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 home victory over the visitors in 13 years this Saturday.
Team Updates Before Pivotal Clash
Steve Borthwick got a timely boost with the versatile back recovering from injury and in contention for selection since suffering an injury on Lions tour, while the full-back and Tom Roebuck were also named in the 37-man group revealed on the weekend.
Recent Performances Contrasts with Previous Woes
The home side host New Zealand after stretching their unbeaten run to nine matches with a decisive comfortable victory over the Pacific Islanders, romping clear in the final quarter. Their current form marks a dramatic shift from 12 months back, when England suffered multiple losses in seven outings, each by fine margins. Three of those losses came against New Zealand—two on the 2024 summer tour and a 24-22 loss at home after George Ford missed late goal attempts.
New Zealand just defeated Scotland on the weekend to keep aspirations of a clean sweep alive, and while the Springboks secured their top spot, George has hailed New Zealand as “perhaps the best side in the world.”
Of the last 11 encounters, England's sole win over the All Blacks came in the 2019 World Cup semi-final, 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 sit back in awe of New Zealand with their legacy and all their incredible players,” 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 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 right now. They’re an unbelievably fantastic team and they appear to raise a gear when they visit this 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 defined gameplan which can apply as much pressure as we are able to. If we do that, we’ll give ourselves a chance.
“We faced a bit of heat 12 months ago for not emerging on the right side of tight games and not figuring out how to win. Currently, we’re doing the exact opposite. Not at all have we solved everything. But we’ve placed a strong focus on the latter stages of games and closing games out. Scoring however many tries in the last quarter of that game is a sign of a quality team.”
Borthwick's Outlook and Team Adjustments
Borthwick is likely to make a several changes 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 the newcomer both took knocks against Fiji but both have been selected in the group getting ready to take on New Zealand.
“We aim to test our mettle against the top sides and [New Zealand] are one of those best teams,” commented 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 assessment for us.”
Earl's Reflection on Growth
Ben Earl, in addition, believes that England’s present ability to break away in the dying minutes of matches is largely due to their triple close losses by New Zealand last year. “You feel seasoned, you feel like you’ve got the wounds, you’ve developed the scar tissue to build on those losses, and they stung at the time,” said the back-rower, who was named player of the game against the Fijians. “But I question among the squad in the dressing room, if we’d alter our journey now, with the success that we’re sometimes experiencing? I’d be interested to know because I think they’re extremely priceless lessons.”
