England's skipper has warned that Steve Borthwick's side must avoid being intimidated by New Zealand's formidable reputation if they hope to achieve their maiden home victory over the Kiwis in over a decade this weekend.
Squad Boost Before Pivotal Clash
Steve Borthwick got a welcome lift with the versatile back returning to fitness and in contention for his first appearance since suffering an injury on British & Irish Lions tour, while Freddie Steward and the wing were also named in the expanded squad revealed on Sunday night.
Current Form Differs with Past Struggles
The home side host the All Blacks after stretching their unbeaten run to nine games with a commanding comfortable victory over the Pacific Islanders, again pulling away in the closing stages. This strong run marks a dramatic shift from a year ago, when the team suffered multiple losses in seven outings, each by fine margins. Three of those defeats came against New Zealand—two on the overseas tour and a 24-22 loss at Twickenham after the fly-half failed with two late kicks.
New Zealand just defeated Scotland on the weekend to keep aspirations of a clean sweep alive, and though South Africa cemented their top spot, the captain described the All Blacks as “arguably the best side in the world.”
In the previous 11 meetings, the team's sole win over the All Blacks was during the 2019 World Cup semi-final, and the visitors remain unbeaten in the recent clashes at England's home ground.
The Captain's Perspective on Playing the All Blacks
“What a lot of teams do is sit back in admiration of New Zealand with their legacy and all their world-class talent,” stated former captain George. “It’s tempting to do that. I’ve probably done it in the past. We’ve also got to be aware we’ll be back here at Allianz Stadium. It’s an honour to be playing here. We are going to do everything 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 might have improved in the opening period this week. Additionally, develop a defined strategy which can apply as much stress as we are able to. If we do that, we’ll give ourselves a chance.
“We faced a lot of criticism last year for not coming out on the right side of tight games and not figuring out how to win. Now, we’re doing the complete reverse. Not at all have we cracked it. 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 the match is a sign of a quality team.”
The Coach's View and Team Changes
Borthwick is again expected to make a number of changes to his side, with skipper the lock, the flanker, and the fly-half all set to be reinstated to the first XV. The wing and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso each suffered issues against the Islanders but both have been included in the squad getting ready to take on New Zealand.
“We aim to challenge ourselves against the top sides and [New Zealand] are among elite squads,” commented the head coach. “We’re a young side, we’re evolving, I think we’re improving quickly and we’re keen to learn. So I’m sure next week’s going to be a valuable assessment for us.”
The Star's Reflection on Progress
Ben Earl, in addition, believes that the team's current capacity to break away in the dying minutes of games is largely due to their triple close losses by the All Blacks the previous year. “You feel battle-hardened, you feel like you’ve been through battles, you’ve got the experience to learn from those losses, and they hurt at the time,” remarked the back-rower, who was awarded player of the game against the Fijians. “But I question to a man in the changing room, would we have changed our path now, with the success that we’re now enjoying? I’d be interested to know because I think they’re extremely valuable lessons.”
