England's skipper has warned that the team must avoid being intimidated by the All Blacks' legendary status if they hope to secure their maiden Twickenham triumph over the Kiwis in over a decade this weekend.
Team Updates Before Crucial Fixture
England's head coach got a timely boost with the versatile back recovering from injury and in contention for selection since sustaining an injury on Lions tour, while Freddie Steward and the wing featured in the expanded group revealed on Sunday night.
Recent Performances Contrasts with Past Struggles
England will welcome the All Blacks after stretching their winning streak to nine matches with a decisive comfortable victory over Fiji, again pulling away in the final quarter. This strong run stands in stark contrast from a year ago, when the team suffered multiple losses in seven matches, all by narrow margins. Three of those losses were inflicted by New Zealand—two on the 2024 summer tour and a 24-22 reverse at Twickenham after George Ford missed two late kicks.
The All Blacks just defeated the Scots on Saturday to maintain hopes of a clean sweep alive, and while South Africa cemented their number one ranking, George described New Zealand as “perhaps the best side in the world.”
In the previous 11 encounters, England's only victory over the All Blacks was during the global tournament semi, and New Zealand have not been beaten in the last five clashes at Twickenham.
The Captain's Perspective on Playing the All Blacks
“What a lot of teams do is stand in admiration of the All Blacks with their history and all their world-class players,” said former captain George. “It’s easy to do that. I’ve probably done it before. We’ve also got to be aware we’ll be back here at Allianz Stadium. We’re very proud to be competing at home. We are going to do all we can to come out on top.
“It’s vital to be at your peak. New Zealand are arguably the strongest team in the world at the minute. They are a unbelievably fantastic squad and they appear to step up a gear when they visit this stadium. The important thing for us is is work out where we might have improved in the first half last time. Additionally, have a defined strategy which can apply as much pressure as we are able to. If we do that, we’ll give ourselves a chance.
“We came under a bit of heat 12 months ago for not coming out on the winning end of close contests and not finding a way to win. Currently, we’re doing the complete reverse. By no means have we solved everything. But we’ve placed a strong focus on the latter stages of games and closing games out. Notching multiple tries in the final segment of that game is a sign of a quality team.”
The Coach's View and Squad Changes
Borthwick is again expected to make a number of changes to his lineup, with skipper the lock, Tom Curry, and Ford all set to be reinstated to the starting lineup. The wing and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso both suffered issues against the Islanders but both have been included in the squad preparing to face New Zealand.
“We want to challenge ourselves against the best teams and [New Zealand] are among best teams,” said Borthwick. “Our team is youthful, we’re developing, I think we’re growing quickly and we’re keen to learn. So I’m sure the upcoming going to be a valuable assessment for us.”
The Star's Take on Growth
Ben Earl, in addition, believes that the team's present capacity to break away in the dying minutes of games is largely due to their triple close losses by New Zealand the previous year. “You feel battle-hardened, you feel like you’ve been through battles, you’ve developed the scar tissue to learn from those losses, 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 dressing room, would we have changed our path now, with the success that we’re sometimes experiencing? I’d be curious to know because I think they’re very, very valuable lessons.”
