Joe Marler ruled out of second New Zealand Test with foot injury picked up in England's defeat to All Blacks
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Published 07/07/2024 at 13:09 GMT+1
Joe Marler has been ruled out of England's second Test against New Zealand in Auckland. The vice-captain suffered a foot injury early on in the narrow defeat to the All Blacks in Dunedin. Steve Borthwick praised debutant Fin Baxter for stepping in, despite acknowledging his side's inferiority at set pieces. England were close to beating the All Blacks in New Zealand for the first time since 2003.
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England will be without experienced prop Joe Marler for their second Test against New Zealand on Saturday.
Steve Borthwick’s vice-captain suffered a foot injury in the first quarter of their tense 16-15 loss in Dunedin.
Uncapped front-row forward Emmanuel Iyogun of Northampton Saints lands in New Zealand on Tuesday ahead of their final Test of the two-match series at Eden Park in Auckland.
Borthwick will be without the injured Ellis Genge and the suspended Beno Obano, with the England head coach relying on Bevan Rodd and Fin Baxter to fill the hole Marler has left.
“We have two young men in Fin Baxter and Bevan Rodd who have a great opportunity now,” Borthwick told BBC Sport.
“He [Marler] doesn’t tend to come off unless something has happened. Fingers crossed it’s not too serious.”
England have not beaten the All Blacks in New Zealand since their summer tour in 2003 and were a whisker away from ending that 21-year hoodoo.
Borthwick’s men led the 2023 World Cup finalists 15-13 with just 15 minutes to play, but All Blacks fly-half Damian McKenzie split the posts with his second penalty in quick succession to gain the advantage.
A lack of discipline and inferiority at set pieces ultimately cost England and Borthwick saw the latter as an immediate area for improvement.
Borthwick said: “The best two scrums in the world are South Africa and New Zealand.
“We rank just behind them. I think [England scrum coach] Tom Harrison has done an excellent job and you saw Fin Baxter yesterday play 60 minutes on his Test debut.
“I thought he did really well. We will be better for that experience.
“They certainly had the better of the scrums; it is one of those areas we will address with the players.”
And speaking to Sky Sports after the narrow defeat, Borthwick believed his side made themselves a match for Scott Robertson’s men.
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"There were fine margins; two tries apiece,” said Borthwick.
"There wasn’t much in that at all. You look at that second half, it was a real arm wrestle in the middle of the field.
“Immense credit to New Zealand for taking their opportunities and getting over the line at the end. We’ll have a good debrief of it and look at how we move forward."
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