England coach Clive Woodward sends out his team to take on that of his former charge John Mitchell's side at Twickenham on Saturday in the hope of claiming the one scalp missing from his CV.

General consensus suggests Martin Johnson and friends have a magnificent chance to put one over on the Tri Nations champions but nothing can be taken for granted with the All Blacks.

England have only beaten New Zealand four times in 23 meetings, the last time in 1993, and so the All Blacks are the one major rugby-playing nation that Clive Woodward has never masterminded victory against, having witnessed one draw and four defeats from five attempts.

His skipper Martin Johnson has declared that a strong performance is of paramount importance but do not be fooled. Johnson, a veteran of the 1993 victory, Woodward would love dearly to put one over on what is a largely inexperienced New Zealand side ahead of World Cup year.

"It is England versus New Zealand, and that is as big as you want it to be," commented Johnson this week.

"We haven't beaten New Zealand since 1993, but I don't have a little black book, and I am not going to tick off any boxes if we beat them on Saturday."

"Our main requirement is to play well. This team hasn't played international rugby together for nearly seven months, so we've got to get back into the intensity and pace of it very quickly."

England start as clear favourites even with the New Zealand bookmakers as John Mitchell sends out a side containing five new caps.

The most notable of those is Australian-born scrum-half Steve Devine who was only cleared to play for the All Blacks by the International Rugby Board on Monday after it had emerged he had played for the Australian sevens team in 1998.

In form Auckland flyhalf Carlos Spencer will complete the half-back pairing, getting the nod over Andrew Mehrtens, and joining Devine in making their international debuts in the Twickenham starting line up will be Keith Lowen, Andrew Hore, Ali Williams and Keith Robinson

As expected Wellington's Jonah Lomu is given the chance to illustrate he is still worth being kept in the frame for next year's World Cup whilst collecting his 62nd cap and Taine Randell will lead the side from blindside flanker.

Mitchell has no doubt Lomu, whose form proved suspect earlier this year, will relish the challenge.

"This is a great opportunity for Jonah. We have been very excited by his progress - he looks very focused and very eager to perform," said Mitchell.

"His preparation has been good, but all that matters to Jonah is his performance on Saturday."

As for Spencer's elevation to win his first cap since New Zealand beat Italy in Genoa more than two years ago to win his 15th cap, Mitchell added: "We have picked a team particularly to play against England, and we have been excited by Carlos' progress.

Saturday's game will be the first time Mitchell has coached a team against Woodward's England, and he is relishing the prospect.

"You only have to look at Clive's record to see how much progress has been made," added Mitchell.

In defence of his selction this week Mitchell countered, "It is not our judgement that this is a New Zealand XV. These players deserve their selections, they are form players, and as ever, with every All Black team Saturday will be about a winning performance - nothing ever changes."

Randell is expecting a tough battle when his side square up to England at Twickenham on Saturday.

Randell thinks his inexperienced squad, including 12 new caps, will have their work cut out. "We're definitely underdogs," he said. "We have a number of new players in the side and a lack of Test experience up front. England have a pretty impressive record at Twickenham too."

"We respect England for the fact that over a long while their forward effort has been getting better and better," he said. "We're under no illusions as to what sort of challenge we have ahead of us."

Gloucester youngster James Simpson-Daniel will make his Test debut against the All Blacks and will reacquaint himself with Jonah Lomu who he memorably left for dead at Twickenham earlier this year when the Barbarians came to town.

The 20-year-old from Stockton gains a rapid reward for some superb Premiership displays and is the solitary newcomer named by Woodward.

There is no room for Neil Back in the back row that sees Richard Hill win his 50th cap, and he must now raise his game again if he wants to regain his place before the World Cup.

Elsewhere Matt Dawson has won the scrum-half battle - Austin Healey is named on the bench, not Andy Gomarsall.

Bath captain Danny Grewcock edges out Ben Kay to partner skipper Martin Johnson in the second row while Gloucester prop Trevor Woodman wins his sixth cap, but his first appearance in an England starting line-up.

Also in the front row, Steve Thompson holds off the challenge of a rejuventated Mark Regan for the hooker' jersey.

Prop Jason Leonard, England's most capped player of all time with 97 Test appearances, is also among the substitutes as he inches ever closer to the magical century mark.

Although favourites, England will have their work cut out against their visitors. A rapturous welcome is sure to greet the first clash between the sides since 1999 and do not be surprised if Mitchell's inexperienced side cause Woodward a few headaches.

Woodward's reluctance to experiment greatly in favour of his tried and tested stars will be questioned if they do not score their expected triumph but victory over the world's number one side has never been closer to their grasp.

England:
J Robinson (Sale Sharks); J Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester), W Greenwood (Harlequins), M Tindall (Bath), B Cohen (Northampton); J Wilkinson (Newcastle), M Dawson (Northampton); T Woodman (Gloucester), S Thompson (Northampton), P Vickery (Gloucester), M Johnson (Leicester, capt), D Grewcock (Bath), L Moody (Leicester), R Hill (Saracens), L Dallaglio (Wasps).

Replacements: M Regan (Leeds), J Leonard (Harlequins), B Kay (Leicester), N Back (Leicester), A Healey (Leicester), B Johnston (Saracens), T Stimpson (Leicester).

New Zealand:
B Blair (Canterbury), D Howlett (Auckland), T Umaga (Wellington), K Lowen (Waikato), J Lomu (Wellington), C Spencer (Auckland), S Devine (Auckland), J McDonnell (Otago), A Hore (Taranaki), K Meeuws (Auckland), A Williams (Auckland), K Robinson (Waikato), T Randell (Otago, capt), M Holah (Waikato), S Broomhall (Canterbury).

Replacements: K Mealamu (Auckland), C Hayman (Otago), B Mika (Auckland), R So'oialo (Wellington), D Lee (Otago), A Mehrtens (Canterbury), M Robinson (Canterbury).

Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (SA)
Venue: Twickenham

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