Fin Smith misses out as England make seven changes for New Zealand

November 11, 2025

England have made seven changes to their starting team for Saturday’s Autumn Nations Series match against New Zealand.

Captain Maro Itoje, George Ford, Jamie George, Freddie Steward, Tom Roebuck, Fin Baxter and Sam Underhill all come back into the XV.

Fin Smith misses out on the squad altogether after starting against Fiji, while Ollie Chessum and Tommy Freeman are ruled out due to injury.

“I’m pleased with the progress we are making,” said head coach Steve Borthwick ahead of the crunch match with the All Blacks.

“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.”

England round off their Quilter Nations Series campaign next weekend when they take on Argentina at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.

England squad to face New Zealand

Starting XV: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Ollie Lawrence. 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell; 1 Fin Baxter, 2 Jamie George, 3 Joe Heyes, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 5 Alex Coles, 6 Guy Pepper, 7 Sam Underhill, 8 Ben Earl.

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.

More to follow…

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