England will have to cope without George Furbank against New Zealand after late injury blow with Freddie Steward stepping up for series finale

So much for best-laid plans. England’s bid to shock the All Blacks and become record-breakers at Eden Park – as the final act of a marathon season – will rely on their ability to cope with 11th-hour disruption.

After an eve-of-match visit to the fortress of Kiwi rugby, it was revealed that George Furbank had been ruled out of the second Test with a back problem. His place will be taken by Freddie Steward, the Leicester full-back who, not so long ago, was a fixture in the Red Rose XV, but who has been an unused reserve so far on this tour of Japan and New Zealand.

The 23-year-old Tiger went into the Six Nations earlier this year as the familiar first-choice figure in the No 15 shirt, despite seeing Marcus Smith deployed there at times during the World Cup. Steward started as England narrowly beat Italy in Rome and Wales at Twickenham, before being usurped by Furbank, who earned a recall on the strength of his supreme form for Northampton.

Four months later, after the Saints had stormed to Premiership title glory, a confident Furbank once again brought his momentum from club rugby into the national team and picked up where he left off at the end of the annual championship. The 27-year-old was fluent and assured as England ran riot in Tokyo to beat Japan 52-17 and last Saturday his assertive running caused constant problems for the All Blacks, before the visitors were agonisingly beaten 16-15.

Furbank’s presence and adventurous streak have very much epitomised the strategic shift England have been through in 2024, in the transition from safety-first pragmatism to a more expansive game-plan. So, his loss for the series finale here is a significant setback for the tourists, but it presents a glorious opportunity for Steward to re-establish himself and be part of a momentous occasion.

Thirteen months ago, Borthwick named his training squad to start the countdown to the World Cup in France last autumn. Many of the players on duty now have barely stopped grafting since. They will be ready for a well-earned break, so the challenge is to somehow ensure they are fully engaged and operating at peak intensity for this last mighty effort.

The sudden opening for Steward will be an ideal means of gauging whether or not the management have been able to keep all their players’ minds firmly fixed on the giant task in front of them, rather than allowing thoughts to start turning to going home and clocking off. He has not played a minute of competitive rugby since Saturday, May 18 – exactly eight weeks ago – when Leicester beat Exeter 40-22 at Welford Road, to conclude a disappointing season.

Steward will not have the luxury of easing into this Test and gradually shaking off any rust. The All Blacks will be on the fast track to series victory if he suffers early lapses. England need their towering last line of defence to be typically assured under the high ball and to provide a smooth and effective outlet in attack, to avoid having to revert to a more cagey, territorial approach. This is no time for a profound change of tactical direction, especially not with Marcus Smith at 10.

Buoyed by the exploits of their football counterparts in Germany, Borthwick’s team should be able to summon up the will to put their bodies on the line one last time. They want to join the English sporting party.

As was the case last week in Dunedin, they are acutely aware that England have only won twice before against the All Blacks here, in 1973 and 2003. The class of 2024 could and should have added a third entry on that particular honours board at Forsyth Barr Stadium, but were edged out after leading 15-10 in the second half.

Now, they are confronted by the Eden Park factor, but they are unfazed by it. New Zealand are unbeaten in their northern stronghold since France clinched a series win with their famous ‘Try from the end of the world’ way back in 1994.

Thirty years of home rule have made it feel like a forbidding place, but England captain Jamie George has decent memories of earning a series draw here with the Lions in 2017. He sought to demystify the iconic venue, saying: ‘You have to respect the record they have there because it is incredible really. But at the same time, it is a field with grass on it, two sets of posts, they have got 15 players, we have got 15 players, let’s have a go.’

That is absolutely the right tone to set. There are far more hostile stadiums and crowds than there will be confronting England. It is not on the same scale of intimidation as the high-altitude cauldrons of Springbok fervour – Ellis Park in Johannesburg and Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. And there won’t be the same level of anti-English passion as always awaits in Cardiff and Edinburgh.

Never mind the location, it is all about specifics of the contest. England will hope that the All Blacks’ scrummaging methods are more closely scrutinised – and penalised – this week and they will suspect that the enforced absence of TJ Perena at scrum-half will weaken the rebuilding hosts. New Zealand will be better, but the visitors can be too, if they improve efforts to protect the ball at the breakdown and take their goal-kicking chances.

Providing the full-back change doesn’t undermine the English quest for cohesion, they can fire some shots, while resuming their blitz in a quest to make life uncomfortable again for the Kiwi playmakers, just as they did last weekend. Expect another epic contribution from Maro Itoje – it is just the sort of occasion which brings the best out of him.

No doubt the tourists are weary, after more than a year of punishing toil, but they are also hell-bent on seizing this record-breaking opportunity. Another tense, close encounter is likely. There is a chance that English sport’s party weekend could be truly ignited in this southern out-post, thousands of miles from home, before the focus shifts to the grand showpiece in Berlin.