It will be a day of centurions at Twickenham this weekend, as both Owen Farrell and Brodie Retallick reach 100 Test caps in a mouth-watering Autumn Nations Series match-up.
England and New Zealand meet for the first time since the 2019 World Cup in what is perhaps the standout fixture in Round 3.
England might have lost against Argentina in Round 1 but they impressed against Japan last Saturday and will be fuelled by a desire to secure their first home win against the All Blacks in a decade.
For their part, New Zealand have won both of their Autumn Nations Series matches but were far from convincing against Scotland last week, where they conceded 23 unanswered points and needed two late tries to avoid an upset.
Both teams were announced on Thursday morning, with plenty of intriguing selections.
ENGLAND
Farrell will become just the third England men’s player to win 100 Test caps on Saturday, joining Ben Youngs and Jason Leonard.
The inside centre could hardly have picked a bigger game to celebrate and he starts at No.12, outside fly-half Marcus Smith and inside the returning Manu Tuilagi.
Tuilagi is one of three England changes and he returns to the team after being rested against Japan, taking the place of Guy Porter.
Maro Itoje moves from blindside flanker to his more natural second row, with David Ribbans shifting to the bench. That allows Sam Simmonds to switch from No.8 to the blindside and Billy Vunipola to return to the starting XV.
The other change sees Jack Nowell start in place of the injured Joe Cokanasiga on the right wing.
NEW ZEALAND
Back from suspension, Retallick will become the 12th All Black to reach three figures.
He and Sam Whitelock will also set a new world record for the number of Tests started together – with Saturday set to be their 64th.
Scott Barrett shifts to flanker to make space for Retallick, while the All Blacks restore many of the players that beat Wales a fortnight ago.
Rieko Ioane returns at outside centre in place of Anton Lienert-Brown, Aaron Smith and Richie Mo’unga return at half-back and Codie Taylor and Tyrel Lomax start in the front row.
England: 15. Freddie Steward, 14. Jack Nowell, 13. Manu Tuilagi, 12. Owen Farrell, 11. Jonny May, 10. Marcus Smith, 9. Jack van Poortvliet, 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3. Kyle Sinckler , 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Jonny Hill, 6. Sam Simmonds, 7. Tom Curry, 8. Billy Vunipola
Replacements: 16. Jamie George, 17. Mako Vunipola, 18. Will Stuart, 19. David Ribbans, 20. Jack Willis, 21. Ben Youngs, 22. Guy Porter, 23. Henry Slade
New Zealand: 15. Beauden Barrett, 14. Mark Telea, 13. Rieko Ioane, 12. Jordie Barrett, 11. Caleb Clarke, 10. Richie Mo’unga, 9. Aaron Smith, 1. Ethan de Groot, 2. Codie Taylor, 3. Tyrel Lomax, 4. Brodie Retallick, 5. Samuel Whitelock, 6. Scott Barrett, 7. Dalton Papali’i, 8. Ardie Savea
Replacements: 16. Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17. George Bower, 18. Nepo Laulala, 19. Shannon Frizell, 20. Hoskins Sotutu, 21. TJ Perenara, 22. David Havili, 23. Anton Lienert-Brown
