England ready to face 'beatable' All Blacks, says Andy Farrell
Andy Farrell has called on his "fearless" young England side to record a significant milestone in their development by beating world champions New Zealand on Saturday.
England head into their final autumn Test on the back of narrow defeats by Australia and South Africa.
But assistant coach Farrell believes England can upset the odds and beat New Zealand, saying: "They are beatable.
"This [England] group is fearless, it could certainly be a great milestone."
England's autumn results
- England 54-12 Fiji
- England 15-16 South Africa
- England 14-20 Australia
England may have lost their previous two fixtures but Farrell saw enough in the 16-15 defeat by South Africa last weekend to believe they are on the right track.
New Zealand are unbeaten in 20 matches, and have not lost an autumn international in a decade.
Despite that daunting record, Farrell said the England players are in good spirits and relishing the opportunity to test themselves against the best.
He added: "The discussions this week have been ones that were upbeat and the players are super excited about playing against the best in the world.
New Zealand's autumn results
- Wales 10-33 New Zealand
- Italy 10-42 New Zealand
- Scotland 22-51 New Zealand
"I would think that our boys will see this as a massive privilege to be involved in at such a time in their development - to play against a side that is really, really experienced and has been through a lot and made themselves one of the best sporting teams at the moment.
"Let's be honest New Zealand are a fantastic side at the minute, there are not many weaknesses throughout, they seem to be completely in sync and they have grown together as a team. They are playing some outstanding rugby at the moment.
"They do a lot of things right but they are also vulnerable in places, there is no doubt about that. You cannot be exceptional in every single department for the whole 80 minutes.
"It is up to us to make them have an off day and hopefully be on song ourselves."
Comments
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Comment number 13.
Welshguy
Just nowOne morning, two Englishmen are strolling down a London street, when they see a stray dog licking its own testicles. One of the Englishmen turns to the other and says, "Say, I wish I could do that!" His mate watches the dog for a moment, sighs longingly, and replies, "I should say so! But don't you think you ought to get to know him first?"
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Comment number 12.
rhsinclair
2 Minutes agoAt least he wants the team to go for it and not sit back. As an England supporter, I wouldn't be disheartened if we lost by ten or fifteen points if the performance in attack was better than it has been in the past 2 games. A loss can be a good thing IF we play with more intent and tempo.
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Comment number 11.
BlueCat7
3 Minutes agoThis comment is awaiting moderation. Explain.
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Comment number 10.
Tiptext
3 Minutes agoEngland simply don't have the game to trouble NZ, though no one has put them under any pressure in the AI's if England do that it will keep it decent. Steep learning curve for the younger England players.
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Comment number 9.
os99
5 Minutes agoThey are beatable, but not by this England team playing with a lack of creativity and pace in the back line. The only chance England have is stopping NZ at the breakdown and taking them on in the set piece, then it could be close otherwise it will be a comfortable NZ win.
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Source : bbc[dot]co[dot]uk
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