Former England and Lions international Will Greenwood told Grosvenor Sport that he expects England to beat New Zealand on Saturday, and it would “a shocker” if they didn’t.
If England don’t beat the All Blacks, it’s a shocker. We should have won in Dunedin, and we probably should have won at Eden Park. Unfortunately, shoulds and coulds don’t make for great teams, but they’re now at home with 90,000 people behind them and I think we’re one of the best teams in the world right now, while New Zealand aren’t in the top two.
In terms of individuals, one of the real key players for England is George Furbank. He’s like the David Silva or Kevin De Bruyne of the team, in that he can score a wonder-try, but by and large you remember him for the little lay-offs he gives to Sergio Aguero or Erling Haaland.
I think Furbank is absolute class and I’d love to be a winger playing outside of him. He has an ability to make defenders bite and for them to make bad decisions, and that means whoever is outside of him gets the opportunity to score a lot of tries. So, for somebody like Feyi-Waboso, he should be looking at a minimum of three tries across the four games.
Steve Borthwick reminds me of Brendon McCullum
Greenwood then turned his attention to head coach Steve Borthwick, claiming that he reminds him of England Test cricket coach Brendon McCullum with regards to his selection choices.
I can’t believe Ben Spencer has never had a start until now. Eddie Jones just wouldn’t pick him for some reason – no idea why. I think he’s a fabulous player and I’m really pleased he’s got an opportunity to start.
Some of Borthwick’s other selections remind me a bit of Brendon McCullum. George Martin, George Ford and Henry Slade have played 62 minutes of rugby combined between the three of them, but Borthwick obviously sees them in training and knows what he wants. It feels a bit like he is just going to build and build and build.
He’s backing his horses – similar to how McCullum does – and he thinks they’re the ones who are going to take him through. It’s like Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley for the Test side – they made a few zeros early on, but McCullum stuck with it as they’re his guys. That backing gives the players the confidence to build and grow.
There’s a lot more stability in the current England selection and I think it’s going to be hard for people from the outside to get in, but once’s you’re in, you’re in.
All Blacks remain a threat
As for the visitors to Twickenham on Saturday, Greenwood can’t deny they are still a quality side who will pack a punch against England.
The New Zealand team looks fantastic, with a few key players returning, notably Jordie Barrett, who hasn’t played for three months, and him and Slade can spend the time knocking each other’s rust off.
The All Blacks have some very exciting players establishing themselves now as well, like Tamaiti Williams, who is a fabulous ballplayer, and Tupou Vaa’I, who is, for me, the next Brodie Retallick.
Maybe New Zealand’s biggest baller is on the bench, though, and I’m talking about Damian McKenzie. Him coming off the bench and scoring a try has to be a good bet. What a player he is. To have a player like him up the sleeve is outrageous.
Haka should not be binned
Greenwood disagreed with England prop Joe Marler’s suggestion that the Haka should be “binned”.
I love the Haka. I think it’s one of the greatest pieces of sporting theatre out there. I will be where I’m supposed to be at five past three on Saturday because I am not missing the Haka.
I want to watch every single second of it, work out which Haka it is they’re using, and enjoy it.
We’ve enhanced:
- New Zealand to be winning at HT & England at FT – Was 8/1 NOW 10/1
- Jamie George to score a try – Was 11/2 NOW 7/1