Twickenham: England prop Ellis Genge is adamant defeating New Zealand on Saturday will still rank as a landmark achievement for all the All Blacks’ recent struggles.
New Zealand, for so long the standard-setters in world rugby union, lost three of their six games in this year’s southern hemisphere Rugby Championship after being edged out by a point by arch-rivals South Africa in the 2023 World Cup final.
England, however, open their November international campaign against New Zealand at Twickenham having beaten the All Blacks just eight times in 45 previous encounters stretching back to 1905.
Two narrow losses for England
Victory this weekend would constitute their first home win over the All Blacks in 12 years, with Steve Borthwick’s side twice narrowly edged out 16-15 in Dunedin and 24-17 in Auckland during a two-Test tour of New Zealand in July.
“Obviously you want to test yourself against the best and New Zealand have always been one of the best teams in the world,” Genge told a pre-match press conference on Friday.
“I’m excited, man, been out of the mix for a while. Be nice to step back in and get my teeth sunk into it,” added the 29-year-old, who missed the recent tour with a calf injury.
“I think everyone thinks about New Zealand being that team that moves the ball so well, but at the end of the day they pride themselves on set-piece, scrum and maul. That’s a battle of attrition, which I’m looking forward to.”
The build-up to this weekend’s match has been dominated by comments from Genge’s fellow England prop, Joe Marler, calling for New Zealand to ditch their pre-match ritual haka.
Marler, not playing on Saturday, has since apologised for his remarks which England captain Jamie George say may have “prodded the bear”.
Itoje to surpass Johnson's tally
England, praised for an increasingly attacking style under coach Steve Borthwick, are eager to turn a series of narrow defeats since the start of the 2023 World Cup, including losses to France and South Africa, into wins.
Maro Itoje, who will surpass 2003 World Cup-winning captain and fellow lock Martin Johnson’s tally of 84 England caps on Saturday, said: “The big thing is not just about racking up caps, racking up appearances for England.
“What Martin Johnson did was win. He won Six Nations, big games against southern-hemisphere teams. While I’ve also done that in my career, there’s more to come.”
Significant events
Borthwick has selected Henry Slade even though the centre has played less than an hour this season after shoulder surgery, while an injury to scrum-half Alex Mitchell has led to a first Test start for Ben Spencer.
All Blacks coach Scott Robertson, despite the team holding the edge, insisted Twickenham fixtures were still significant events.
“It’s huge, it’s the home of rugby, isn’t it?,” he said, adding: “It’s one of the places, as a rugby player growing up in New Zealand, when you’re getting up in the middle of the night, Twickenham and All Blacks matches (there) over the years, there have been some epic battles.”
October proved a memorable time for New Zealand sport.
Emirates Team New Zealand retained sailing’s America’s Cup, while in cricket the men’s side enjoyed their first Test series win in India, with the women’s team lifting the T20 World Cup and the netballers defeating world champions Australia.
Beauden Barrett to start for NZ
“You are extremely proud when you see the country at the bottom of the world punching like that,” said Robertson. “We draw on it, we’re aware of it, we celebrate it as well. It’s something that will inspire us.”
Beauden Barrett will start for New Zealand on Saturday, lining up alongside brother Jordie in a fly-half/inside centre partnership for the first time in a Test.
Damian McKenzie, No 10 for much of this year, is on the bench.
“I’d like to think we’re a good combination and that we can trust each other,” said Jordie, returning after six weeks out with a knee injury to a side captained by another Barrett brother in Scott, the second row.
