England say they cannot afford to give too much respect to an All Blacks team that their hooker Jamie George describes as "arguably the best side in the world" when they meet at Twickenham.
The All Blacks play England at Twickenham next Sunday morning NZT hoping to keep their Grand Slam dream alive after beating Ireland and Scotland on successive weekends.
The English have quickly turned their attention to the All Blacks after accounting for Fiji 38-18 at Twickenham yesterday morning, a victory which took their winning streak to nine.
It is an impressive run of results, which includes a recent victory over Australia, but it should be put into context. Of the past 11 clashes, England’s only win against New Zealand came in the 2019 World Cup semifinal and the All Blacks have not been beaten in the past five games at Twickenham. Their last defeat at the home of English rugby was in 2012.
"What a lot of teams do is sit back in awe of the All Blacks with their history and all their incredible players," former skipper George told reporters.
"It’s easy to do that. I’ve probably done it. We’ve also got to be aware we’ll be back here at Allianz Stadium [Twickenham]. We’re very proud to be playing here. We are going to do everything we can to win that game.
"You have to be at your best. New Zealand are arguably the best side in the world at the minute. They’re an unbelievably fantastic team and they seem to step up a gear when they come to 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 have a clear game plan which can put them under as much pressure as we possibly can. If we do that, we’ll give ourselves a chance."
England shuffled their pack against Fiji, who trailed only 14-13 at halftime, but will name their strongest side for the All Blacks which will include captain Maro Itoje in the second row.
Their last Test against New Zealand finished in a heartbreaking 24-22 defeat after Damian McKenzie, who starred again late against Scotland at the weekend, converted a late Mark Tele’a try on the right sideline. They will clearly be eager to capitalise on a momentum that raised them to No.4 in the world after France’s defeat to South Africa in Paris.
“We came under a bit of heat 12 months ago for not coming out on the right side of tight games and not finding a way to win,” George added.
“Now we’re doing the exact opposite. By no means have we cracked it. But we’ve placed a big emphasis 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 All Blacks must find a replacement for left wing Caleb Clarke after he was ruled out of the match with a head knock, with skipper Scott Barrett still touch and go after he missed the Scotland victory with a badly cut leg.
For head coach Scott Robertson, started his reign last year with two close victories over England in Dunedin and Auckland before last November’s last-gasp win, there is little doubt that the success or otherwise of this year rests on this match.
A victory would all but clinch a Grand Slam with a Test against Wales to come. A defeat would be his side's third of 2025 after setbacks against Argentina and South Africa. Last year, the All Blacks lost four Tests – to the Pumas, South Africa twice, and France.
England coach Steve Borthwick said: “We want to challenge ourselves against the best teams and [New Zealand] are one of those best teams.
"We’re a young side, we’re developing, I think we’re growing quickly and we’re keen to learn. So I’m sure next week’s going to be a great assessment for us.”
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