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 weekend.
Squad Boost Ahead of Crucial Fixture
England's head coach got a timely boost with the versatile back returning to fitness and available for his first appearance since suffering an injury on British & Irish Lions duty, while Freddie Steward and Tom Roebuck were also named in the expanded group announced on Sunday night.
Current Form Contrasts with Previous Woes
The home side will welcome the All Blacks after stretching their winning streak to nine matches with a commanding 38-18 victory over Fiji, romping clear in the final quarter. Their current form stands in stark contrast from 12 months back, when England suffered multiple losses in seven matches, each by fine margins. Three of those defeats came against New Zealand—during the overseas tour and a tight reverse at Twickenham after George Ford missed two late kicks.
The All Blacks narrowly edged out the Scots on Saturday to maintain aspirations of a home nations grand slam alive, and while the Springboks secured their top ranking, George has hailed New Zealand as “perhaps the top team in the world.”
In the previous 11 encounters, the team's sole win over New Zealand was during the global tournament semi, and New Zealand remain unbeaten in the recent clashes at England's home ground.
George's Insight on Playing the All Blacks
“What a lot of teams do is sit back in awe of the All Blacks with their history and all their world-class players,” stated the experienced hooker. “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 are going to do all we can to win that game.
“You have to be at your peak. The All Blacks are arguably the strongest team in the world right now. They’re an unbelievably fantastic team and they appear to step up a level when they visit this stadium. Our focus for us is is identify where we might have improved in the opening period this week. But also, have a defined strategy which can put them under as much stress as we are able to. If we do that, we’ll create a opportunity.
“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. By no means have we cracked it. But we’ve placed a strong focus on the latter stages of games and closing games out. Notching however many tries in the last quarter of that game is a sign of a good team.”
The Coach's Outlook and Team Adjustments
Borthwick is again expected to make a several changes to his side, with skipper the lock, the flanker, and Ford all expected to return to the first XV. The wing and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso each took knocks against Fiji but both have been included in the squad preparing to face New Zealand.
“We aim to challenge ourselves against the best teams and [New Zealand] are one of those elite squads,” commented Borthwick. “We’re a young side, we’re evolving, I think we’re improving quickly and we’re eager to learn. So I’m sure the upcoming will be a great assessment for us.”
Earl's Take on Growth
The number eight, meanwhile, believes that England’s present capacity to break away in the closing stages of games owes much to their triple close losses by the All Blacks the previous year. “It leaves you battle-hardened, you feel like you’ve been through battles, you’ve got the scar tissue to learn from those setbacks, and they hurt at the time,” remarked the back-rower, who was named man of the match against the Fijians. “But I wonder among the squad in the changing room, would we have changed our journey now, with the success that we’re sometimes experiencing? I’d be curious to know because I think they’re extremely priceless lessons.”
