New Zealand vs England LIVE! Latest score and rugby updates from first All Blacks Test

New Zealand vs England LIVE!

England are in Dunedin today as they begin their high-profile two-match summer tour series against the All Blacks at a sold-out Forsyth Barr Stadium. Steve Borthwick’s side head into this First Test full of confidence and with momentum building after producing eight tries in a 52-17 thrashing of Eddie Jones’ inexperienced Japan team in a one-off warm-up clash in Tokyo a fortnight ago.

Having also reached the Rugby World Cup semi-finals and delivered an improved Six Nations showing, there is real hope that their long 21-year wait for a win over the All Blacks on New Zealand soil could finally come to an end, a decade after their last luckless trip. The hosts have not played since their agonising loss to South Africa in the World Cup final and have entered a period of transition with Scott Robertson taking over head coaching duties, and with a number of stalwarts having now retired.

But this is still a formidable squad led by new captain Scott Barrett, whose brother Beauden is surprisingly only named on the bench today. Borthwick has made two changes to his starting XV, with Joe Marler and Will Stuart both coming into the front row. Follow New Zealand vs England live below!

New Zealand vs England latest news

• Kick-off: 8.05am BST | Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin

• How to watch: Sky Sports

• New Zealand team news: Beauden Barrett only on the bench

• England team news: Props Marler and Stuart both come in

• Lineups in full

Kick-off approaching in Dunedin

07:43 , George Flood

All smiles ahead of kick-off in Dunedin, with England’s New Zealand-born back-rower Ethan Roots – a former Maori All Black – catching up with some familiar faces.

Ditto New Zealander Andrew Strawbridge, England’s assistant coach and advisor who could offer a key insight in how to topple the All Blacks this month.

Steve Borthwick: England mindset crucial against the All Blacks

07:32 , George Flood

Steve Borthwick is excited as England begin what for most remains the ultimate Test in rugby union – an away series in New Zealand.

He has called for his side to be smart, disciplined and physically uncompromising as they look to end that long 21-year wait for a Test victory over the All Blacks in their own backyard.

“It doesn’t get more challenging than playing New Zealand at home, but it’s exactly where we want to be,” Borthwick said this week.

“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.”

Scott Robertson: Beauden Barrett took surprise benching ‘like a true pro’

07:20 , George Flood

There were more than a few eyebrows raised when Beauden Barrett was only named on the bench for Scott Robertson’s first match in charge of New Zealand today.

But the new head coach insists the 33-year-old star, who has 123 Test caps under his belt, had no complaints over the decision and would provide valuable cover at both full-back and fly-half.

He also extolled the virtues of Stephen Perofeta, who earns only his fourth cap in Dunedin having recently helped the Blues to end their 21-year title wait with a 41-10 thrashing of the Chiefs in an all-New Zealand Super Rugby Pacific final.

Barrett, meanwhile, has most recently been on a sabbatical playing in Japan with Toyota Verblitz.

“He took it like a true pro, whatever’s required for this week,” Robertson said.

“Obviously the experience of 123 Test matches counts for a lot, but also there’s a guy (Perofeta) who was in form just two weeks ago in a Test match-level game in a final.

“And Beauden can play his part, covering 10 and 15.”

07:10 , George Flood

Both bosses survey the pre-match scene in Dunedin, where kick-off is at 7:05pm local time.

Former All Blacks flanker and Crusaders boss Scott Robertson would dearly love to get his New Zealand campaign off and running with an emphatic win today, while a Test victory in New Zealand would be enormous vindication of Steve Borthwick’s early England project.

England aim to show untested All Blacks exactly who they are

06:52

Steve Borthwick’s England unknowns will meet Scott Robertson’s untested All Blacks in Dunedin today, with both teams looking to scratch a milestone itch, writes Standard Sport’s rugby correspondent Nick Purewal.

New Zealand played entirely to type when one of their number this week admitted knowing next to no specifics on their opponents ahead of the First Test.

