England were edged out by the All Blacks twice in the summer and narrowly lost to France in the Six Nations but Kevin Sinfield maintains the group don’t need a big win to legitimise their quality
England were edged out by the All Blacks twice in the summer and narrowly lost to France in the Six Nations but Kevin Sinfield maintains the group don’t need a big win to legitimise their quality England were edged out by the All Blacks twice in the summer and narrowly lost to France in the Six Nations but Kevin Sinfield maintains the group don’t need a big win to legitimise their quality
Kevin Sinfield claims England don’t need to beat New Zealand to show how good they are – but they’d certainly like the scalp.
England have impressed in recent outings without getting the results to back up their performances. Their last two games saw them beaten narrowly by the All Blacks in their own backyard – both games coming down to the last play.
Prior to that England had been seconds away from securing a statement win in France. It means their last major win was over Ireland back in March at Twickenham.
Steve Borthwick’s side look to have turned a corner, especially with their attacking play, and optimism has risen ahead of the Autumn internationals. New Zealand are first up this weekend but Sinfield isn’t viewing the game as one they have to win to prove they’ve taken the next step.
He said: “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. 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 that we stay relaxed but that the guys are as relaxed as they can be and on Saturday they’re ready to go.”
New Zealand are still less than six months into their new era with Scott Robertson taking charge after huge success in the club game. His first two games were against the English as a new All Blacks era began with successive wins, even if they were by narrow margins.
Since then they’ve come second in the Rugby Championship, winning three and losing three, as their game continues to develop under their new coaching group. Many saw England’s failure to beat the All Blacks in July as a missed opportunity, but Sinfield believes they are now easier to prepare for having had the chance to view their new DNA.
He said: “It’s easier than it was over the summer. They hadn’t played at all, we were first up so we weren’t quite sure what was coming then. 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 on Saturday afternoon.
“It’s probably been a little bit easier to preview, however we’re previewing past games and not quite sure what they’re working on but we think we’re in a decent spot.”
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The rugby Autumn Internationals kicks off on November 2 with England vs. New Zealand at Twickenham.
All 21 fixtures will be broadcast exclusively on TNT Sports, which is available for £30.99 on a rolling monthly basis with via Discovery+ Premium and also includes the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, boxing, NBA, and WWE.
Mirror – Sport
