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 triumph over the visitors in 13 years this weekend.
Team Updates Before Crucial Fixture
England's head coach has received a timely lift with Elliot Daly returning to fitness and available for selection since suffering an arm fracture on British & Irish Lions duty, while the full-back and the wing featured in the expanded group revealed on Sunday night.
Recent Performances Differs with Previous Woes
The home side will welcome New Zealand after extending their unbeaten run to nine matches with a commanding 38-18 victory over the Pacific Islanders, again pulling away in the final quarter. Their current form marks a dramatic shift from 12 months back, when England suffered six defeats in seven outings, each by fine margins. Three of those defeats came against the Kiwis—two on the 2024 summer tour and a 24-22 loss at Twickenham after George Ford failed with late goal attempts.
The All Blacks just defeated Scotland on the weekend to keep hopes of a home nations grand slam alive, and while South Africa cemented their top ranking, George has hailed the All Blacks as “perhaps the best side in the world.”
In the previous 11 meetings, the team's only victory over New Zealand came in the 2019 World Cup semi-final, and New Zealand remain unbeaten in the last five fixtures at Twickenham.
George's Perspective on Facing the All Blacks
“What a lot of teams do is stand in admiration of the All Blacks with their legacy and all their incredible players,” said former captain George. “It’s tempting to do that. I have 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 will do all we can to win that game.
“It’s vital to be at your best. New Zealand are without doubt the best side in the world right now. They are a unbelievably fantastic team and they appear to raise a gear when they come to this stadium. The important thing for us is is work out where we could have been better in the first half this week. Additionally, develop a defined gameplan which can put them under as much stress as we are able to. By doing so, we’ll create a opportunity.
“We came under a lot of criticism 12 months ago for not coming out on the right side of close contests and not figuring out how to win. Currently, we’re doing the complete reverse. By no means have we solved everything. But we’ve placed a big emphasis on the latter stages of games and finishing strongly. Scoring however many tries in the last quarter of the match is a mark of a quality team.”
The Coach's View and Team Changes
The England coach is again expected to make a several changes to his lineup, with skipper the lock, the flanker, and Ford all expected to return to the starting lineup. Tommy Freeman and the newcomer each took knocks against the Islanders but both have been included in the squad preparing to take on New Zealand.
“We aim to challenge ourselves against the top sides and [New Zealand] are one of those elite squads,” commented Borthwick. “Our team is youthful, we’re evolving, I think we’re growing quickly and we’re eager to learn. So I’m sure the upcoming going to be a great assessment for us.”
The Star's Take on Growth
Ben Earl, meanwhile, believes that England’s present capacity to break away in the dying minutes of games is largely due to their three narrow defeats by New Zealand last year. “It leaves you seasoned, you feel like you’ve got the wounds, you’ve developed the scar tissue to learn from those losses, and they stung at the time,” remarked Earl, who was named man of the match against Fiji. “But I question to a man in the changing room, would we have changed our path now, with the success that we’re sometimes experiencing? I’d be interested to know because I think they’re extremely valuable lessons.”
