England's skipper has warned that the team should steer clear of being intimidated by New Zealand's formidable reputation if they hope to secure their first home triumph over the visitors in over a decade this weekend.
Team Updates Ahead of Pivotal Clash
England's head coach has received a timely boost with the versatile back recovering from injury and available for his first appearance since sustaining an injury on Lions duty, while Freddie Steward and Tom Roebuck were also named in the 37-man squad announced on the weekend.
Recent Performances Contrasts with Previous Woes
The home side will welcome New Zealand after extending their winning streak to nine matches with a commanding 38-18 victory over Fiji, again pulling away in the final quarter. This strong run marks a dramatic shift from 12 months back, when England suffered six defeats 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 George Ford missed two late kicks.
New Zealand just defeated the Scots on Saturday to keep hopes of a home nations grand slam alive, and though South Africa secured their number one ranking, the captain described New Zealand as “arguably the best side in the world.”
In the previous 11 meetings, the team's only victory over the All Blacks came in the global tournament semi, and New Zealand remain unbeaten in the recent fixtures at England's home ground.
George's Insight on Facing the All Blacks
“Many sides tend to is sit back in admiration of the All Blacks with their legacy and all their incredible players,” said former captain George. “It’s easy to do that. I’ve probably done it before. We must remember we’ll be playing at Allianz Stadium. It’s an honour to be competing at home. We will do everything we can to win that game.
“You have to be at your best. The All Blacks are arguably the best side in the world at the minute. They’re an unbelievably fantastic team and they appear to raise a level when they come to this stadium. The important thing for us is is identify where we could have been better in the first half this week. Additionally, develop a clear strategy which can put them under as much pressure as we possibly can. If we do that, we’ll create a chance.
“We faced a lot of criticism 12 months ago for not coming out on the right side of close contests and not finding a way to win. Currently, we’re doing the complete reverse. Not at all have we cracked it. But we’ve put a strong focus on the latter stages of games and closing games out. Scoring multiple tries in the final segment of the match is a sign of a good team.”
Borthwick's Outlook and Team Adjustments
Borthwick is again expected to make a number of changes to his side, with captain Maro Itoje, Tom Curry, and the fly-half all set to return to the starting lineup. The wing and the newcomer each suffered issues against Fiji but have been selected in the group preparing to face New Zealand.
“We want to test our mettle against the top sides and [New Zealand] are among elite squads,” 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 will be a great assessment for us.”
The Star's Take on Progress
Ben Earl, meanwhile, believes that the team's current capacity to break away in the closing stages of games owes much to their three narrow defeats by the All Blacks last year. “It leaves you seasoned, you feel like you’ve been through battles, you’ve developed the scar tissue to learn from those losses, and they hurt at the time,” remarked the back-rower, who was named man of the match against Fiji. “But I wonder to a man in the changing room, would we have changed our path now, with the success that we’re now experiencing? I’d be curious to know because I think they’re very, very priceless lessons.”
