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Jamie George has cautioned that the team must avoid being intimidated by New Zealand's formidable reputation if they aim to achieve their maiden home triumph over the visitors in over a decade this weekend.

Squad Boost Before Crucial Clash

England's head coach has received a welcome boost with the versatile back returning to fitness and available for selection since sustaining an arm fracture on British & Irish Lions tour, while Freddie Steward and Tom Roebuck were also named in the expanded group revealed on the weekend.

Current Form Differs with Past Struggles

The home side will welcome New Zealand after extending their unbeaten run to nine games with a decisive 38-18 win over the Pacific Islanders, again pulling away in the closing stages. Their current form stands in stark contrast from 12 months back, when England endured multiple losses in seven matches, each by fine margins. A trio of these defeats were inflicted by the Kiwis—two on the overseas tour and a 24-22 reverse at Twickenham after the fly-half missed two late kicks.

New Zealand narrowly edged out the Scots on Saturday to maintain aspirations of a clean sweep intact, and though South Africa cemented their number one ranking, George has hailed the All Blacks as “perhaps the best side in the world.”

Of the last 11 encounters, England's sole win over the All Blacks came in the global tournament semi, and New Zealand remain unbeaten in the last five fixtures at Twickenham.

George's Perspective on Facing the All Blacks

“Many sides tend to is stand in admiration of the All Blacks with their history and all their incredible talent,” stated former captain George. “It’s easy to do that. I have done it in the past. We’ve also got to be aware we’ll be playing at Allianz Stadium. It’s an honour to be playing here. We are going to do all we can to come out on top.

“You have to be at your best. The All Blacks are arguably the strongest team in the world right now. They’re an exceptionally skilled squad and they seem to raise a level when they come to this stadium. Our focus for us is is work out where we could have been better in the opening period last time. But also, have a clear strategy which can put them under as much pressure as we are able to. By doing so, we’ll give ourselves a opportunity.

“We came under a bit of heat last year for not coming out on the right side of close contests and not finding a way to win. Now, we’re doing the complete reverse. Not at all have we solved everything. But we’ve placed a big emphasis on the latter stages of games and finishing strongly. Notching however many tries in the final segment of the match is a sign of a good team.”

The Coach's View and Squad Changes

The England coach is likely to make a several adjustments to his side, with skipper the lock, the flanker, and Ford all expected to be reinstated to the first XV. The wing and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso both took knocks against the Islanders but have been selected in the squad getting ready to face New Zealand.

“We aim to test our mettle against the best teams and [New Zealand] are among best teams,” commented the head coach. “We’re a young side, we’re developing, I think we’re growing quickly and we’re eager to learn. So I’m sure next week’s going to be a great assessment for us.”

The Star's Reflection on Progress

The number eight, in addition, believes that the team's present capacity to break away in the closing stages of matches owes much to their triple close losses by New Zealand the previous year. “It leaves you battle-hardened, as if you’ve been through battles, you’ve developed the experience to learn from those losses, and they hurt at the time,” remarked the back-rower, who was awarded player of the game against Fiji. “But I wonder to a man in the dressing room, would we have changed our journey now, with the success that we’re sometimes enjoying? I’d be curious to know because I think they’re very, very priceless lessons.”