Jamie George has cautioned that Steve Borthwick's side must avoid being intimidated by the All Blacks' legendary status if they hope to achieve their first home victory over the visitors in 13 years this Saturday.
Team Updates Before Crucial Fixture
Steve Borthwick has received a welcome lift with the versatile back recovering from injury and available for his first appearance since sustaining an injury on British & Irish Lions tour, while the full-back and Tom Roebuck were also named in the 37-man group revealed on the weekend.
Current Form Contrasts with Previous Woes
The home side host New Zealand after stretching their winning streak to nine matches with a commanding 38-18 win over Fiji, again pulling away in the final quarter. Their current form stands in stark contrast from a year ago, when England endured multiple losses in seven matches, all by narrow margins. A trio of these losses were inflicted by the Kiwis—during the overseas tour and a tight reverse at home after the fly-half missed late goal attempts.
The All Blacks narrowly edged out Scotland on the weekend to maintain aspirations of a clean sweep intact, and though South Africa cemented their number one ranking, George has hailed the All Blacks as “perhaps the top team in the world.”
In the previous 11 encounters, England's only victory over New Zealand was during the global tournament semi, and the visitors have not been beaten in the recent fixtures at England's home ground.
George's Perspective on Facing the All Blacks
“Many sides tend to is stand in admiration of the All Blacks with their legacy and all their incredible players,” stated former captain George. “It’s easy to do that. I have 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 come out on top.
“You have to be at your best. New Zealand are without doubt the strongest team in the world at the minute. They are a exceptionally skilled team and they appear to step up a level when they visit Allianz Stadium. Our focus for us to do is work out where we might have improved in the first half this week. But also, have a defined gameplan which can put them under as much stress as we possibly can. If we do that, we’ll give ourselves a chance.
“We faced a lot of criticism last year for not emerging on the right side of close contests and not figuring out how to win. Currently, we’re doing the exact opposite. By no means have we solved everything. But we’ve put a big emphasis 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 quality team.”
The Coach's Outlook and Squad Adjustments
Borthwick is likely to make a number of changes to his side, with captain the lock, Tom Curry, and Ford all expected to be reinstated to the starting lineup. The wing and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso each suffered issues against the Islanders but both have been selected in the group getting ready to take on New Zealand.
“We aim to test our mettle against the best teams and [New Zealand] are among best teams,” 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 valuable assessment for us.”
The Star's Take on Progress
Ben Earl, meanwhile, thinks that England’s current ability to pull clear in the dying minutes of matches is largely due to their three narrow defeats by the All Blacks the previous year. “You feel seasoned, as if you’ve been through battles, you’ve got the experience to learn from those setbacks, and they stung at the time,” remarked Earl, who was named man of the match against Fiji. “But I wonder to a man in the dressing room, would we have changed our journey now, with the joy that we’re now experiencing? I’d be interested to know because I think they’re very, very priceless lessons.”
