Borthwick was without many of its top stars for the summer tour of Argentina and the United States as it coincided with the British and Irish Lions’ trip to Australia.
A relatively inexperienced team won all three matches on that tour to continue England’s excellent finish to the Six Nations, which had begun with a 27-22 defeat to Ireland in Dublin.
That remains their only defeat of 2025, with a home test against Argentina on Sunday to complete England’s schedule for the calendar year.
Those summer performances only increased the competition for places, as demonstrated by those who did not feature against the All Blacks.
Fin Smith, England’s first-choice flyhalf for much of the Six Nations, did not feature in Saturday’s Matchday 23, while Lions trio Tommy Freeman, Ollie Chessum and Elliot Daly are among a group of players with legitimate claims to have been involved but for their respective injuries.
Starting XV vs New Zealand (November 15, 2025): Freddie Butler; Tom Roebuck, Ollie Lawrence, Fraser Dingwall, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso; George Ford, Alex Mitchell; Fin Baxter, Jamie George, Joe Heyes, Maro Itoje (captain), Alex Coles, Guy Pepper, Sam Underhill, Ben Earl.
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Curry, Henry Pollock, Ben Spencer, Marcus Smith.
