Maro Itoje: Confidence and clarity can help England land first win over All Blacks since 2019
Captain Itoje is set to win his 96th England cap against New Zealand
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England have been involved in some recent tight tussles against New Zealand, but confidence is high ahead of this weekend’s latest instalment at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
Captain Maro Itoje insists his side are “ready” to secure their first win over the All Blacks since 2019, believing the team now has the clarity and confidence to extend their winning streak to 10 games.
Having beaten New Zealand with the British & Irish Lions in 2017 as well as with England in that famous 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-final, Itoje knows what it takes.
Last summer, he experienced narrow losses away in New Zealand and then again against the All Blacks back at HQ, but says England are better prepared now.
"I think we’re ready,” Itoje told the assembled media this week. “New Zealand are a good team, no doubt about that. They possess enough talent, accuracy and power to hurt any team but I think we’re ready to take that next step.
"I think we have a clearer understanding of how we want to play and more belief in what we do and how we do it. The quality of the playing squad has improved and with the experiences we’ve all had over the last year or so, we’re just more equipped to take advantage of opportunities at hand."
England’s improved bench strength also adds confidence. Last year, they led in the second half of all three Tests against New Zealand but didn't convert any of their advantages into victories.
“Playing against the All Blacks, you need to be sharp mentally and you need to execute when you get your opportunities because you don’t get many of them so when they come, we need to make sure we execute," Itoje said. "We need to have a physical intensity as well as an accuracy to what we do.
"I think we had the belief we could do it last year and if maybe one or two things went the other way, it could have been a different conversation we’re having now. But throughout this year we’ve had a number of challenging games and a number of challenging experiences, and I think we’re beginning to learn from them."
England have only ever won eight times against New Zealand, with their 2019 World Cup victory standing out. Itoje said the feeling pre-match that day gave them the confidence to go out and do the job.
“At that stage of the journey of the team, we were ready for that sort of challenge," he said. "We felt that if we were aggressive and accurate, we would be able to get them. It was one of those weird games where they had periods on top, but it felt like there was only one outcome. Hopefully, we can do something similar this weekend."
England’s preparation has focused on composure in key moments, reflecting the progress under Steve Borthwick. The team has won nine consecutive games since February, many secured in the latter parts of matches.
“For me, it’s all about mental clarity,” Itoje said. “If you’ve played the whole game, there’s a fatigue element in there but the ones who are able to see it through - there’s a toughness, there’s a mental clarity which gives you the ability to execute.
“A number of Test matches are going down to the last quarter or the last 10 minutes, if not even less than that. In the last 15 minutes, it’s the teams that can execute, keep their composure, don’t do erratic things, stick to task but also do all that at an incredibly high intensity that tend to be the ones that follow through and win."
