England reveal 'selfless' approach to knock over All Blacks
SPOTLIGHT: Fin Baxter believes a “selfless’ approach holds the key to England’s hopes of a rare win over New Zealand when they face the All Blacks at Twickenham on Saturday.
England have won just eight of 46 Tests against New Zealand in a fixture dating back 120 years, with their most recent success a dramatic 2019 World Cup semifinal victory in Japan.
But you have to go back to 2012 for England’s last win over the All Blacks at Twickenham.
England coach Steve Borthwick, who has already named his side, believes his players must be ready for “pain and suffering” if they are to triumph in their showpiece fixture of the Nations Series, with assistant coach Kevin Sinfield and Brighton football club manager Fabian Hurzeler addressing the squad this week.
“This is going to be a tight Test match, so competitive and one where every little thing counts,” said Harlequins prop Baxter, on the losing side three times against New Zealand in 2024.
“Kev spoke to us and so did Fabian, who spoke about being the best teammate, being selfless.
“When it comes to enduring pain and doing stuff for the team, you are being selfless.
“You are running when your body is telling you not to, you are getting up, getting off the line and hitting things hard. That’s a big part of rugby and the mental side that is not so obvious.
“You have to keep going and ignoring the little voice that is telling you to stop because that is what’s best for the team.”
England go into the game following November wins over Australia and Fiji, with New Zealand, who’ve already defeated Ireland and Scotland this month, looking to maintain their bid for a Grand Slam of wins over the ‘Home Nations’ ahead of next week’s encounter with Wales in Cardiff.
Veteran flyhalf George Ford, tipped as a future Red Rose coach by former England captain Borthwick, has been given the task of steering the home side to victory, with Baxter a keen admirer of the 32-year-old’s tactical nous.
“George is so brilliant at communicating to the team about the bigger plan. That’s what I have been most impressed with,” Baxter said, with the rookie front row adding: “It is such a hard skill to have but that is why he is a 100-cap international. I don’t know where it comes from, but he has got it.”
