Backrow bravado may help England conquer All Blacks

It is a little over 60 years now since England embarked on their first Antipodean adventure, a squad led by Mike Weston following previous French, Scottish and Irish tours to make a belated arrival in the Southern Hemisphere in 1963.

- HARRY LATHAM-COYLE

A gruelling schedule had been organised by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) in New Zealand and Australia. England returned after little more than a fortnight battered, bruised and beaten in five of their six matches.

England have seldom found Aotearoa to their liking on their returns to the Shaky Isles since. Their infrequent visits to New Zealand have been cloaked in a long white cloud of English defeats and off-field bother. It is 20 years since the All Blacks were last beaten by England on home soil, and it was a 30-year winning run for the hosts before that. That the teams contest a prize named after Sir Edmund Hillary feels appropriate.

“It doesn’t get more challenging than playing New Zealand at home, but it’s exactly where we want to be,” England head coach Steve Borthwick said ahead of the first of a two-Test series that begins in Dunedin tomorrow.

“We want to find out more about ourselves and test ourselves against one of the best teams in the world. Test rugby is a game of fine margins, so our mindset is going to be very important on Saturday. We’ll need to be mentally strong, play a tactically smart game and ensure we maintain our discipline.”