England's skipper has warned that the team should steer clear of 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.
Squad Boost Ahead of Crucial Clash
England's head coach got a welcome lift with Elliot Daly recovering from injury and in contention for his first appearance since suffering an injury on British & Irish Lions tour, while Freddie Steward and Tom Roebuck featured in the expanded squad revealed on the weekend.
Recent Performances Differs with Previous Woes
The home side will welcome the All Blacks after extending their unbeaten run to nine matches with a commanding comfortable victory over Fiji, again pulling away in the final quarter. Their current form marks a dramatic shift from 12 months back, when the team endured multiple losses in seven outings, all by narrow margins. Three of those defeats came against New Zealand—during the overseas tour and a tight loss at home after the fly-half failed with late goal attempts.
New Zealand just defeated the Scots on Saturday to keep aspirations of a home nations grand slam alive, and while the Springboks cemented their number one spot, George described New Zealand as “arguably the top team in the world.”
In the previous 11 meetings, the team's only victory over the All Blacks was during the global tournament semi, and the visitors have not been beaten in the last five clashes at Twickenham.
George's Insight on Playing the All Blacks
“What a lot of teams do is stand in awe of the All Blacks with their history and all their world-class players,” said former captain George. “It’s easy to do that. I have done it before. We must remember we’ll be playing at this venue. It’s an honour to be competing at home. We are going to do everything we can to win that game.
“You have to be at your peak. New Zealand are arguably the strongest team in the world at the minute. They’re an unbelievably fantastic team and they seem to step up a level when they visit Allianz Stadium. Our focus for us to do is work out where we might have improved in the first half this week. But also, develop a clear strategy which can put them under as much pressure as we are able to. If we do that, we’ll give ourselves a opportunity.
“We came under a lot of criticism 12 months ago for not coming out on the winning end of tight games and not figuring out how to win. Currently, we’re doing the exact opposite. Not at all have we cracked it. But we’ve put a big emphasis on the latter stages of games and finishing strongly. Notching multiple tries in the final segment of that game is a sign of a quality team.”
The Coach's Outlook and Squad Adjustments
The England coach is again expected to make a several adjustments to his lineup, with captain the lock, Tom Curry, and the fly-half all expected to be reinstated to the starting lineup. Tommy Freeman and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso both suffered issues against Fiji but both have been selected in the squad preparing to face the All Blacks.
“We aim to challenge ourselves against the top sides and [New Zealand] are one of those best teams,” commented the head coach. “Our team is youthful, we’re developing, I think we’re improving rapidly and we’re eager to learn. So I’m sure the upcoming going to be a great assessment for us.”
The Star's Reflection on Growth
Ben Earl, in addition, thinks that the team's current ability to break away in the closing stages of matches owes much to their triple close losses by New Zealand the previous year. “You feel battle-hardened, as if you’ve got the wounds, you’ve developed the experience to build on those setbacks, and they stung at the time,” remarked Earl, who was awarded man of the match against Fiji. “But I question to a man in the changing room, if we’d alter our path now, with the success that we’re sometimes enjoying? I’d be interested to know because I think they’re extremely priceless lessons.”
