3. “An exciting opportunity” – Jamie George Rallies England to End Eden Park Record
The All Blacks have not lost at Eden Park for 30 years. The last time that New Zealand were beaten in their Auckland amphitheater, just four England squad members – Dan Cole, Joe Marler, Jamie George and Ben Spencer, had been born. There is no denying the mystique around the ground, yet Jamie George believes his men will be up to the Test next week.
JAMIE GEORGE: “Yeah, look, what an exciting opportunity we’ve got this week; the last week of the season for us. Going to Eden Park, we know the record that they have there but there’s a lot we can take from the game, a lot of learnings, and make sure that we are a better team going into next week.
“By choices I mean let’s make the right choices this evening, let’s make the right choices recovery-wise, to make sure we put our best foot forward for getting stuff right next week leading into the Test.”
STEVE BORTHWICK: “We’ve got to keep getting better. We’ve got to learn from every experience; whether you win, whether you lose, whether you draw. That’s how we improve. The exciting thing is that we have played against a New Zealand squad who had 200 more caps than our squad and average age was two years older than our average age, so the ceiling for this team… I don’t want there to be a ceiling for this team.”
4. “Everyone makes mistakes” – Marcus Smith was distraught after missed penalties
Whilst you can not simply accredit England’s defeat to the missed kicks of Marcus Smith, the margin of error is so tight in Test match rugby, that it made such a significant difference. Smith left eight points out on the pitch in Dunedin, and was devastated by the outcome of the match given his perfectionist mindset. Steve Borthwick expressed how the Harlequin hung his head after exiting the pitch, but the boys all rallied round him.
STEVE BORTHWICK: “When you walked into the changing-room, you could sense from all the players a feeling of disappointment, because we set out to win. There was a feeling of pride in the effort, but also frustration – Marcus was the same as all the players like that. Marcus has produced some moments of magic out there today, didn’t he? We can talk about mistakes, but everyone makes mistakes and Marcus also produced magic on that pitch today.”
“There wasn’t much in it for either team. There were two tries apiece and the margins were very fine. That second half turned into a proper arm-wrestle in the middle of the pitch for both teams. I don’t think either team got too many entries into the opposition 22. It was a real battle, we will review it thoroughly and work out how we can be better next week.”
5. England prepare for last match of the 2023/24 season after 13 months on the go
England’s 2023/24 campaign began back in June of 2023, as they took on Wales in the Principality Stadium to commence their Rugby World Cup preparations. The players are understandably fatigued after a 13-month long season for club and country, with Borthwick continuing to keep things fresh to get the best out of his players, ahead of the final Test of the season.
STEVE BORTHWICK: “You are always looking at how the players feel, every day – that’s the first question that I ask myself; what do the players need today? They continue to be led superbly by Jamie alongside a group of senior England players. I’m not avoiding the situation; I know Jamie (George) has been going for 13 months, along with many of the players.
“We tailor our programme accordingly, but I don’t know how many times I had to hold them back in training last week. I was constantly trying to hold them back because the intensity they train with and the competitiveness of them is phenomenal.”