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'You can't do that against New Zealand, you simply can't': England warned
By Josh Raisey
Former international Ben Youngs has identified England’s exit strategy from kick-offs as an area that will need to improve significantly ahead of facing the All Blacks this Saturday at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium.
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Steve Borthwick’s side conceded three tries against Fiji last week, two of which came within minutes of scoring a try of their own. For Fiji’s first try, England failed to have any possession in the opposition half before letting the try in, while for Fiji’s third try, England failed to even exit their own 22.
This is an area England’s most-capped player has highlighted as an area of concern, but one which he believes can be remedied by George Ford, who is starting at fly-half this week instead of Fin Smith.
After guiding England to a 25-7 victory over Australia in the opening match of the Quilter Nations Series, Ford has been given the No.10 jersey again, though this time Fin Smith will not offer back-up from the bench, rather the versatile Marcus Smith instead.
This decision, the 127-cap scrum-half said on his For the Love of Rugby podcast, is not a reflection of the Northampton Saints playmaker, rather this match is better suited to his more experienced team-mate Ford.
“Steve has worked with George, he knows he’ll deliver in terms of the territory, the exits and everything like that,” Youngs said.
“At the weekend against Fiji, what would have disappointed Steve is the fact that when England scored and they received kick-offs, they did not get out of their half. You cannot do that against New Zealand, you just simply cannot do that.
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“George will get England out of their half, there won’t be any messing around. He’ll exit well, and you can’t give New Zealand opportunities.
“It’s no reflection of Fin Smith. Fin Smith is a fantastic player, no doubt about it, no doubt about it. Just for this particular game, George is best suited because of the experience situation and I think managing those early exchanges of a Test match.”