This time, it was the turn of wing Sevu Reece to fail to name any of his England counterparts, though Ardie Savea did at least namecheck opposite No8 Ben Earl.

The last time England toured New Zealand, in 2014, Brodie Retallick clutched as far as “Michael Lawes” in the straw stakes of attempting to name a Red Rose star.

Banged to naming rights again for the ever inward-looking All Blacks then, but England should not take that personally this time around.

Instead, they must seize this gilt-edged opportunity to make a genuine global name for themselves and this Borthwick tenure.

Read the match preview in full here

Forsyth Barr Stadium sold out for New Zealand’s first 2024 Test

06:47 , George Flood

We will have a sold-out crowd at the 30,748-capacity Forsyth Barr Stadium this morning for New Zealand’s first Test of 2024.

England’s only previous match here was a gutting 28-27 loss in the second Test on their last tour a decade ago under Stuart Lancaster that saw Ben Smith, Julian Savea and Ma’a Nonu all strike in a second-half blitz for the All Blacks.

Marland Yarde had earlier given England the lead before late tries from Chris Ashton and Mike Brown.

England also lost twice in Dunedin at the old Carisbrook stadium in 1998 and 2004, thrashed on both occasions.

England are ready to attack the All Blacks, says George Furbank

06:37

George Furbank, now cemented as England’s starting full-back with Freddie Steward in the wider tour squad but unable to get back into the matchday set-up, is confident that the visitors can take the attack to the All Blacks in Dunedin today.

“There’s definitely a sense of seeing opportunities and then backing ourselves to take them,” the Northampton star said this week.

“We’ve got a very exciting young backline who want to be able to do that and the coaches have fully bought into that as well.

“We’ve got some very good and accurate kickers and some wingers who are pretty happy going and getting the ball back in the air. That’s a big strength of ours that’s clear to see.

“We’ve added some really good layers on to our attack as well. We’ve got a better understanding now as a group of where we want our attack to go and what we want our attack to look like.”

England hunting first win in New Zealand since 2003

06:26 , George Flood

As mentioned, it is 21 years now since an England team under Sir Clive Woodward that would become world champions in Australia only a few months later claimed a hard-fought 15-13 victory in Wellington thanks to the boot of Jonny Wilkinson.

No English team has won on New Zealand soil since then, with tours in 2004, 2008 and 2014 all filled with frustrating Test defeats.

England have only beaten the All Blacks four times this century, in both 2002 and 2003 and then in the autumn of 2012 at Twickenham and in that memorable 2019 World Cup semi-final clash in Yokohama.

They are unbeaten now against New Zealand in back-to-back matches though, with that latter game followed by a thrilling 25-all draw at Twickenham in November 2022 when England scored 19 unanswered points in a stunning late comeback that included two tries from Will Stuart off the bench.

Below-par England were two tries down inside just nine minutes that day, but somehow stayed in the game and notched three of their own in the final eight minutes to claim a dramatic share of the spoils.

New Zealand vs England prediction

06:15 , George Flood

There is perhaps much more reason than usual for England to have some cautious optimism heading to New Zealand, with the All Blacks beginning a new era under the leadership of Scotts Robertson and Barrett.

They have not played since that agonising one-point World Cup final loss to the Springboks in Paris in October, while Steve Borthwick’s men by contrast have continued to build their rapport and momentum since their impressive World Cup showing with an improved Six Nations campaign and that thumping win over Japan.

It’s a largely settled England side now other than the front-row changes, with a cohesive back division and Marcus Smith showing precisely what he can do in attack against the Brave Blossoms with no George Ford or Owen Farrell standing in his way.

There are clear signs of progress being made under Borthwick, but not enough at this stage to be tipping them to upset the mighty All Blacks on New Zealand soil, I’m afraid.

While there are new faces in this NZ squad and they have lost experienced leaders in the likes of Sam Cane, it remains a star-studded affair with so many of the same stars still present and at the peak of their powers.

New Zealand to win.

