England's skipper has warned that the team must avoid being intimidated by New Zealand's formidable reputation if they hope to achieve their first Twickenham victory over the visitors in over a decade this weekend.
Squad Boost Ahead of Pivotal Fixture
England's head coach has received a timely boost with the versatile back returning to fitness and available for selection since suffering an injury on Lions tour, while the full-back and the wing were also named in the expanded group revealed on the weekend.
Current Form Differs with Past Struggles
The home side will welcome the All Blacks after extending their unbeaten run to nine matches with a decisive 38-18 win over Fiji, romping clear in the final quarter. This strong run marks a dramatic shift from 12 months back, when the team suffered multiple losses in seven matches, each by fine margins. A trio of these defeats came against the Kiwis—during the overseas tour and a 24-22 reverse at Twickenham after the fly-half failed with two late kicks.
New Zealand narrowly edged out the Scots on Saturday to keep aspirations of a clean sweep intact, and though South Africa cemented their number one ranking, George described the All Blacks as “arguably the best side in the world.”
In the previous 11 encounters, England's only victory over the All Blacks was during the global tournament semi, and New Zealand have not been beaten in the last five clashes at Twickenham.
The Captain's Perspective on Playing the Kiwis
“What a lot of teams do is sit back in awe of New Zealand with their legacy and all their world-class talent,” said former captain George. “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 competing at home. We are going to do all we can to win that game.
“You have to be at your peak. New Zealand are arguably the strongest team in the world at the minute. They’re an exceptionally skilled team and they seem to raise a gear when they visit this stadium. Our focus for us is is identify where we might have improved in the first half last time. But also, develop a clear gameplan which can apply as much stress as we possibly can. By doing so, we’ll create a opportunity.
“We came under a bit of heat 12 months ago for not coming out on the right side of tight games and not finding a way to win. Now, we’re doing the complete reverse. By no means have we solved everything. But we’ve placed a strong focus on the latter stages of games and finishing strongly. Notching however many tries in the last quarter 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 side, with skipper Maro Itoje, the flanker, and the fly-half all expected to be reinstated to the starting lineup. The wing and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso each took knocks against the Islanders but have been selected in the group preparing to face the All Blacks.
“We want to challenge ourselves against the best teams and [New Zealand] are among best teams,” said Borthwick. “We’re a young side, we’re developing, I think we’re improving quickly and we’re keen to learn. So I’m sure next week’s will be a great test for us.”
The Star's Take on Growth
The number eight, meanwhile, believes that England’s present capacity to pull clear in the dying minutes of matches owes much to their triple close losses by the All Blacks the previous year. “You feel battle-hardened, you feel like you’ve got the wounds, you’ve developed the experience to learn from those losses, and they stung at the time,” remarked the back-rower, who was awarded man of the match against the Fijians. “But I question to a man in the dressing room, if we’d alter our path now, with the joy that we’re sometimes experiencing? I’d be curious to know because I think they’re very, very priceless lessons.”
