The 2024 mid-year Rugby Union Internationals truly kick into life this weekend, beginning with a salivating clash between two of rugby's most dominant nations. New Zealand and England begin their three-match Test series at the unique Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, and going off what we've seen from these two in the last 12 months, it should be some game.
Losing the 2023 Rugby World Cup final by a solitary point to arch-rivals South Africa last autumn in Paris was the bitterest of pills to swallow for the All Blacks, and new head coach Scott "Razor" Robertson has ushered in several new faces looking to make an impact in New Zealand's first match of the year.
England, meanwhile, have already taken to the field six times so far in 2024, finishing third in the Six Nations before starting their summer off with a convincing win over a Japan side led by their former head coach Eddie Jones. Steve Borthwick's side laid down a marker in Tokyo, winning 52-17 and scoring eight tries in total.
However, after their sister team the Maori All Blacks also put the wringer through Japan last weekend, winning 36-10 at a canter, Robertson's new-look New Zealand side will be confident they can bring an unknown element to Saturday's match and exploit England's weaknesses.
These two last met in November 2022 at Twickenham, as England somehow salvaged a 30-30 draw having been comfortably adrift with 10 minutes to go before an All Black sin-binning. It proved to be the penultimate match in charge for Eddie Jones, and Borthwick will be hoping his first encounter with the All Blacks has an even better result.
The covered-glass roof of the Forsyth Barr Stadium will leave nowhere to hide for either of these two teams, and ahead of the match The Sporting News has all the TV and streaming details for you to keep tabs on the action from Dunedin, as the hotly-anticipate Test series between New Zealand and England gets underway.
New Zealand vs. England rugby date, kick off time
New Zealand host England in the visitors' first Test of their 2024 Tour at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand on Saturday, July 6. The game kicks off at 7:05 p.m. local time (NZST).
Here's how that time translates across some of the major territories:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| UK | Saturday, July 6 | 8:05 a.m. BST |
| USA | Saturday, July 6 | 3:05 a.m. ET |
| Australia | Saturday, July 6 | 5:05 p.m. AEST |
New Zealand vs. England live stream, TV channel
England's match against Japan was controversially not broadcast on any mainstream TV network, being streamed live on RugbyPass TV, but with the stakes ramping up a notch, you can watch them take on the All Blacks across several channels.
Sky Sports continue to handle all the international England action for UK viewers, while FloRugby is the best option for fans in the US. Australian fans hoping to catch the action can also do so via a Stan Sport subscription.
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| UK | Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Action | Sky Go Pass, NOW TV |
| USA | — | FloRugby, FloSports app |
| Australia | — | Stan Sport |
New Zealand vs. England lineups, team news
Scott Robertson has made changes aplenty from the 2023 Rugby World Cup squad ahead of his first match as New Zealand boss, bringing in a whole host of players out from the cold, albeit none of whom are debutants.
Scott Barrett leads the side for the first time with his vice-captain brother Jordie at inside centre, while Stephen Perofeta, Sevu Reece, TJ Perenara, Samipeni Finau and Patrick Tuipulotu are all back in All Black.
New Zealand starting XV: Stephen Perofeta, Sevu Reece, Rieko Ioane, Jordie Barrett, Mark Tele'a, Damian McKenzie, TJ Perenara; Ethan de Groot, Codie Taylor, Tyrel Lomax, Scott Barrett, Patrick Tuipulotu, Samipeni Finau, Dalton Papali'i, Ardie Savea.
New Zealand replacements: Asafo Aumua, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Fletcher Newell, Tupou Vaa'i, Luke Jacobson, Finlay Christie, Anton Lienert-Brown, Beauden Barrett.
Steve Borthwick makes just two changes to the starting side which romped to a 52-17 win over Japan in Tokyo two weeks ago. Both of those alterations come in the front row, with Joe Marler and Will Stuart displacing Bevan Rodd and Dan Cole at loosehead and tighthead respectively.
Stuart famously scored two late tries in England's 30-all draw with the All Blacks in November 2022, and will be hoping to make a similar impact before Cole and new prop Fin Baxter come off the bench.
England staring XV: George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Henry Slade, Ollie Lawrence, Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith, Alex Mitchell; Joe Marler, Jamie George, Will Stuart, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Chandler Cunningham-South, Sam Underhill, Ben Earl.
England replacements: Theo Dan, Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Alex Coles, Tom Curry, Ben Spencer, Fin Smith, Ollie Sleighthome.
New Zealand vs. England prediction
This one looks almost too close to call as the summer Rugby Union Tests truly kick into gear, with England having already played six times more than the All Blacks so far in 2024. That, added to a brand new coaching style implemented by serial Super Rugby winner Robertson means we could be seeing a completely different New Zealand side this Saturday.
However, despite this England squad having played consistently together throughout the Six Nations and Japan test so far, it's worth noting that Borthwick's side did struggle to beat both Italy and Wales, as well as suffering narrow defeats to Scotland and France either side of a groundbreaking win over Ireland. That points to a narrow encounter taking place in Dunedin.
Prediction: New Zealand to win by less than 7 points