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Jamie George has cautioned that the team must avoid being intimidated by New Zealand's formidable reputation if they hope to achieve their first home victory over the visitors in over a decade this weekend.

Squad Boost Before Crucial Clash

England's head coach got a timely lift with the versatile back recovering from injury and available for his first appearance since sustaining an arm fracture on British & Irish Lions duty, while the full-back and the wing featured in the expanded group announced on Sunday night.

Recent Performances Contrasts with Past Struggles

The home side will welcome the All Blacks after stretching their unbeaten run to nine matches with a commanding 38-18 victory over the Pacific Islanders, again pulling away in the closing stages. This strong run stands in stark contrast from a year ago, when England suffered multiple losses in seven outings, each by fine margins. A trio of these losses were inflicted by the Kiwis—two on the 2024 summer tour and a 24-22 loss at Twickenham after the fly-half missed late goal attempts.

The All Blacks just defeated the Scots on Saturday to keep aspirations of a home nations grand slam alive, and though South Africa secured their top spot, George described the All Blacks as “arguably the best side in the world.”

Of the last 11 encounters, England's only victory over the All Blacks came in the global tournament semi, and the visitors have not been beaten in the last five fixtures at England's home ground.

The Captain's Insight on Playing the All Blacks

“Many sides tend to is sit back in awe of New Zealand with their legacy and all their incredible players,” stated former captain George. “It’s tempting to do that. I’ve probably done it before. We must remember we’ll be back here at Allianz Stadium. It’s an honour to be competing at home. We will do everything we can to come out on top.

“It’s vital to be at your peak. The All Blacks are without doubt the strongest team in the world right now. They’re an exceptionally skilled squad and they appear to raise a level when they come to this stadium. The important thing for us is is work out where we could have been better in the first half this week. But also, develop a clear gameplan which can put them under as much pressure as we are able to. By doing so, we’ll give ourselves a opportunity.

“We faced a bit of heat last year for not coming out on the right side of tight games and not figuring out how to win. Currently, we’re doing the complete reverse. Not at all have we cracked it. But we’ve put a strong focus on the latter stages of games and finishing strongly. Scoring however many tries in the final segment of that game is a mark of a quality team.”

Borthwick's Outlook and Squad Adjustments

The England coach is likely to make a number of changes to his side, with skipper Maro Itoje, Tom Curry, and Ford all set to be reinstated to the starting lineup. Tommy Freeman and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso both suffered issues against Fiji but both have been included in the group getting ready to take on New Zealand.

“We aim to test our mettle against the top sides and [New Zealand] are one of those elite squads,” commented Borthwick. “Our team is youthful, we’re developing, I think we’re improving quickly and we’re eager to learn. So I’m sure the upcoming going to be a great assessment for us.”

The Star's Take on Growth

Ben Earl, in addition, believes that England’s present ability to break away in the closing stages of games owes much to their three narrow defeats by New Zealand the previous year. “It leaves you seasoned, you feel like you’ve got the wounds, you’ve developed the scar tissue to learn from those losses, and they hurt at the time,” remarked the back-rower, who was awarded player of the game against the Fijians. “But I question among the squad in the changing room, if we’d alter our journey now, with the joy that we’re sometimes experiencing? I’d be curious to know because I think they’re very, very valuable lessons.”