England's skipper has warned that the team must avoid being overwhelmed by the All Blacks' legendary status if they hope to secure their first home triumph over the visitors in over a decade this weekend.
Team Updates Ahead of Pivotal Fixture
England's head coach has received a welcome lift with the versatile back returning to fitness and available for his first appearance since suffering an injury on Lions tour, while Freddie Steward and the wing featured in the 37-man squad announced on the weekend.
Current Form Differs with Past Struggles
England will welcome New Zealand after extending their unbeaten run to nine matches with a commanding comfortable win over Fiji, romping clear in the final quarter. Their current form stands in stark contrast from 12 months back, when England endured multiple losses in seven outings, all by narrow margins. A trio of these losses came against the Kiwis—during the overseas tour and a tight loss at Twickenham after the fly-half missed late goal attempts.
The All Blacks just defeated Scotland on the weekend to maintain hopes of a clean sweep intact, and though the Springboks secured their number one ranking, the captain described the All Blacks as “perhaps the top team in the world.”
Of the last 11 meetings, England's only victory over New Zealand came in the global tournament semi, and the visitors have not been beaten in the recent fixtures at Twickenham.
The Captain's Insight on Facing the Kiwis
“What a lot of teams do is stand in admiration of the All Blacks 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 Allianz Stadium. We’re very proud to be playing here. We are going to do everything we can to come out on top.
“You have to be at your peak. New Zealand are without doubt the strongest team in the world at the minute. They are a unbelievably fantastic team and they appear to raise a gear when they visit Allianz Stadium. The important thing for us to do is work out where we could have been better in the first half this week. But also, develop a clear gameplan which can put them under as much stress as we possibly can. If we do that, we’ll create a chance.
“We came under a lot of criticism 12 months ago for not emerging on the right side of tight games and not finding a way to win. Now, we’re doing the complete reverse. By no means have we solved everything. But we’ve put 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.”
Borthwick's View and Team Adjustments
Borthwick is likely to make a number of adjustments 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 suffered issues against the Islanders but have been included in the squad getting ready to face New Zealand.
“We want to challenge ourselves against the best teams and [New Zealand] are among best teams,” commented the head coach. “We’re a young side, we’re evolving, I think we’re growing quickly and we’re keen to learn. So I’m sure the upcoming going to be a valuable test for us.”
The Star's Take on Progress
The number eight, meanwhile, thinks that the team's present capacity to break away in the dying minutes of matches owes much to their triple close losses by the All Blacks the previous year. “It leaves you seasoned, you feel like you’ve been through battles, you’ve developed the experience to learn from those setbacks, and they hurt at the time,” remarked Earl, who was awarded man of the match against Fiji. “But I question among the squad in the dressing room, if we’d alter our journey now, with the joy that we’re sometimes experiencing? I’d be interested to know because I think they’re very, very priceless lessons.”
