If there’s one team, one place, the All Blacks do not want to lose it’s against England at Twickenham.
The All Blacks have developed an intense rivalry with Ireland in recent years and the Springboks remain their greatest foe.
England, though, are well in that race, too.
After a dearth of games – two in seven years – between 2015 and 2021, more frequent match ups have magnified the All Blacks rivalry with England. And deepened the resolve to preserve the All Blacks success.
Three tight tense victories for the All Blacks last year leaves England desperate for revenge this weekend, desperate to confirm their brimming belief.
Despite savouring a nine-match winning run England coach Steve Borthwick is yet to defeat the All Blacks or Springboks in his three-year reign.
With eight wins from 46 attempts English victories over the All Blacks are rare but Borthwick needs a heavyweight southern scalp to vindicate a widespread sense of improvement and progress.
With the last All Blacks loss at Twickenham coming 13 years ago, not one player in Scott Robertson’s squad has experienced the fallout from losing to the hosts there.
Only five of this week’s starting side return from the All Blacks’ 24-22 victory at Twickenham last November.
After their 2012 defeat in their final test of the season at Twickenham then All Blacks coach Steve Hansen emerged from the post match press conference, after fielding questions about whether England were a World Cup-winning team in the making three years out from the global tournament, battling to conceal his frustrations.
Earlier this week senior All Blacks who were involved the last time they lost to England in the 2019 World Cup semifinal shared similar sentiments to the team about their hurt that day, and the desire to maintain their five-match unbeaten run at Twickenham.
“It’s a bucket list stadium to play at,” All Blacks midfielder Quinn Tupaea, preparing for his first test against England, said. “The leaders spoke to us this week about the rivalry with England and their experiences. It’s going to be an awesome occasion hearing the crowd sing.
“It’s a team we hate to lose to apparently so the boys are pretty motivated. They talk about their carry on on the field and what they like to do. We’ll take it in our stride this week.”
With the vast majority of the 82,000-strong crowd wanting the All Blacks to lose, Twickenham can be an intimidating venue.
Damian McKenze, though, is among a crop of All Blacks to recall fond memories after he emerged off the bench to slot what proved the clutch match-winning conversion from the sideline last November.
“It’s an amazing experience, a little bit different in terms of the atmosphere at home,” McKenzie said. “The whole occasion, you’re busing through and all the crowd is out in the marquees having drinks. You’ve got a lot of Kiwi fans, a lot of English fans.
“Once you’re in the stadium there’s the raw emotion from the crowd. You’ve got singing, chanting. We’re fortunate with a lot of Kiwis who have travelled over and a lot of Kiwis in London which helps.
“Last week was an awesome occasion at Murrayfield and the times I’ve had at Twickenham they’re memories I’ll hold forever in terms of playing in front of that crowd.”
Just as losing at Twickenham leaves stinging in the ears and reminders for years to come, silencing the crowd comes with the sweetest satisfaction.
In his quest to all but seal the All Blacks’ first Grand Slam in 15 years this week Robertson has favoured blindside Simon Parker, after resting him last week against Scotland, to bolster the set piece and confront the English pack and pushed Wallace Sititi to the bench to counter Borthwick’s 6-2 “Pom squad” bench.
“We felt we wanted to have the combination of Wallace and Peter [Lakai] last week. Simon comes in fresh and keen,” Robertson said. “He’s a big body, he’s physical, and Wallace will come on. He’s got a great game especially when it opens up a little bit.”
The other notable call is Anton Lienert-Brown’s return to the bench for the first time in seven games for the All Blacks which leaves Rieko Ioane out in the cold.
Robertson pointed to Lienert-Brown’s ability to cover both midfield roles for his inclusion, and he had no hesitation pushing Leicester Fainga’anuku to the wing where he and the All Blacks back field will be peppered with high balls.
“Caleb’s injury you feel for him because he’s in good form. He’d just got his rhythm, power and aerial game, all the things you want from a left wing. We felt Leicester was the best change. Billy [Proctor] goes into his eighth test. He’s trained well and he came on last week with Quinn so he’s ready to go.”
To pop England’s bubble and avoid a scarring loss at England’s sacred home, the All Blacks must shake their inconsistencies from the last two weeks to summon their best performance of the year.
“Twickenham always turns it on,” Robertson said. “The atmosphere, it’s a great occasion. When ‘Swing Low’ starts cranking, you know you’re in a special place where rugby is loved.”
Two teams delicately poised, yet to fully convince, on a one-way collision course to define their 2025 campaigns.
Another blockbuster awaits.
All Blacks: 1. Ethan de Groot, 2. Codie Taylor, 3. Fletcher Newell, 4. Scott Barrett (c), 5. Fabian Holland, 6. Simon Parker, 7. Ardie Savea, 8. Peter Lakai, 9. Cam Roigard, 10. Beauden Barrett, 11. Leicester Fainga’anuku, 12. Quinn Tupaea, 13. Billy Proctor, 14. Leroy Carter, 15. Will Jordan.
Bench: 16. Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17. Tamaiti Williams, 18. Pasilio Tosi, 19. Josh Lord, 20. Wallace Sititi, 21. Cortez Ratima, 22. Anton Lienert-Brown, 23. Damian McKenzie.
England: 1. Fin Baxter, 2. Jamie George, 3. Joe Heyes, 4. Maro Itoje (c), 5. Alex Coles, 6. Guy Pepper, 7. Sam Underhill, 8. Ben Earl, 9. Alex Mitchell, 10. George Ford, 11. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 12. Fraser Dingwall, 13. Ollie Lawrence, 14. Tom Roebuck, 15. Freddie Steward.
Bench: 16. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17. Ellis Genge, 18. Will Stuart, 19. Chandler Cunningham-South, 20. Tom Curry, 21. Henry Pollock, 22. Ben Spencer, 23. Marcus Smith.
Liam Napier is a Senior Sports Journalist and Rugby Correspondent for the New Zealand Herald. He is a co-host of the Rugby Direct podcast.