England centre Henry Slade has warned the All Blacks that they will have their hands full with new winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso on Saturday.
The 21-year-old, who was born in Wales, has been named to start against New Zealand in Dunedin for what will be just his fifth Test for England.
England haven’t beaten the All Blacks in New Zealand since 2003 but Slade says the visitors now boast a rare strike weapon out wide.
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“That guy is one of the most freakishly gifted athletes I’ve ever seen,” Slade told the touring UK media before the England team was confirmed.
“People who have never played against him probably underestimate him. They (New Zealand) probably wouldn’t have heard or seen much of him. But if he gets on the pitch I reckon he’ll give them a shock.”
Slade is also an Exeter teammate of Feyi-Waboso, who went viral when he scored a stunning long range try against Newcastle last year.
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“He seemed to keep doing stuff like that week after week,” Slade said.
“I try my best to keep his feet on the ground. I give him a bit of stick every day. But it’s great to have someone who can make something out of nothing. That’s what you need to win big games.
“We have put more emphasis on the way we want to attack. Some players have got unbelievable X factor, talent, speed and power so we want to get the ball into their hands.”
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England have recalled props Joe Marler and Will Stuart in the only changes to their starting lineup after a 52-17 win over Japan in Tokyo last weekend.
Fin Baxter and Ollie Sleighthole are likely to make their Test debuts from the bench while Alex Coles replaces the suspended Charlie Ewels, who was sent off in the Japan Test.
Ben Spencer also joins the reserves in place of Harry Randall.
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Stuart has history against the All Blacks, having scored two tries in a 25-25 draw when the teams last met at Twickenham in 2022.
Seven players remain from the England team which beat New Zealand 19-7 in the 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-finals.
“It doesn’t get more challenging than playing New Zealand at home but it’s exactly where we want to be,” England coach Steve Borthwick said.
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“We want to find out more about ourselves and test ourselves against one of the best teams in the world.
“Test rugby is a game of fine margins, so our mindset is going to be very important on Saturday. We’ll need to be mentally strong, play a tactically smart game and maintain our discipline.”
New All Blacks coach Scott Robertson will name his first team on Thursday.
ENGLAND (15-1): George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Henry Slade, Ollie Lawrence, Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith, Alex Mitchell, Ben Earl, Sam Underhill, Chandler Cunningham-South, George Martin, Maro Itoje, Will Stuart, Jamie George (c), Joe Marler
Reserves: Theo Dan, Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Alex Coles, Tom Curry, Ben Spencer, Fin Smith, Ollie Sleightholme