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Jamie George has cautioned that Steve Borthwick's side should steer clear of being intimidated by New Zealand's formidable reputation if they aim to achieve their maiden home victory over the Kiwis in over a decade this weekend.

Team Updates Before Pivotal Fixture

England's head coach got a welcome lift with the versatile back recovering from injury and in contention for his first appearance since sustaining an arm fracture on Lions duty, while Freddie Steward and Tom Roebuck featured in the 37-man squad revealed on Sunday night.

Recent Performances Contrasts with Previous Woes

England will welcome New Zealand after extending their unbeaten run to nine games with a commanding comfortable win over Fiji, romping clear in the final quarter. This strong run stands in stark contrast from a year ago, when England endured multiple losses in seven matches, each by fine margins. Three of those defeats were inflicted by the Kiwis—two on the overseas tour and a tight loss at Twickenham after the fly-half missed two late kicks.

The All Blacks narrowly edged out the Scots on the weekend to keep hopes of a clean sweep alive, and though South Africa cemented their number one ranking, George described the All Blacks as “perhaps the best side in the world.”

In the previous 11 encounters, the team's sole win over New Zealand was during the global tournament semi, and New Zealand remain unbeaten in the last five clashes at England's home ground.

The Captain's Insight on Facing the Kiwis

“What a lot of teams do is stand in awe of the All Blacks with their history and all their incredible players,” said former captain George. “It’s tempting 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 will do all we can to win that game.

“You have to be at your peak. New Zealand are without doubt the best side in the world right now. They are a exceptionally skilled team and they seem to step up a gear when they come to this stadium. The important thing for us to do is work out where we might have improved in the opening period this week. But also, have a defined gameplan which can apply as much pressure as we possibly can. If we do that, we’ll create a opportunity.

“We faced a lot of criticism 12 months ago 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 strong focus on the latter stages of games and finishing strongly. Notching however many tries in the last quarter of that game is a mark of a quality team.”

The Coach's View and Squad Adjustments

Borthwick is likely to make a number of adjustments to his side, with captain Maro Itoje, Tom Curry, and the fly-half all set to return to the starting lineup. Tommy Freeman and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso both suffered issues against the Islanders but have been selected in the group preparing to take on New Zealand.

“We aim to challenge ourselves against the best teams and [New Zealand] are among elite squads,” said Borthwick. “We’re a young side, we’re developing, I think we’re improving rapidly and we’re eager to learn. So I’m sure next week’s going to be a great assessment for us.”

Earl's Reflection on Growth

Ben Earl, meanwhile, believes that the team's present capacity to break away in the dying minutes of matches owes much to their triple close losses by the All Blacks last year. “You feel seasoned, as if you’ve been through battles, you’ve got the experience to learn from those setbacks, and they hurt at the time,” remarked the back-rower, who was awarded man of the match against the Fijians. “But I wonder to a man in the dressing room, if we’d alter our path now, with the success that we’re sometimes experiencing? I’d be curious to know because I think they’re extremely priceless lessons.”