May and Youngs will start, but Manu won’t be risked as he recovers from injury
LEICESTER Tigers winger Jonny May and scrum-half Ben Youngs will start for England when they face the All Blacks at Twickenham tomorrow afternoon.
Their Leicester club-mate, George Ford, is named among the replacements, but there is no place for centre Manu Tuilagi in head coach Eddie Jones’ matchday squad.
Ben Te’o and Henry Slade continue in the England midfield with Sale Sharks’ Chris Ashton, who scored a try when England last beat New Zealand in 2012, starting on the right wing.
Ashton’s first start in four years sees Exeter Chiefs’ Jack Nowell switching to the bench and Tuilagi still waiting for his return to the international stage.
Tuilagi missed last weekend’s 12-11 win over South Africa with a groin injury. Jones said the Leicester man wasn’t “quite right” and wouldn’t be risked.
Jones has named Ben Moon (Exeter) at loose-head prop while Bath’s Sam Underhill comes in at openside flanker following an ankle injury to Sale’s Tom Curry against the Springboks in the first of this autumn’s Quilter International series.
There are three changes to the bench with Alec Hepburn (Exeter), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints) and Nowell all named among what England describe as “finishers”.
Jones said: “The expectation for Saturday is no different to any other Test match. We want to be at our best, better than we were in the previous Test match and we want to play with pride and passion which ignites the fans.
“It’s been a good week, the players have recovered well, trained well on Tuesday, exceptionally well on Wednesday and we look forward to the challenge of taking on New Zealand on Saturday.
“The crowd last week was wonderful, we had great support and enthusiasm for the game and they saw a great Test match and I’m sure on Saturday they will see another.” ■ Tigers duo Matt Toomua and Tatafu Polota-Nau have both been included among the replacements for Australia’s opening game of their European tour when they face Wales in Cardiff. Hooker Polota-Nau is in line for his 87th cap, Toomua looking to take his tally of Wallabies back-line appearances to 40.