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

Team Updates Ahead of Pivotal Fixture

Steve Borthwick got a timely lift with the versatile back recovering from injury and in contention for his first appearance since suffering an injury on Lions tour, while the full-back and the wing were also named in the 37-man squad announced on Sunday night.

Current Form Differs with Past Struggles

The home side will welcome New Zealand after extending their winning streak to nine matches with a decisive comfortable win over the Pacific Islanders, romping clear in the closing stages. This strong run marks a dramatic shift from a year ago, when the team suffered six defeats in seven outings, all by narrow margins. A trio of these defeats were inflicted by the Kiwis—two on the overseas tour and a tight loss at home after the fly-half missed late goal attempts.

New Zealand just defeated Scotland on Saturday to keep hopes of a clean sweep intact, and while the Springboks secured their top spot, the captain has hailed the All Blacks as “perhaps the best side in the world.”

In the previous 11 meetings, England's only victory over New Zealand came in the global tournament semi, and New Zealand remain unbeaten in the recent clashes at Twickenham.

George's Perspective on Playing the Kiwis

“What a lot of teams do is sit back in admiration of New Zealand with their legacy and all their world-class players,” said former captain George. “It’s easy to do that. I have done it before. We’ve also got to be aware we’ll be playing at this venue. It’s an honour to be competing at home. We are going to do all we can to win that game.

“It’s vital to be at your best. New Zealand are arguably the strongest team in the world at the minute. They’re an exceptionally skilled squad and they seem to step up a gear when they come to this stadium. Our focus for us is is work out where we could have been better in the first half last time. Additionally, have a clear gameplan which can apply as much stress as we are able to. By doing so, we’ll create a opportunity.

“We came under a lot of criticism last year for not coming out on the right side of close contests and not finding a way to win. Currently, we’re doing the complete reverse. By no means have we solved everything. But we’ve put a big emphasis on the latter stages of games and finishing strongly. Notching however many tries in the final segment of that game is a sign of a good team.”

Borthwick's View and Squad Changes

Borthwick is again expected to make a number of adjustments to his lineup, with skipper the lock, the flanker, and Ford all expected to return to the first XV. Tommy Freeman and the newcomer each took knocks against Fiji but have been selected in the group getting ready to face the All Blacks.

“We want to test our mettle against the best teams and [New Zealand] are one of those elite squads,” commented Borthwick. “Our team is youthful, we’re evolving, I think we’re improving rapidly and we’re eager to learn. So I’m sure the upcoming will be a great assessment for us.”

The Star's Reflection on Progress

The number eight, meanwhile, believes that the team's present ability to pull clear in the dying minutes of games is largely due to their triple close losses by New Zealand the previous year. “It leaves you battle-hardened, you feel like you’ve got the wounds, you’ve got the experience to build on those setbacks, and they stung at the time,” said Earl, who was awarded man of the match against the Fijians. “But I question to a man in the changing room, would we have changed our journey now, with the success that we’re sometimes experiencing? I’d be interested to know because I think they’re very, very priceless lessons.”