Ford returns at 10 for England against All Blacks

Quilter Nations Series: England v New Zealand

Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham Date: Saturday, 15 November Kick-off: 15:10 GMT

George Ford returns at fly-half and Freddie Steward at full-back for England’s much-anticipated showdown with New Zealand on Saturday at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham.

Tom Roebuck has recovered from an ankle problem and replaces the injured Tommy Freeman on the right wing.

In the forwards, Sam Underhill starts on the open-side flank with Guy Pepper on the blind-side and Ben Earl at number eight.

With Ollie Chessum out, Alex Coles partners captain Maro Itoje in the second row, while Fin Baxter, Jamie George and Joe Heyes are the starting front row.

Head coach Steve Borthwick has again opted for a 6-2 split on the bench, with Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Curry and Henry Pollock among the reinforcements.

Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge and Will Stuart – all British and Irish Lions this summer – are also part of a formidable bench.

Marcus Smith is preferred to Fin Smith as the outside back replacement.

England: Steward; Roebuck, Lawrence, Dingwall, Feyi-Waboso; Ford, Mitchell; Baxter, George, Heyes, Itoje, Coles, Pepper, Underhill, Earl

England have won only one of their last 11 meetings with the All Blacks – a 19-7 victory in the 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-finals – but have rarely been far off their opponents in that time.

In addition to a 25-25 draw at Twickenham, their average losing margin in the remaining nine games over that period is less than six points.

Ford was in the midst of the fine margins in last year’s 24-22 reverse, missing a drop-goal attempt on the game’s final play.

His chances in an England shirt were restricted to just one cameo off the bench in the following Six Nations campaign, as Fin Smith edged in front of him in the pecking order.

But the 32-year-old Ford steered an under-strength side to a clean sweep of their tour of the Americas in the summer, including back-to-back victories over Argentina, and his bravery at the gain-line and shrewd decision-making was trusted from the start in the 25-7 win over Australia a fortnight ago.