By Mitch Phillips
LONDON (Reuters) – England have learned the lessons from two narrow defeats in New Zealand in July and are better placed to turn around their dire home record against the All Blacks when they meet at Twickenham on Saturday, says assistant coach Kevin Sinfield.
England really should have won the first test in Dunedin before slipping to a 16-15 defeat and were ahead in the final quarter of the second at Eden Park, but again lost their attacking threat and went down 24-17.
“We were disappointed not to get a win over in New Zealand. We’ve made some strides and we improved a lot throughout the summer, albeit we want to win,” Sinfield told reporters on Thursday.
“There was a deep dive and a deep review. We’ve tweaked some bits, we’ve learned some things and we’ll try and take as much of that into the game on Saturday.
“They’re a very, very good team, 2012 is the last time we beat them (at home) and what’s crazy is that only two of our last 15 games (against all opponents) have been at home, it’s great to get back home,” he added.
That 2012 success and the 2019 World Cup semi-final victory in Japan are England’s only wins in their last 20 meetings, with the last Twickenham game in 2022 drawn after a late England comeback.
Since the summer series New Zealand have hardened their own game plan under new coach Scott Robertson, though they had mixed results in the Rugby Championship, losing at home to Argentina and twice to South Africa before beating Australia twice.
EASIER TASK
Sinfield suggested that preparing to face the All Blacks now, rather than at the dawn of the Robertson era, is easier.
“They hadn’t played at all, we were first up so we weren’t quite sure what was coming then,” he said.
“I’d like to think we’ve got a better idea now, we’ve done our homework, we’ve seen the Rugby Championship so we think we know what’s coming, but you’re never quite sure until the first ball is kicked.
“It’s probably been a little bit easier to preview. However, we’re previewing past games and are not quite sure what they’re working on, but we think we’re in a decent spot.”
England have lost four out of eight games this season, with the narrow France defeat in the final game of the Six Nations and a shocking performance in Scotland also on the debit side.
But they did lead both All Blacks games and the Paris match late on and beat Ireland so Sinfield played down the idea they needed to start the November series, which also includes games against Australia, South Africa and Japan, with a big win.
“I’m not sure we need it but we’d like it. Nobody likes losing and when you’re representing your country you want to win and we’re no different,” he said.
“I think you can get caught up in big picture stuff and what the ripple effect is if we win and what the ripple effect might be if we lose.
“The big thing for us is staying focused on Saturday.
“If you take your eye off the ball in professional sport and start thinking what may be, you get burnt, especially against a good side like this, so we’ve got to make sure … the guys are as relaxed as they can be and on Saturday they’re ready to go.”
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Ken Ferris)
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