How England plan to take on the mighty All Blacks

South Africa may be back-to-back world champions and ever more established as the best men's Test team on the planet but there's a certain aura that accompanies the arrival of the All Blacks. “When was the last time we beat them?” Ben Earl replied, curtly, when asked after England's win over Fiji if New

- HARRY LATHAM-COYLE

Zealand remained the ultimate challenge. “It certainly feels that way.”

The answer, of course, to Earl’s question is the 2019 Rugby World Cup semifinal; to find a victory at Twickenham, one has to go back to that day in 2012 which perhaps still stands as the high watermark for an English performance on home soil. In fact, in a history of conflict that stretches all the way back to a lone meeting at Crystal Palace in 1905, one can find only eight defeats for the All Blacks.

“History matters and how you’ve done it. We'll reflect on that, but also what’s happened since,” New Zealand coach Scott Robertson said on Monday. “You look at what other teams have done before and how we can tap into that. So yes, we look at the history.”

This current crop may not be the all-conquering All Blacks of yore but reports of their demise have perhaps been exaggerated. They did, England have readily recalled in the last few days, beat Steve Borthwick’s side three times last year in a series of fixtures that encapsulated their struggles as the head coach sought to evolve the team.