England's skipper has warned that Steve Borthwick's side must avoid being overwhelmed by the All Blacks' legendary status if they aim to achieve their first home victory over the visitors in 13 years this Saturday.
Team Updates Before Pivotal Fixture
England's head coach got a welcome boost with the versatile back recovering from injury and in contention for selection since suffering an injury on British & Irish Lions duty, while the full-back and the wing were also named in the expanded squad revealed on Sunday night.
Recent Performances Differs with Previous Woes
England host New Zealand after stretching their winning streak to nine games with a decisive comfortable victory over Fiji, romping clear in the final quarter. This strong run marks a dramatic shift from a year ago, when England suffered multiple losses in seven outings, all by narrow margins. A trio of these defeats were inflicted by New Zealand—two on the overseas tour and a 24-22 loss at Twickenham after the fly-half failed with late goal attempts.
The All Blacks narrowly edged out Scotland on Saturday to maintain aspirations of a home nations grand slam intact, and while the Springboks secured their top spot, the captain has hailed the All Blacks as “perhaps the top team in the world.”
Of the last 11 meetings, the team's sole win over the All Blacks was during the global tournament semi, and New Zealand remain unbeaten in the recent clashes at England's home ground.
The Captain's Insight on Facing the All Blacks
“What a lot of teams do is stand in admiration of New Zealand with their history and all their incredible talent,” said the experienced hooker. “It’s easy to do that. I’ve probably done it before. We’ve also got to be aware we’ll be playing at Allianz Stadium. It’s an honour to be playing here. We are going to do everything we can to win that game.
“You have to be at your peak. New Zealand are without doubt the best side in the world right now. They are a unbelievably fantastic team and they appear to raise a level when they visit Allianz Stadium. The important thing for us to do is work out where we could have been better in the first half this week. Additionally, have a clear strategy which can apply as much stress as we are able to. By doing so, we’ll give ourselves a chance.
“We faced a lot of criticism last year for not emerging on the winning end of close contests and not finding a way to win. Currently, we’re doing the complete reverse. Not at all have we solved everything. But we’ve placed a big emphasis on the latter stages of games and closing games out. Scoring however many tries in the last quarter of that game is a mark of a good team.”
Borthwick's View and Squad Adjustments
The England coach is likely to make a number of changes to his lineup, with skipper the lock, the flanker, and the fly-half all set to be reinstated to the starting lineup. The wing and the newcomer each suffered issues against Fiji but both have been included in the squad getting ready to take on the All Blacks.
“We aim to test our mettle against the best teams and [New Zealand] are among best teams,” said Borthwick. “Our team is youthful, we’re developing, I think we’re growing rapidly and we’re eager to learn. So I’m sure next week’s going to be a valuable test for us.”
Earl's Take on Growth
Ben Earl, in addition, believes that the team's current capacity to break away in the dying minutes of matches owes much to their triple close losses by the All Blacks the previous year. “It leaves you seasoned, you feel like you’ve got the wounds, you’ve got the experience to build on those setbacks, and they hurt at the time,” said Earl, who was named player of the game against Fiji. “But I question among the squad in the dressing room, would we have changed our path now, with the joy that we’re now enjoying? I’d be interested to know because I think they’re extremely priceless lessons.”
