Roebuck, Ford and Underhill back for England against New Zealand
Rugby Union - Autumn Internationals - England Training - Pennyhill Park, Bagshot, Britain - November 10, 2025 England's Tom Roebuck during training Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs
BAGSHOT, England :England's Tom Roebuck returns on the wing, George Ford is back at flyhalf, Sam Underhill is in on the flank and there are Six British & Irish Lions on the bench as coach Steve Borthwick made seven changes for Saturday’s Autumn International against New Zealand.
Roebuck missed last week’s win over Fiji having starred in the opening victory over Australia and his aerial ability will be a huge boon for England in attack and defence.
Freddie Steward also missed Fiji with a finger injury but comes in at fullback, with Marcus Smith dropping to the bench, where he will also cover flyhalf with Ford the starting 10 and Fin Smith left out.
With Tommy Freeman out of the Autumn series with a hamstring injury, Ollie Lawrence and Fraser Dingwall continue in the centres with midfield cover provided by pacy forward Ben Earl.
Maro Itoje, who had a rare bench appearance last week, returns to captain the team alongside Alex Coles in the second row, with Ollie Chessum out injured.
Tough-tackling Underhill comes in at openside flanker as Earl, man of the match in England’s last two games, moves back to Number Eight.
With the bench having had a huge impact in their last two games, Borthwick has again loaded it in a 6-2 split, including six British & Irish Lions from the Australia tour.
Tom Curry, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, Chandler Cunningham-South and Henry Pollock are again poised to come on as the "Bomb Squad" early in the second half.
ENGLAND'S 'STRENGTH IN DEPTH'
"I think we're in a fortunate position to have strength in depth. I am looking forward to that moment when those players do come onto the pitch and I hear the crowd roar," Borthwick said after naming his team on Tuesday.
"But I'm also excited by the players starting the game - the athletic back row we've got there, players who play the games as physically as Sam Underhill does. Players like Alex Mitchell bring so much speed to the game."
Although the return of Roebuck and Steward gives England more options in the air, Borthwick was keen to remind people that Saturday's opponents are not averse to putting boot to ball.
"What's been really clear is that New Zealand, where they've played against England in the last three games, have kicked the ball a lot. Every game it's spiked how much they've kicked," he said.
"Look at the way they played in the two tests we played there last year and how many times they kicked the ball. Once you do that, you'll have a clear picture of how (coach) Scott Robertson wants his team to play.
The teams met three times last year, and though the All Blacks won all of them, the total points differential was 10 and England had late chances to win all three – not least last November when Ford hit a post with a late penalty and skewed a drop goal wide in a 24-22 Twickenham defeat.
With a draw in 2022, it means that England have won only two of the teams’ last 21 meetings, the most recent being the 2019 World Cup semi-final in Japan.
New Zealand, who have beaten Ireland and Scotland in the first two games of their Grand Slam tour, will name their team on Thursday.
England team to face New Zealand
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, 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
