England have already sprung one early surprise as they prepare to welcome New Zealand to a packed Twickenham this weekend. Few outside the camp expected to hear the Bob Dylan song Like a Rolling Stone booming across their training ground on a damp Monday lunchtime but maybe the urgent choruses of “How does it feel?” were a quiet nod towards the big questions the squad needs to answer this autumn.
England’s ability to turn narrow defeats into victories, settle on their best starting combinations and overcome their summer coaching upheaval all sit high on the list, just behind their primary objective of ending a rollercoaster year on an upward curve. A minimum of three wins from their four Tests against the All Blacks, Australia, South Africa and Japan will be required for a feelgood vibe to take proper hold.
To do that they need first to reprise some of their greatest hits against New Zealand. The flanker Tom Curry, who is poised to start his first Test at Twickenham for almost two years, revealed he has been thinking back to the 2022 game against the All Blacks in which England recovered from 17-3 down at half-time to draw 25-25. While the 2019 World Cup semi-final and the 38-21 Twickenham win in 2012 now feel almost sepia‑tinted, England’s players have long since ceased to view New Zealand as unbeatable.
It did not quite happen for Steve Borthwick’s side in their summer Tests in Dunedin and Auckland, both of which ended in tight defeats, but Curry is among those who reckon England have the ability to give New Zealand a proper examination.
“You focus on getting the best out of yourself and they have to deal with that; that’s our mentality,” said Curry, thankfully back from the gruesome hip injury which, at one point, cast a dark shadow over his career. “For us the main thing is definitely around the breakdown. They go hard, especially on the inside, so we have to make sure we are on it. It is going to be a good battle, especially with Sam Cane being back.”
Selection-wise, England are trying to keep changes to a minimum, although they do have a keynote decision to make at scrum-half in the absence of the injured Alex Mitchell. The mood among those who did tour New Zealand in the summer, though, is that England will be a tougher proposition this time around.
Northampton’s Tommy Freeman, again poised to start on the left wing, is among those convinced that, at the very least, England will be bang up for it. “We felt like the last game could have gone either way decision‑wise. To miss out like that is always difficult. We’ll definitely want to put a few wrongs right and really get stuck into them on our home ground.”
Freeman is also convinced the more Tests he plays in the same backline as George Furbank, Ollie Lawrence, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and, potentially, the now fit-again Henry Slade, the stronger England will become. “That continuous development with the player inside and outside you makes a massive difference. You know what Slade is going to offer in defence, for example, and the distance away you need to be. It does really help and hopefully it will be a positive thing going forward.”
On the flip side, New Zealand’s players also now have a clearer idea of their opponents, though Freeman says it does not greatly bother him whether his opposite number Sevu Reece knows his name or not. “I’m not fussed if they do or don’t, to be honest. The more you play, the more you’ll get known. Hopefully if I can make his game a misery it’s a win for me and that will make him remember me, potentially.”
Either way, England intend to take it to the All Blacks. “After the Scotland game earlier this year Steve said we played small,” Freeman said. “That’s a big no-go. We want to play big with our chests out and take our opportunities.”
Despite the recent introduction of hybrid contracts for their leading players, England might ideally have preferred to have had a warmup Test in preparation for their rematch with the All Blacks. But Curry has been around long enough to know imperfect preparation can sometimes precede the most memorable of days.
“I learned that pretty early on. When we beat Ireland away in 2019 we had a pretty stinking team run and the game was just amazing. It is all about those 80 minutes. We are pushing this week and it is about building up the excitement. And then, come Saturday, flying into it.”
