ZINZAN Brooke believes that England will be “quietly confident” ahead of Saturday's Twickenham showdown after watching the All Blacks struggle to beat Scotland at Murrayfield.
The All Blacks legend admits that he was bewildered watching the first 70 minutes in Edinburgh, and a repeat of the lacklustre performance could cost them dear against Eddie Jones's side.
It will be the first time that the two sides have met since England ran out 19-7 winners in the 2019 World Cup semi-final in Yokohama, Japan.
England will be bidding for only their ninth win over the All Blacks in 43 games, and it would be only the second time ever they have won back-to-back games. The first came in 2002 and 2003.
“You have to credit Scotland last weekend until the 70th minute I don't know what was happening. They stopped the All Blacks from playing, and they could have won that game,” Brooke told The Rugby Paper.
“I think that is going to fill the England team with a bit of confidence. There is going to be a different game plan, and the All Blacks have to respond.
“I think that England will be quietly confident going into it because it's not just a one-off the way that the All Blacks played against Scotland. You just wind the clock back a little bit we were in a test series against Ireland and Argentina in our backyard. And they did a number on us.”
The former New Zealand No.8 points out that the All Blacks' form is very up and down, but by the same token, he wasn't impressed with England's performance against Argentina.
“Of course, I would love the All Blacks to demonstrate the power of what they can do, but I am just cautious of promoting the All Blacks too much just in case they don't get it right,” he added. “But when they get it right… I was at the Wales game a couple of weeks ago, and I was happy with what they did. The All Blacks are very up and down at the moment.
“There is a lot of pressure on the guys, I do feel for them because they are under the spotlight all of the time, there is a demand and an expectation to produce every week, but there are big questions.
“I wasn't impressed when I saw England against Argentina, but I know that they are a lot better side than that. I don't think this England side is as strong as the 2003 side. And I don't think this All Black side is anywhere near where they were in the 2011 and 2015 campaigns, that team was phenomenal.”
Zinzan Brooke was talking to promote FairBettingSites.co.uk
Written by Neil Fissler
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