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Jamie George has cautioned that the team should steer clear of being intimidated by the All Blacks' legendary status if they hope to achieve their maiden Twickenham triumph over the visitors in over a decade this Saturday.

Squad Boost Before Crucial Clash

England's head coach has received a timely lift with Elliot Daly returning to fitness and available for his first appearance since sustaining an arm fracture on British & Irish Lions duty, while Freddie Steward and Tom Roebuck featured in the expanded squad announced on the weekend.

Recent Performances Differs with Previous Woes

The home side will welcome New Zealand after extending their winning streak to nine games with a commanding 38-18 win over Fiji, again pulling away in the closing stages. Their current form stands in stark contrast from a year ago, when the team suffered six defeats in seven outings, each by fine margins. Three of those defeats came against the Kiwis—during the overseas tour and a 24-22 reverse at home after George Ford missed late goal attempts.

The All Blacks just defeated Scotland on the weekend to keep aspirations of a home nations grand slam intact, and while South Africa cemented their number one spot, the captain described the All Blacks as “perhaps the best side in the world.”

Of the last 11 meetings, the team's sole win over the All Blacks came in the global tournament semi, and the visitors have not been beaten in the recent clashes at Twickenham.

George's Insight on Facing the All Blacks

“What a lot of teams do is stand in awe of New Zealand with their history and all their world-class players,” said the experienced hooker. “It’s easy to do that. I have done it in the past. We’ve also got to be aware we’ll be back here at Allianz Stadium. It’s an honour to be competing at home. We will do everything we can to win that game.

“It’s vital to be at your peak. The All Blacks are arguably the best side in the world right now. They’re an exceptionally skilled team and they appear to raise a gear when they visit Allianz Stadium. Our focus for us is is work out where we could have been better in the first half last time. Additionally, develop a clear gameplan which can put them under as much pressure as we are able to. If we do that, we’ll give ourselves a chance.

“We faced a lot of criticism last year for not emerging on the right side of close contests and not finding a way to win. Now, we’re doing the exact opposite. By no means have we cracked it. But we’ve put a big emphasis on the latter stages of games and closing games out. Notching multiple tries in the final segment of that game is a sign of a quality team.”

Borthwick's Outlook and Team Changes

Borthwick is likely to make a several adjustments to his side, with skipper Maro Itoje, Tom Curry, and the fly-half all set to be reinstated to the starting lineup. Tommy Freeman and the newcomer both took knocks against the Islanders but both have been included in the group getting ready to face New Zealand.

“We aim to challenge ourselves against the best teams and [New Zealand] are among elite squads,” commented the head coach. “We’re a young side, we’re developing, I think we’re growing quickly and we’re keen to learn. So I’m sure the upcoming going to be a great assessment for us.”

The Star's Reflection on Growth

The number eight, in addition, believes that the team's current capacity to break away in the dying minutes of games owes much to their triple close losses by the All Blacks last year. “You feel seasoned, you feel like you’ve got the wounds, you’ve developed the experience to learn from those losses, and they stung at the time,” remarked the back-rower, who was awarded man of the match against the Fijians. “But I wonder among the squad in the changing room, would we have changed our journey now, with the joy that we’re sometimes enjoying? I’d be interested to know because I think they’re extremely priceless lessons.”