Jamie George has cautioned that Steve Borthwick's side should steer clear of being intimidated by the All Blacks' legendary status if they hope to achieve their first home victory over the Kiwis in 13 years this weekend.
Squad Boost Ahead of Pivotal Fixture
England's head coach has received a welcome boost with the versatile back recovering from injury and in contention for his first appearance since sustaining an injury on British & Irish Lions tour, while the full-back and the wing were also named in the 37-man squad announced on the weekend.
Current Form Contrasts with Past Struggles
England host the All Blacks after stretching their winning streak to nine matches with a commanding 38-18 victory over the Pacific Islanders, again pulling away in the final quarter. This strong run marks a dramatic shift from a year ago, when England suffered six defeats in seven outings, all by narrow margins. A trio of these defeats came against New Zealand—during the overseas tour and a tight loss at Twickenham after George Ford missed late goal attempts.
New Zealand just defeated Scotland on Saturday to maintain hopes of a clean sweep intact, and while the Springboks cemented their number one ranking, George has hailed the All Blacks as “perhaps the best side in the world.”
In the previous 11 encounters, the team's only victory over New Zealand was during the 2019 World Cup semi-final, and the visitors have not been beaten in the last five clashes at England's home ground.
George's Perspective on Playing the All Blacks
“What a lot of teams do is stand in awe of New Zealand with their history and all their world-class players,” said the experienced hooker. “It’s easy to do that. I have done it before. We’ve also got to be aware we’ll be back here at this venue. We’re very proud to be competing at home. We will do everything we can to come out on top.
“You have to be at your peak. The All Blacks are arguably the strongest team in the world at the minute. They’re an unbelievably fantastic team and they appear to raise a level when they visit this stadium. The important thing for us to do is work out where we might have improved in the first half last time. But also, develop a defined strategy which can apply as much stress as we possibly can. If we do that, we’ll give ourselves a chance.
“We faced a bit of heat 12 months ago for not emerging on the winning end of close contests and not finding a way to win. Now, we’re doing the exact opposite. Not at all have we cracked it. But we’ve put a strong focus on the latter stages of games and closing games out. Notching however many tries in the final segment of that game is a sign of a quality team.”
The Coach's Outlook and Squad Changes
The England coach is likely to make a number of changes to his lineup, with skipper Maro Itoje, Tom Curry, and Ford all set to be reinstated to the starting lineup. The wing and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso each took knocks against Fiji but both have been included in the group preparing to take on New Zealand.
“We aim to test our mettle against the top sides and [New Zealand] are one of those elite squads,” commented Borthwick. “We’re a young side, we’re developing, I think we’re growing quickly and we’re eager to learn. So I’m sure the upcoming going to be a great test for us.”
Earl's Take on Growth
Ben Earl, in addition, believes that England’s current capacity to pull clear in the closing stages of games is largely due to their triple close losses by New Zealand the previous year. “You feel seasoned, as if you’ve been through battles, you’ve developed the scar tissue to build on 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, if we’d alter our journey now, with the joy that we’re sometimes enjoying? I’d be curious to know because I think they’re extremely priceless lessons.”
