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Jamie George insists England are ready to impose themselves on New Zealand and play their part in a weekend of high-stakes sport.
England are aiming to triumph on Kiwi soil for only the third time in a history spanning 16 matches and 61 years when they collide with the All Blacks in Dunedin on Saturday morning.
Martin Johnson’s 2003 tourists were the last team to take the sport’s most prized scalp with each of the seven Tests since ending in defeat for the Red Rose.
George believes that toppling the All Blacks would set the tone for England’s football team when they face Switzerland in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals later in the same day.
“We’ve come to New Zealand to play our way and take New Zealand on,” the Enga captain told reporters.
“We can’t sit back and wait because if we do that we’ll be behind our poles 20 points down trying to create some sort of comeback like we did in 2022 (when they drew 25-25).
“We’ve come to New Zealand to win. The challenge we’ve laid down is that we play at our physicality and our intensity. We’ll know whether we’re there or not within the first few minutes after kick-off.
“Walk towards it, embrace it, love it. What an amazing opportunity we have got here. It was 2003 the last time England won here.
“What a great time for us to put our hands up and show what the English rugby team is about. There is Wimbledon going on and the quarter-finals of the Euros.
“It’s a hugely exciting time to be an English sports fan and we want to make people back home really proud of what we are doing.”
England have yet to decide how they will face the haka – the ceremonial challenge laid down by New Zealand in the moments before kick-off – with head coach Steve Borthwick allowing the players to choose their response.
The famous 19-7 victory over the All Blacks in the 2019 World Cup semi-finals was delivered after the team had audaciously formed into a V formation with captain Owen Farrell at its tip.
“We are still having conversations. It’s the players’ decision. Steve has said that it is entirely on us what we decide to do, but we will probably make a decision tomorrow (Friday),” George said.
“The most powerful thing for me in 2019 was looking up at the big screen and seeing our captain smirking. I don’t think I can pull off the Owen Farrell smirk!
“The most important thin – regardless of what you do with the haka and regardless of what happens before the game – is the first 10 minutes of the match because that sets the tone.
“In 2019 we put our necks on the line in terms of doing something different and challenging and then we backed it up. That’s going to be the most important thing regardless of what we do.”
