England's skipper has warned that Steve Borthwick's side should steer clear of being intimidated by the All Blacks' legendary status if they hope to achieve their first home triumph over the Kiwis in over a decade this Saturday.
Team Updates Before Crucial Fixture
England's head coach got a welcome boost with the versatile back recovering from injury and in contention for selection since sustaining an arm fracture on British & Irish Lions duty, while the full-back and Tom Roebuck were also named in the 37-man squad revealed on the weekend.
Recent Performances Differs with Previous Woes
The home side host the All Blacks after extending their winning streak to nine games with a decisive 38-18 win over the Pacific Islanders, again pulling away in the final quarter. This strong run stands in stark contrast from a year ago, when England endured multiple losses in seven outings, all by narrow margins. A trio of these losses were inflicted by the Kiwis—during the 2024 summer tour and a tight reverse at Twickenham after the fly-half failed with late goal attempts.
New Zealand narrowly edged out Scotland on Saturday to maintain aspirations of a clean sweep intact, and while the Springboks cemented their number one ranking, George described New Zealand as “arguably the top team in the world.”
In the previous 11 meetings, England's only victory over New Zealand was during the 2019 World Cup semi-final, and the visitors remain unbeaten in the recent fixtures at England's home ground.
The Captain's Insight on Facing the All Blacks
“What a lot of teams do is stand in awe of New Zealand with their history and all their incredible players,” said the experienced hooker. “It’s easy to do that. I have done it in the past. We must remember we’ll be playing at Allianz Stadium. It’s an honour to be competing at home. We are going to do all we can to come out on top.
“It’s vital to be at your peak. The All Blacks are without doubt the best side in the world at the minute. They are a exceptionally skilled team and they appear to raise a gear when they visit this stadium. Our focus for us to do is work out where we could have been better in the first half this week. But also, have a defined gameplan which can put them under as much pressure as we possibly can. By doing so, we’ll give ourselves a opportunity.
“We faced a bit of heat last year for not coming out on the winning end 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. Notching multiple tries in the final segment of that game is a sign of a quality team.”
Borthwick's Outlook and Squad Changes
The England coach is likely to make a several adjustments to his lineup, with skipper the lock, the flanker, and the fly-half all set to return to the first XV. The wing and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso each took knocks against Fiji but both have been included in the squad getting ready to face New Zealand.
“We aim to challenge ourselves against the top sides and [New Zealand] are among elite squads,” said the head coach. “Our team is youthful, we’re evolving, I think we’re improving rapidly and we’re keen to learn. So I’m sure next week’s going to be a great test for us.”
Earl's Take on Growth
Ben Earl, meanwhile, thinks that England’s present ability to break away in the dying minutes of games is largely due to their three narrow defeats by the All Blacks last year. “It leaves you seasoned, as if you’ve been through battles, you’ve developed the experience to learn from those losses, and they hurt 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, would we have changed our path now, with the success that we’re sometimes experiencing? I’d be curious to know because I think they’re very, very priceless lessons.”
