Jamie George has cautioned that the team must avoid being intimidated by New Zealand's formidable reputation if they hope to achieve their maiden home triumph over the visitors in over a decade this Saturday.
Squad Boost Before Pivotal Fixture
England's head coach got a timely boost with the versatile back recovering from injury and in contention for his first appearance since sustaining an arm fracture on British & Irish Lions tour, while the full-back and the wing featured in the 37-man squad announced on the weekend.
Recent Performances Differs with Previous Woes
The home side will welcome New Zealand after extending their winning streak to nine matches with a commanding comfortable victory over Fiji, again pulling away in the closing stages. Their current form marks a dramatic shift from a year ago, when the team suffered multiple losses in seven outings, all by narrow margins. A trio of these losses came against the Kiwis—two on the overseas tour and a 24-22 loss at home after the fly-half failed with late goal attempts.
New Zealand narrowly edged out Scotland on Saturday to maintain hopes of a clean sweep alive, and while the Springboks cemented their top spot, the captain described New Zealand as “arguably the top team in the world.”
Of the last 11 meetings, England's only victory over New Zealand came in the 2019 World Cup semi-final, and New Zealand remain unbeaten in the recent fixtures at Twickenham.
George's Perspective on Playing the All Blacks
“What a lot of teams do is sit back in awe of New Zealand with their history and all their world-class players,” said 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 playing at Allianz Stadium. It’s an honour to be competing at home. We will do everything we can to come out on top.
“You have to be at your best. New Zealand are arguably the strongest team in the world right now. They are a unbelievably fantastic team and they appear to step up a level when they come to Allianz Stadium. The important thing for us to do is work out where we might have improved in the opening period last time. Additionally, develop a clear gameplan which can apply as much pressure as we possibly can. If we do that, we’ll give ourselves a chance.
“We faced a bit of heat last year for not coming out on the winning end of close contests and not finding a way to win. Now, we’re doing the complete reverse. By no means have we cracked it. But we’ve placed a strong focus on the latter stages of games and closing games out. Scoring multiple tries in the final segment of that game is a sign of a quality team.”
The Coach's Outlook and Squad Changes
Borthwick is likely to make a number of adjustments to his side, with captain Maro Itoje, the flanker, and Ford all set to be reinstated to the starting lineup. Tommy Freeman and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso both suffered issues against Fiji but both have been selected in the squad getting ready to face the All Blacks.
“We want to challenge ourselves against the best teams 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 the upcoming will be a great assessment for us.”
The Star's Take on Progress
Ben Earl, in addition, believes that England’s current ability to break away in the dying minutes of games owes much to their three narrow defeats by New Zealand the previous year. “It leaves you battle-hardened, as if you’ve got the wounds, you’ve developed the scar tissue to build on those losses, and they hurt at the time,” said Earl, who was named player of the game against the Fijians. “But I wonder among the squad 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.”