New Zealand vs England lineups in full

06:07

New Zealand XV: S Perofeta; S Reece, R Ioane, J Barrett, M Telea; D McKenzie, T Perenara; E de Groot, C Taylor, T Lomax, S Barrett (c), P Tuipulotu, S Finau, D Papali’i, A Savea

Replacements: A Aumua, O Tu’ungafasi, F Newell, T Vaa’i, L Jacobson, F Christie, A Lienert-Brown, B Barrett

England XV: G Furbank; I Feyi-Waboso, H Slade, O Lawrence, T Freeman; M Smith, A Mitchell; J Marler, J George (c), W Stuart; M Itoje, G Martin; C Cunningham-South, S Underhill, B Earl

Replacements: T Dan, F Baxter, D Cole, A Coles, T Curry, B Spencer, F Smith, O Sleightholme

England team news: Joe Marler and Will Stuart come in

06:05

Steve Borthwick has made only two changes to the team that started the eight-try, 52-17 thrashing of Eddie Jones’ inexperienced Japan side in a one-off warm-up Test in Tokyo a fortnight ago.

He’s changed both props, with Joe Marler and Will Stuart preferred to Bevan Rodd and Dan Cole.

Rodd isn’t even on the bench, while Cole will equal the great Jason Leonard as England’s second-most capped player of all time behind Ben Youngs when he comes on.

Otherwise it’s a settled side from Borthwick, with Marcus Smith again at fly-half having shone against Japan and with the likes of George Ford and Owen Farrell absent.

Jamie George leads the side from hooker, with Maro Itoje and George Martin in the second row. Chandler Cunningham-South, Sam Underhill and Ben Earl are the back row.

Alex Mitchell partners Smith at half-back, with Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade in the centres and a back three of Tommy Freeman, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and George Furbank.

There have been a few switches on the bench, with only Tom Curry, Theo Dan and Fin Smith keeping their places.

Harlequins prop Fin Baxter is set to earn his England debut as a replacement, while Charlie Ewels is banned after his latest red card against Japan and replaced by Alex Coles.

Ben Spencer is preferred to Harry Randall as scrum-half cover, while Tom Roebuck makes way for Ollie Sleightholme after his Test debut in Japan.

Like Baxter, the Northampton wing is set for his England bow in Dunedin today.

New Zealand team news: Beauden Barrett on bench

05:57 , George Flood

One or two surprises from New Zealand boss Scott Robertson in his first lineup and the All Blacks’ first game since their agonising one-point loss to South Africa in the World Cup final in Paris in the autumn.

The likes of Sam Cane, Brodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock and Aaron Smith have all retired, with Scott Barrett named as captain by the new boss.

But brother Beauden is only on the bench today, with the three-cap Stephen Perofeta selected at full-back and Damian McKenzie at fly-half with Richie Mo’unga now playing his club rugby in Japan.

Will Jordan is out as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery, with Sevu Reece lining up on the opposite flank to Mark Tele’a.

Jordie Barrett and Rieko Ioane is still the centre pairing, with the fit-again TJ Perenara at scrum-half.

The front row is unchanged, with Scott Barrett joined at lock by Patrick Tuipulotu and Ardie Savea accompanied in the back row by Samipeni Finau and Dalton Papali’i.

How to watch New Zealand vs England

05:50 , George Flood

TV channel: The first Test between New Zealand and England will be shown live in the UK on Sky Sports.

Coverage gets underway on both Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Action at 7:30am BST.

Live stream: Those with a subscription to Sky Sports can also catch the action live online via the Sky Go app.

Welcome to New Zealand vs England live coverage

05:48 , George Flood

Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s live coverage of the first Test between New Zealand and England in Dunedin.

The Forsyth Barr Stadium is the venue for this morning’s blockbuster showdown as Steve Borthwick’s side look to become the first English team to beat the All Blacks in their own backyard since all the way back in 2003.

Kick-off is at 8:05am BST, so keep it right here for all the latest match build-up, team news and updates.

This should be a cracking contest to start a packed day of summer rugby action.