DUNEDIN — Jamie George had hardly set foot in Dunedin before he declared his side were ready to go on the front foot in Saturday’s Test match against New Zealand. He is the first England captain to have the confidence to do that for more than two decades and the Saracens man had every right to do so.
In the Featherston, a busy pub in central Wellington located a 30-minute train ride away from the All Blacks’ new training base, locals last week were tempted by the odds of 9-2 for England to beat the host this weekend. And round here they know about rugby.
Reasons to be gloomy for Kiwis, then, but there are plenty of reasons to be cheerful for Steve Borthwick’s England.
The mood in the Featherston was tinged with scepticism about Scott Robertson’s new regime and they also seemed to have watched more of England’s most recent games than the New Zealand players.
They and Robertson have spent all week talking about the visitors’ prowess with the high ball and their kicking game, which is not their No 1 priority any more.
Robertson won seven Super Rugby titles with the Crusaders but he has been waiting since he was appointed last March to get his first taste of international rugby in the coaches’ box. And it is a different beast altogether as he admitted in the All Blacks’ Dunedin hotel on Thursday.
“The Crusaders was 500,000 people, this is five million. I have been involved in professional rugby since 1996, and being an All Black helps, but Saturday night is when it really comes on. It really is on,” said the 49-year-old.
The All Blacks only got together as a squad last Wednesday, they have not played since the World Cup final in October, and they are missing players such as Sam Cane and Will Jordan, who are injured, and Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick and Aaron Smith, who have retired from the international game.
England, by contrast, have a Six Nations campaign, which improved from desperate to encouraging, under their belts have been together since 10 June and beat Japan 52-17 in that Tokyo hit out two weeks ago.
And there is a sense amongst the camp that this is their big chance to knock over the All Blacks for the first time here since 2003 because next week the show arrives at Auckland’s Eden Park, where the Kiwis have not lost for 30 years.
England have finally settled on their No 10 with Owen Farrell and George Ford out of the frame. Marcus Smith, who sparked a comeback against New Zealand at Twickenham in 2022, that saw England draw 25-25, having been 17-3 down at the break.
That day England scored three tries in the last seven minutes and it would probably be best if they did not attempt to pull off the same stunt here. They have talked in the build-up about the need to get off to a fast start and they have to get out of the blocks before New Zealand, potentially rusty, find their feet. Smith ran the show against the Japanese but this will be a totally different ball game.
Any New Zealander who watched the World Cup will know all about Ben Earl, the Saracens back rower, who has converted from an openside flanker for his club to No 8 for his country.
Earl is probably the most improved player in world rugby over the past 18 months, having been a replacement in the 2023 Six Nations he is now one of the first names on the team sheet and a vice-captain.
As Borthwick said: “We meet every week, and identify what he needs to work on and improve. Clearly, I have done that analysis as well but he brings it to me.
“I sense a hunger in him and a desire to just keep getting better. Some players step into Test rugby and it happens straight away and some players need to go back and work towards it and that is what Ben has done – he has shown his international class. He wants to test himself against the best.”
And Earl will get that chance this weekend against the world’s top No 8, and World Player of the Year, Ardie Savea. Chuck in the blistering form of Sam Underhill, and the burgeoning talent of Chandler Cunningham-South and England have a back row capable of going toe-to-toe with the hosts.
Despite having it all in their favour it is still a big ask for England to overturn the odds and they need everything on the pitch to go their way. But as George said: “It was 2003 the last time England won here. We were at a charity dinner before we left and Steve Borthwick was on that tour and they were asking about it.
“I said to the boys we’ve got an opportunity to do something really special so that in 20 years’ time when we are sat at one of those dinners they are going to be asking us about the victory.” The unpatriotic punters in the Featherston might even drink to that.