Mitchell puts form and All Black tiros before Mehrtens

When Clive Woodward requested, a little over three years ago, to be "judged on the World Cup" he cleverly forgot to identify the precise World Cup to which he was referring. By contrast, John Mitchell leaves nothing to the imagination when he asks to be "judged after Saturday, rather than before it". He means this Saturday, 9 November, at Twickenham, 2.30 kick-off. The All Black coach does not play word or mind games, or indulge in trendy psycho-babble. He could have played Test cricket so straight is his bat.

Had any other coach in world rugby dropped Christian Cullen and Andrew Mehrtens, two of the genuinely outstanding players of the modern era, for a match against England in London, where the red rose army have not given best since the autumn of 1999, he would have been accused of fighting a phoney war and keeping his powder dry in advance of next year's global showpiece in Australia. Mitchell, however, can claim to have selected his side on form, and expect to be believed.

In his view, the electrifying Carlos Spencer is in better shape than Mehrtens, and better equipped to disrupt England's tried and tested defensive pattern. Hence the Aucklander's unexpected appearance at outside-half. With Mehrtens confined to the bench, the New Zealanders need a goalkicker on the field. Hence Ben Blair's promotion at full-back ahead of Cullen.

There are five debutants, too: the inside centre Keith Lowen, the hooker Andrew Hore, the locks Ali Williams and Keith Robinson and the Australian-born scrum-half Steve Devine, whose much-debated eligibility has been confirmed by the International Rugby Board.

Mitchell knew he would be accused of fielding a weakened team with the 2003 World Cup in mind: after all, he left his entire Tri-Nations pack, plus the likes of Justin Marshall and Aaron Mauger, on the beaches back home. And in his simple, straightforward way he had all the answers to all the questions. "We would," he said quietly, "be insulted if anyone suggested we were not taking this game seriously. A match against England at Twickenham is a very special occasion for any New Zealander."

Only seven of Mitchell's starting line-up are double-figure internationals: Jonah Lomu, one of the more celebrated figures in the New Zealand game but very much on trial in terms of both form and fitness, leads the way with 61 caps. The forward pack, governed by the reinstated captain Taine Randell, boasts only 87 caps in total, and Randell has 48 of them to himself.

Yet the word from within the tour party is that many of the unfamiliar players would have had a fighting chance of making this team, even if the Tri-Nations squad had travelled en bloc. Marty Holah, the Waikato open-side flanker, is currently considered the outstanding breakaway in New Zealand – and that includes the remarkable Richie McCaw, now resting up in the South Island. Lowen is said to be playing better rugby that Mauger, which would be some achievement, while Kees Meeuws of Auckland, restored to the front row after being overlooked for the last two Tri-Nations series, is by common consent the most potent prop in the land.

"We're very lucky to have this group of young players, many of whom stepped forward in recent weeks by playing outstandingly well in the National Provincial Championship," Mitchell said. So it is not a case of him blooding a few kids for the future, and not worrying too much about results? "If you want me to put it in a nutshell," he replied, "I'm not that kind of person." Message received, loud and clear.

Happily, Mitchell had plenty of good things to say about Woodward, with whom he worked in the England set-up between 1997 and 2000. "Clive is a lateral thinker, someone who embraces new ideas," he said. "Had England not selected him as their coach, I'm not sure the game here would have changed in the way it needed to. He has been instrumental in that process."

For his part, Woodward accepted that his decision to drop Leicester's Neil Back from the open-side berth was a "big call". However, he did not attempt to soften the blow or cover his tracks. He always intended to run Lewis Moody in this game and Richard Hill's resourceful performances for Saracens guaranteed him a place. In the end, Back was contesting the one free spot with Lawrence Dallaglio. Dallaglio edged it.

Woodward also reported that Austin Healey, a surprise choice on the bench given his fragile fitness, had trained successfully on Monday and would cover both half-back positions as well as both wings. Leicester's management will be particularly interested in their player's improved physical state, given his absence from the Premiership match with Wasps on Saturday afternoon.

NEW ZEALAND (v England, Twickenham, Saturday): B Blair (Canterbury); D Howlett (Auckland), T Umaga (Wellington), K Lowen (Waikato), J Lomu (Wellington); C Spencer, S Devine (both Auckland); J McDonnell (Otago), A Hore (Taranaki), K Meeuws, A Williams (both 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, M Robinson (both Canterbury).