England's skipper has warned that the team must avoid being overwhelmed by the All Blacks' legendary status if they hope to achieve their maiden home victory over the Kiwis in 13 years this weekend.
Squad Boost Before Pivotal Fixture
England's head coach got a timely lift with Elliot Daly recovering from injury and in contention for selection since sustaining an injury on British & Irish Lions duty, while the full-back and Tom Roebuck were also named in the expanded group announced on the weekend.
Recent Performances Differs with Previous Woes
The home side will welcome the All Blacks after stretching their winning streak to nine games with a decisive 38-18 win over Fiji, again pulling away in the final quarter. Their current form marks a dramatic shift from a year ago, when England endured multiple losses in seven outings, each by fine margins. A trio of these losses came against New Zealand—during the overseas tour and a 24-22 reverse at home after George Ford missed two late kicks.
The All Blacks just defeated Scotland on Saturday to keep aspirations of a clean sweep alive, and though the Springboks cemented their number one ranking, George has hailed the All Blacks as “arguably the top team in the world.”
Of the last 11 meetings, England's only victory over the All Blacks came in the global tournament semi, and the visitors remain unbeaten in the recent clashes at Twickenham.
The Captain's Insight on Facing the All Blacks
“What a lot of teams do is sit back in admiration of New Zealand with their history and all their world-class players,” stated former captain George. “It’s easy to do that. I have done it in the past. We must remember we’ll be playing at this venue. 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 best side in the world at the minute. They’re an unbelievably fantastic 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 opening period last time. But also, develop a defined gameplan which can apply as much pressure as we are able to. If we do that, we’ll give ourselves a opportunity.
“We came under a lot of criticism 12 months ago for not emerging on the winning end of close contests and not figuring out how to win. Now, we’re doing the exact opposite. Not at all have we cracked it. But we’ve placed a strong focus on the final phases of games and closing games out. Scoring multiple tries in the last quarter of that game is a mark of a good team.”
The Coach's View and Team Adjustments
Borthwick is again expected to make a number of changes to his lineup, with skipper the lock, Tom Curry, and Ford all expected to be reinstated to the first XV. Tommy Freeman and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso both suffered issues against the Islanders but have been included in the group preparing to take on New Zealand.
“We aim to test our mettle against the best teams and [New Zealand] are one of those best teams,” said Borthwick. “Our team is youthful, we’re evolving, I think we’re improving quickly and we’re keen to learn. So I’m sure the upcoming going to be a great test for us.”
Earl's Reflection on Progress
Ben Earl, in addition, thinks that the team's present capacity to pull clear in the dying minutes of matches is largely due to their triple close losses by the All Blacks last year. “It leaves you seasoned, you feel like you’ve been through battles, you’ve developed the experience to build on those setbacks, and they hurt at the time,” remarked Earl, who was named player of the game against Fiji. “But I question to a man in the changing room, would we have changed our journey now, with the success that we’re now enjoying? I’d be curious to know because I think they’re very, very priceless lessons.”
