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Jamie George has cautioned that Steve Borthwick's side must avoid being overwhelmed by the All Blacks' legendary status if they hope to secure their first home triumph over the visitors in over a decade this Saturday.

Squad Boost Before Pivotal Clash

England's head coach has received a timely boost with the versatile back recovering from injury and in contention for selection since sustaining an injury on British & Irish Lions tour, while Freddie Steward and Tom Roebuck featured in the 37-man squad revealed on the weekend.

Current Form Differs with Past Struggles

England will welcome New Zealand after extending their winning streak to nine games with a decisive 38-18 win over the Pacific Islanders, again pulling away in the closing stages. This strong run stands in stark contrast from a year ago, when the team endured multiple losses in seven outings, all by narrow margins. Three of those losses were inflicted by the Kiwis—during the overseas tour and a 24-22 loss at Twickenham after George Ford failed with two late kicks.

The All Blacks narrowly edged out Scotland on Saturday to maintain aspirations of a home nations grand slam alive, and though the Springboks secured their top spot, George has hailed New Zealand as “arguably the top team in the world.”

In the previous 11 encounters, the team's sole win over the All Blacks was during the global tournament semi, and New Zealand have not been beaten in the recent clashes at Twickenham.

The Captain's Insight on Playing the Kiwis

“Many sides tend to is stand in awe of the All Blacks with their history and all their world-class talent,” said former captain George. “It’s easy to do that. I have done it in the past. We must remember we’ll be back here at this venue. It’s an honour to be competing at home. We are going to do all we can to come out on top.

“It’s vital to be at your best. The All Blacks are arguably the strongest team in the world right now. They are a exceptionally skilled team and they appear to step up a level when they visit Allianz Stadium. The important thing for us is is work out where we could have been better in the first half last time. But also, have a defined strategy which can put them under as much stress as we are able to. If we do that, we’ll give ourselves a chance.

“We came under a bit of heat 12 months ago for not emerging on the right side of close contests and not figuring out how to win. Now, we’re doing the complete reverse. Not at all have we cracked it. But we’ve placed a big emphasis on the latter stages of games and closing games out. Notching multiple tries in the last quarter of that game is a sign of a good team.”

Borthwick's View and Team Changes

The England coach is again expected to make a several adjustments to his side, with skipper the lock, the flanker, and the fly-half all expected to return to the first XV. Tommy Freeman and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso each took knocks against Fiji but have been included in the group getting ready to take on New Zealand.

“We want to test our mettle against the top sides and [New Zealand] are one of those elite squads,” said the head coach. “We’re a young side, 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 test for us.”

Earl's Reflection on Growth

The number eight, in addition, thinks that England’s present capacity to break away in the closing stages of games owes much to their triple close losses by New Zealand last year. “It leaves you battle-hardened, you feel like you’ve got the wounds, you’ve developed the experience to build on those setbacks, and they hurt at the time,” said the back-rower, who was named man of the match against Fiji. “But I wonder to a man in the dressing room, would we have changed our path now, with the success that we’re sometimes experiencing? I’d be interested to know because I think they’re extremely valuable lessons.”