Jamie George has cautioned that Steve Borthwick's side should steer clear of being intimidated by the All Blacks' legendary status if they aim to achieve their maiden home victory over the visitors in 13 years this weekend.
Squad Boost Before Crucial Clash
Steve Borthwick has received a welcome lift with Elliot Daly recovering from injury and available for selection since sustaining an injury on Lions tour, while Freddie Steward and Tom Roebuck were also named in the 37-man squad announced on Sunday night.
Current Form Contrasts with Previous Woes
The home side will welcome the All Blacks after extending their unbeaten run to nine matches with a decisive comfortable win over Fiji, again pulling away in the closing stages. Their current form stands in stark contrast from 12 months back, when England suffered multiple losses in seven matches, all by narrow margins. A trio of these losses came against New Zealand—two on the 2024 summer tour and a 24-22 reverse at home after the fly-half failed with late goal attempts.
The All Blacks narrowly edged out the Scots on Saturday to keep aspirations of a home nations grand slam alive, and though the Springboks cemented their top ranking, George has hailed New Zealand as “perhaps the top team in the world.”
In the previous 11 meetings, England's sole win over New Zealand was during the 2019 World Cup semi-final, and the visitors have not been beaten in the recent clashes at Twickenham.
The Captain's Perspective on Facing the All Blacks
“What a lot of teams do is sit back in admiration of New Zealand with their legacy and all their world-class talent,” said former captain George. “It’s tempting to do that. I have done it in the past. We must remember we’ll be playing at Allianz Stadium. It’s an honour to be playing here. We will do everything we can to win that game.
“You have to be at your best. The All Blacks are without doubt the strongest team in the world right now. They’re an exceptionally skilled squad and they seem to step up a level when they visit this stadium. The important thing for us to do is identify where we could have been better in the first half last time. But also, have a defined strategy which can put them under as much stress as we are able to. If we do that, we’ll create a chance.
“We came under a bit of heat last year for not coming out on the right side of tight games and not figuring out how to win. Currently, we’re doing the exact opposite. Not at all have we solved everything. But we’ve placed a strong focus on the latter stages of games and closing games out. Scoring however many tries in the last quarter of that game is a sign of a good team.”
The Coach's View and Squad Changes
Borthwick is again expected to make a number of changes to his lineup, with skipper Maro Itoje, Tom Curry, and the fly-half all expected to return to the first XV. The wing and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso each suffered issues against the Islanders but both have been included in the group preparing to take on the All Blacks.
“We aim 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 rapidly and we’re keen to learn. So I’m sure the upcoming will be a valuable test for us.”
The Star's Take on Progress
Ben Earl, in addition, believes that England’s current ability to pull clear in the dying minutes of matches is largely due to their triple close losses by New Zealand the previous year. “You feel battle-hardened, as if you’ve got the wounds, you’ve got the experience to learn from those setbacks, and they stung at the time,” remarked Earl, who was named man of the match against Fiji. “But I wonder to a man in the changing room, if we’d alter our journey now, with the success that we’re sometimes enjoying? I’d be curious to know because I think they’re very, very priceless lessons.”
