England recall Ford and Steward but drop Genge to bench for New Zealand clash

George Ford and Freddie Steward have been recalled to the England side to face the All Blacks with Steve Borthwick dropping last week’s captain Ellis Genge to the replacements and again loading his bench for Saturday’s showdown at Twickenham.

Ford comes back in at fly-half after sitting out the 38-18 victory over Fiji while Steward returns at full-back but Borthwick has kept Tom Curry on the bench and opted to name Genge – captain last week – as well as fellow British & Irish Lions Luke Cowan-Dickie and Will Stuart among the replacements.

Maro Itoje returns to captain the side and is partnered in the second-row by Alex Coles with Ollie Chessum sidelined by a foot injury. Tommy Freeman, who is nursing a hamstring injury, also misses out with Toe Roebuck returning on the right wing. In total Borthwick has made seven changes to the side that beat Fiji but only the injury-enforced changes of Chessum for Coles and Ollie Lawrence for Freeman from the XV that overcame the Wallabies the week earlier.

Ford’s return to lead the side from the No 10 jersey was expected given his early season form for Sale and the manner in which he guided England past Australia. As a result, Fin Smith drops out of the 23 altogether with Marcus Smith providing cover from the No 23 jersey as one of six Lions on the bench. Steward’s return comes with Borthwick opting against throwing Elliot Daly straight back into the fray for a first appearance since fracturing his arm while on Lions duty.

The decision to start with a front-row of Fin Baxter, Jamie George and Joe Heyes demonstrates Borthwick’s determination to maximise his bench given the quality he has in reserve. Elsewhere among the replacements, Chandler Cunningham-South covers the second row while Henry Pollock and Ben Spencer complete a 6-2 split.

In the back-row, Sam Underhill returns at openside flanker with Guy Pepper keeping his place at blindside and Ben Earl shifting to No 8. Alex Mitchell keeps his place at scrum-half while Fraser Dingwall and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso continue at inside-centre and left wing respectively.

“I’m pleased with the progress we are making,” said Borthwick. “Without doubt, New Zealand are one of the best teams in the world and facing them is always a special challenge. Playing in front of a packed-out Allianz Stadium means a huge amount to the players. The support we’ve had throughout this series has been outstanding, and we want it loud again on Saturday.”