipulotu] and Tupou Vaa’i – it’s them in the moment – we take a lot of confidence from that.”
For Lord, who is set to play in his third Test in three weeks for the first time in his career after overcoming debilitating ankle and knee injuries, his preparation and patience is finally paying off.
Lord made his Test debut back in 2021 but has played only 10 since. It was his one-handed pick-up and break against Scotland early at Murrayfield which set up his side’s opening try for Cam Roigard.
“Coming up against two of the top sides in Europe has been bloody good for me,” Lord said. “Obviously learning next to Scooter [Barrett] and young Fabian – we’re always trying to get better and learn from each other.”
Lord, whose father, Matt played for English club Northampton under coach Wayne Smith for six years, made his respect for Itoje clear when he said: “He’s bloody world class isn’t he? We know how niggly he can be and he’s a good set piece operator. As a forward we’re going to have to be bloody right on.”
Ryan was less inclined to use the “niggly” description for a player who has a special knack for winding up the opposition.
“Niggly? He’s just a great competitor,” Ryan said. “He has been a great competitor for so long for England and for Saracens. He’s part of the Lions and he’s been great for them too.
“I actually love the way he competes on the ball and off the ball. He runs their lineout and is a big part of their strategy, I’d say. It’s a great opportunity for us to come up against him with our young locks.”
Ryan, asked by an English reporter whether British opposition now prepared with more confidence and belief for the All Blacks, replied: “We respect every team in front of us. Test matches are all won differently. I’m sure we’ve got a couple of weaknesses that they’ve seen.
“We’ll prepare as deep as we can because we know they will be – they’re incredibly well coached. Good on them if they have confidence – we will too, and that’s what you want from all your players.”
The All Blacks match-day squad to play England at Twickenham on Sunday, kick-off 4.10am NZT, will be announced today at 9pm NZT.
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