All Blacks: Clash chance for coaches to show real cunning

All Black coach Steve Hansen. Photo / Getty Images

Test number four between the All Blacks and England has to be seen as a classic coaching contest.

Test number four between the All Blacks and England has to be seen as a classic coaching contest.

Even allowing for the horrific injury toll England have and the flux of new players who will be introduced, there isn't much that these two don't know about each other.

The All Blacks have a fair idea about the English players' strengths and weaknesses, while they in turn don't really need to be told that it wouldn't be wise to kick the ball down the throat of Julian Savea or run straight at Jerome Kaino.

Watch: All Blacks: Arrive in London

There are no secrets between these two, which is why strategy will be everything at Twickenham. In one sense the All Blacks are under more pressure to surprise than England.

Everyone knows what everyone has got so it will come down to how the cards are played, so to speak. What knowledge did All Black head coach Steve Hansen pick up during the series in New Zealand?

By the third test he was goading England - claiming they wanted to take the All Blacks on with a fast, wide game but didn't have the skills to do it.

And what about England - did coach Stuart Lancaster see anything in New Zealand that he might be able to exploit in London with fresher troops?

The visitors have played eight tests since they dusted England off so comprehensively in June. England have had ample opportunity to see how New Zealand are trying to improve their driving maul.

They will have seen how Brodie Retallick has become such a big ball carrier and ball player for them. They will have analysed the way the All Blacks hit up with two forwards now - the first receiver looking to bring the second into a hole on an angled run.

And they will have seen how effective South Africa and Australia were at taking the All Blacks on at the breakdown. New Zealand don't like to commit numbers to recycle and that can leave them vulnerable.

England probably have a fair idea of how the All Blacks are going to play and that's the challenge for the visitors right there - to maintain the core foundations of their game but keep England guessing.

When the All Blacks lost in London two years ago, they admit they had become predictable.

It was that defeat that sharpened their appetite to build a triple threat game where they could pass, run or kick and all three components are likely going to have to be used at the weekend.

England's defence has to face things it didn't expect to face. The coaching staff have to out-think their English counterparts.

If the All Blacks don't have some variation or surprise in that mix, they will do well not to come second.

While the All Blacks have shown plenty of themselves since June, England haven't played. That gives them a potential problem in terms of flow, understanding and combinations.

They are coming in cold and, as New Zealand showed in their opening test of the year, it's not always easy finding the speed and intensity of the international game. But England have the element of surprise up their sleeves. Lancaster has a fantastic opportunity to show his analysis and imagination - and whether he's smart enough to build a game plan that can beat the All Blacks.