Jamie George has challenged England to look past the aura of the All Blacks when they meet them at Twickenham on Saturday.
The fixture that has largely been one-sided over the last century. New Zealand have won 36 of the 46 Tests between the sides, with two draws. England’s last victory came in the 2019 World Cup semi-final, while their most recent triumph at Twickenham was back in 2012.
But George insists the hosts can’t afford to be overawed by reputation when the teams collide.
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“A lot of teams sit back in awe of the All Blacks and their incredible history and their incredible players,” said the Saracens hooker, who came off the bench to score one of England’s six tries in their 38-18 win over Fiji last weekend.
“It’s easy to do that and I’ve done that in the past. We’ve also got to be very aware that we’re back here at Twickenham. We’re very proud of playing here and we are going to do everything we can to win.”
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England head into the blockbuster with renewed confidence after notching up a ninth consecutive win – a major turnaround following a dismal run of seven defeats in 11 matches.
Even so, George knows that the All Blacks, who held off a spirited Scotland comeback to win 25-17 at Murrayfield, remain one of rugby’s toughest challenges.
“You’ve got to be at your best because they’re not just another team,” he said. “They are arguably the best team in the world at the minute. They’ve got world-class players.
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“We’ve got to come up with a clear game plan that’s going to put them under as much pressure as possible and then go out and execute it perfectly because that’s what we’ll need to do to win.”
England coach Steve Borthwick will name his team on Thursday, with rising star Henry Arundell pushing for a starting spot after another electric cameo against Fiji.
The Bath flyer showcased his trademark pace when he raced onto a Marcus Smith grubber and outpaced two defenders to score late in the game.
Scrumhalf Alex Mitchell summed up his teammate’s raw speed simply:
“It was crazy and we see it in training every week. It just makes everyone else look really slow. Marcus and the Fiji boys are rapid as well, but Henry’s at the next level.”
– AFP
Photo: Warren Little/Getty Images
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