England's skipper has warned that Steve Borthwick's side should steer clear of being overwhelmed by New Zealand's formidable reputation if they aim to achieve their first Twickenham triumph over the Kiwis in 13 years this Saturday.
Squad Boost Before Pivotal Fixture
Steve Borthwick got a timely boost with the versatile back returning to fitness and available for selection since suffering an arm fracture on British & Irish Lions duty, while the full-back and Tom Roebuck featured in the 37-man group revealed on Sunday night.
Recent Performances Differs with Past Struggles
England host the All Blacks after stretching their unbeaten run to nine matches with a commanding 38-18 victory over Fiji, again pulling away in the closing stages. This strong run marks a dramatic shift from a year ago, when the team suffered multiple losses in seven outings, all by narrow margins. A trio of these losses came against the Kiwis—two on the overseas tour and a 24-22 reverse at Twickenham after George Ford missed late goal attempts.
New Zealand narrowly edged out the Scots on the weekend to maintain hopes of a home nations grand slam intact, and though South Africa secured their number one ranking, George has hailed the All Blacks as “perhaps the best side in the world.”
Of the last 11 encounters, the team's only victory over New Zealand was during the global tournament semi, and the visitors have not been beaten in the recent clashes at Twickenham.
The Captain's Insight on Playing the All Blacks
“What a lot of teams do is sit back in admiration of New Zealand with their legacy and all their incredible talent,” stated the experienced hooker. “It’s easy to do that. I’ve probably done it in the past. We must remember we’ll be playing at this venue. It’s an honour to be competing at home. We are going to do everything we can to come out on top.
“It’s vital to be at your peak. The All Blacks are arguably the strongest team in the world at the minute. They’re an unbelievably fantastic team and they seem to raise a gear when they come to Allianz Stadium. The important thing for us is is work out where we might have improved in the first half last time. Additionally, have a clear gameplan which can put them under as much pressure as we possibly can. If we do that, we’ll give ourselves a chance.
“We faced a bit of heat 12 months ago for not emerging on the right side of close contests and not finding a way to win. Currently, we’re doing the complete reverse. By no means have we solved everything. But we’ve put a big emphasis on the latter stages of games and closing games out. Scoring multiple tries in the final segment of that game is a mark of a quality team.”
The Coach's Outlook and Squad Changes
The England coach is again expected to make a several adjustments to his side, with skipper Maro Itoje, the flanker, and Ford all set to be reinstated to the starting lineup. The wing and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso both suffered issues against the Islanders but both have been selected in the squad getting ready to face New Zealand.
“We aim to challenge ourselves against the top sides and [New Zealand] are one of those elite squads,” commented the head coach. “We’re a young side, we’re developing, I think we’re improving quickly and we’re keen to learn. So I’m sure the upcoming will be a great assessment for us.”
The Star's Reflection on Growth
The number eight, meanwhile, thinks that England’s current capacity to break away in the dying minutes of games owes much to their three narrow defeats by the All Blacks last year. “It leaves you battle-hardened, you feel like you’ve got the wounds, you’ve developed the scar tissue to learn from those setbacks, and they stung at the time,” said the back-rower, who was named player of the game against the Fijians. “But I wonder to a man in the changing room, if we’d alter our journey now, with the success that we’re sometimes enjoying? I’d be interested to know because I think they’re very, very priceless lessons.”
