Jamie George has cautioned that the team must avoid being intimidated by New Zealand's formidable reputation if they hope to achieve their maiden Twickenham triumph over the Kiwis in over a decade this Saturday.
Squad Boost Ahead of Crucial Clash
Steve Borthwick has received a timely boost with Elliot Daly recovering from injury and in contention for his first appearance since suffering an arm fracture on Lions duty, while Freddie Steward and the wing featured in the 37-man group revealed on the weekend.
Current Form Contrasts with Past Struggles
The home side host the All Blacks after stretching their unbeaten run to nine games with a commanding 38-18 win over Fiji, again pulling away in the closing stages. Their current form stands in stark contrast from 12 months back, when the team endured multiple losses in seven outings, all by narrow margins. A trio of these losses came against New Zealand—two on the overseas tour and a tight reverse at home after the fly-half missed late goal attempts.
The All Blacks narrowly edged out the Scots on Saturday to maintain hopes of a clean sweep alive, and though South Africa secured their number one ranking, George has hailed New Zealand as “arguably the top team in the world.”
In the previous 11 encounters, England's sole win over the All Blacks was during the global tournament semi, and the visitors remain unbeaten in the last five clashes at England's home ground.
The Captain's Insight on Playing the All Blacks
“Many sides tend to is sit back in admiration of the All Blacks with their history and all their incredible players,” said the experienced hooker. “It’s easy to do that. I have done it before. We must remember we’ll be back here at Allianz Stadium. It’s an honour to be playing here. We will do everything we can to win that game.
“It’s vital to be at your best. The All Blacks are without doubt the strongest team in the world at the minute. They’re an unbelievably fantastic team and they seem to raise a level when they visit this stadium. Our focus for us is is work out where we could have been better in the first half last time. Additionally, develop a clear gameplan which can put them under as much pressure as we are able to. If we do that, we’ll give ourselves a opportunity.
“We faced a lot of criticism last year for not emerging on the right side of tight games and not figuring out how to win. Currently, we’re doing the exact opposite. By no means have we cracked it. But we’ve put a strong focus on the latter stages of games and closing games out. Scoring however many tries in the final segment of that game is a mark of a good team.”
Borthwick's View and Squad Changes
The England coach is likely to make a number of adjustments to his lineup, with captain the lock, Tom Curry, and the fly-half all set to return to the first XV. Tommy Freeman and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso each took knocks against the Islanders but both have been included in the squad preparing to take on New Zealand.
“We want to challenge ourselves against the best teams and [New Zealand] are among elite squads,” said Borthwick. “We’re a young side, 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 assessment for us.”
The Star's Take on Growth
Ben Earl, meanwhile, thinks that the team's present capacity to break away in the closing stages of games owes much to their triple close losses by New Zealand the previous year. “You feel seasoned, you feel like you’ve been through battles, you’ve developed the scar tissue to build on those losses, and they hurt at the time,” said Earl, who was named man of the match against Fiji. “But I wonder to a man in the changing room, if we’d alter our path now, with the success that we’re sometimes experiencing? I’d be interested to know because I think they’re very, very priceless lessons.”
