WE’LL CREATE OUR OWN AURA

England must lay down marker by puncturing All Blacks’ invincibility

ENGLAND face the ‘most dominant team in the history of the world’ at Twickenham today, adamant they won’t fall into the familiar trap of being beaten by their opponents’ imperious status.

The All Blacks have largely lived up to their own hype by sweeping aside all-comers for the last three years. Since the start of the previous World Cup campaign, which ended in tense triumph for New Zealand, the Kiwis have played 46 Tests, winning 42 and drawing two. Just two defeats represents a considerable dominance.

Yet, one of those losses occurred in the same corner of south-west London where they will put their reputation on the line again today. England smashed the All Blacks at home in 2012 and since then they have taken heart from some notable near-misses — one here last November, followed by two in June, in the hostile surroundings of Auckland and Dunedin.

So, despite a hiding in their last meeting in Hamilton, Stuart Lancaster’s team will hurl themselves into the fray today armed with the conviction they can hammer another dent in the All Blacks’ reputation for invincibility. They have seen doubt in Kiwi eyes. They have seen flaws in the awesome machine. The time has come to capitalise.

There is always thee issue of aura when Neww Zealand are in town but England coach Andy Farrell played it down yesterday. Asked if there was any danger of the hosts being beaten before they even start this QBE series opener, he said: ‘Probably for some teams but this team believe they can go out and perform against a world-class side.

‘Our boys have the utmost respect for the phenomenal achievements of the All Blacks over the last however many years. But I don’t get any sense there’s an aura that can’t be broken down by our boys, because preparation and knowledge dispel that type of fear.

‘They believe this England side is their team and they’re trying to make their own aura. Of course, that’s still in the development stage but we’re going to get there.’

The countdown to this momentous fixture has been dominated by profound disruption to English plans. Lancaster (below) and his assistants have had to cope with injuries to key players. Among the tight forwards in particular, the losses have been acute, with Alex Corbisiero, Dan Cole, Mako Vunipola, Tom Youngs , Joe Launchbury, Geoff Parling and Ed Slater among the missing men.

In addition, England are without Manu Tuilagi and Luther Burrell, Tom Croft and Tom Johnson. Others such as Marland Yarde, Jack Nowell and Stephen Myler have been deemed not ready for selection after recent injuries. It could be argued a starting XV of unavailable Englishmen would run today’s line-up close, or even beat them.

But the management have not lamented the absentees and that is the right tone to set as they still have considerable firepower. Supported by the world’s richest union, the national team have so much in their favour which must be translated on to the scoreboard.

England have greater depth in many positions than at any time in recent memory. The side contain sufficient power, quality and nous to stand toe to toe with the world’s leading nation.

But that is not enough. England were weakened on tour in New Zealand and they came close to glorious results — going down by five points in Auckland and by just one in Dunedin. So the only outcome this afternoon that would signify progress is victory. Lancaster advances the ‘aggregate of marginal gains’ philosophy employed by British Cycling. Well, this is the sort of occasion when the gain must be measured in match points. Two more — based on that 28- 27 reverse in Dunedin — will do it. Everything is in place. England have revamped their changing rooms and shirts in an effort to evoke history and national pride. They have engaged the Twickenham crowd through innovations such as the team walk through the car park. They have had inspirational guest speakers, an upgrade of their training facilities and good player access — founded on a strong rapport with the clubs. That has translated into delayed squad announcements so that form can be considered. They have also enhanced their attacking game plan.

THERE is no escaping the All Blacks’ experience advantage but Lancaster is convinced that youthful vigour can prevail.

There was a nagging sense of Kiwi unrest in June that their revered Test team were showing small signs of decline. Since then, New Zealand have lost to the Springboks and drawn with Australia. They are mere mortals, and England can beat them if their mental strength is as robust as Farrell says and they hit the intense heights of 2012. This is a tipping point. Defeat would be a fifth in a row against these opponents and England would go into next week’s showdown against South Africa with a growing sense of desperation. Victory would create timely momentum and ignite the hosts’ World Cup preparations. The next marginal gain Lancaster needs is a famous result.