England's captain Admonishes Team Against Sit Back at New Zealand's Aura

England's skipper has warned that Steve Borthwick's side must avoid being intimidated by New Zealand's formidable reputation if they aim to achieve their first home triumph over the visitors in over a decade this Saturday.

Squad Boost Ahead of Pivotal Clash

Steve Borthwick has received a timely boost with the versatile back recovering from injury and available for his first appearance since suffering an injury on British & Irish Lions tour, while the full-back and Tom Roebuck were also named in the expanded group announced on Sunday night.

Current Form Contrasts with Previous Woes

England will welcome New Zealand after extending their winning streak to nine matches with a commanding comfortable victory over Fiji, romping clear in the final quarter. Their current form stands in stark contrast from 12 months back, when the team endured multiple losses in seven outings, each by fine margins. A trio of these losses came against the Kiwis—two on the overseas tour and a 24-22 loss at Twickenham after the fly-half missed late goal attempts.

The All Blacks just defeated Scotland on Saturday to maintain hopes of a home nations grand slam alive, and though South Africa cemented their number one ranking, George has hailed New Zealand as “arguably the best side in the world.”

In the previous 11 encounters, the team's only victory over New Zealand came in the 2019 World Cup semi-final, and New Zealand have not been beaten in the recent clashes at England's home ground.

George's Insight on Playing the All Blacks

“What a lot of teams do is stand in awe of New Zealand with their history and all their incredible players,” said the experienced hooker. “It’s easy to do that. I’ve probably done it before. We must remember we’ll be playing at this venue. It’s an honour to be competing at home. We will do everything we can to win that game.

“You have to be at your peak. New Zealand are without doubt the strongest team in the world at the minute. They are a exceptionally skilled team and they seem to step up a gear when they come to this stadium. Our focus for us to do is identify where we could have been better in the first half last time. Additionally, have a defined strategy which can put them under as much pressure as we possibly can. By doing so, we’ll create a chance.

“We came under a lot of criticism last year for not emerging on the winning end of tight games and not finding a way to win. Currently, we’re doing the exact opposite. Not at all have we cracked it. But we’ve placed a strong focus on the latter stages of games and closing games out. Notching multiple tries in the last quarter of that game is a mark of a good team.”

The Coach's Outlook and Team Adjustments

Borthwick is again expected to make a several changes to his lineup, with skipper Maro Itoje, the flanker, and Ford all expected to be reinstated to the first XV. Tommy Freeman and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso both took knocks against Fiji but have been included in the squad getting ready to take on the All Blacks.

“We want to challenge ourselves against the best teams and [New Zealand] are among best teams,” said the head coach. “Our team is youthful, we’re evolving, I think we’re growing quickly and we’re keen to learn. So I’m sure the upcoming will be a great test for us.”

Earl's Reflection on Progress

Ben Earl, in addition, thinks that the team's present capacity to pull clear in the closing stages of matches is largely due to their triple close losses by the All Blacks last year. “It leaves you seasoned, you feel like you’ve been through battles, you’ve got the scar tissue to build on those setbacks, and they hurt at the time,” remarked Earl, who was named man of the match against Fiji. “But I question among the squad in the changing room, would we have changed our journey now, with the joy that we’re sometimes experiencing? I’d be interested to know because I think they’re extremely valuable lessons.”