No fear factor for Jones ahead of clash
Eddie Jones has reiterated the intent for England to go after the All Blacks at Twickenham and underlined his view that belief is the bedrock to achieving successive victories.
There was a time when the All Blacks held a mental edge against most northern nations.
Four losses this season has eroded that fear factor, with the All Blacks in the process of salvaging their turbulent campaign following six straight wins.
Jones inspired England to victory in their World Cup semifinal three years ago in Yokohama, the last time these old foes collided.
After revealing his team, which features two changes to the side that defeated Japan 52-13 last week, Jones offered an insight into the no fear mentality he is attempting to again impart on England this weekend.
“It’s always in the head, mate, it’s always in the head,” Jones said. “You either make a decision whether you go at ’em or you’re going to be a spectator.
“You’ve got to truly believe you will expose their weaknesses. I know with our team, we believe we can win. We believe we’ve got strength that we can maximise against New Zealand. We believe there are weaknesses we can expose.
“When you’re playing against a really good team, sometimes you look at them, and you think, ‘phew, how are we going to beat those blokes?’ And the environment you create has to be thinking about, what are the opportunities, where can we take ’em, what can we do to them, having an approach that we’re chasing them, they’re not chasing us. And sometimes you get it right and sometimes you get it wrong.”
The relevance of the 2019 semifinal has been debated, dismissed and acknowledged this week in London. While the teams have evolved since, with the respective coaching staff changing significantly, the All Blacks and England match day squads both feature 12 survivors from that occasion.
“The Yokohama game, they were a different team,” Jones said. “They played differently than they do now.
“It’s more about our players understanding what it takes to beat New Zealand. It takes a massive effort to beat New Zealand, our players understand that.
“We expect the best version of New Zealand.
“It’s their last game of the tour, they want to finish the tour well, it’s been a tough old year for them.
“They’ve got a lot of criticism, ended up winning the Rugby Championship, so they did well, and it’s how much they can get their mind on the job.”