On the weekend, one of the clasheds we most look forward to is the battle between England and the All Blacks.
England have been hard hit by the injury to Mako Vunipola though, who is out of the clash.
The war of words have also started and it seems that England contend that they are not afraid of the mighty All Blacks
Mako Vunipola:
SuperSport reports that England prop Mako Vunipola is out of Saturday’s test against New Zealand after failing to recover from a knee injury, coach Stuart Lancaster said on Monday.
Vunipola strained his cruciate ligament last week and missed Saturday’s victory over Argentina at Twickenham.
Scrumhalf Ben Youngs also missed the 31-12 win with a hip injury but Lancaster said he should be fit for the All Blacks test.
Prop Joe Marler, substituted at halftime against the Pumas with concussion, is “likely to be ok”.
England ready for “Payback”:
New Zealand-born England hooker Dylan Hartley hopes his performance against Argentina will have done enough to earn him a starting spot when the All Blacks arrive at Twickenham.
Hartley was man-of-the-match in England’s 31-12 win over the Pumas, their second straight victory in a November campaign that started with a 20-13 defeat of Australia.
The Northampton forward was at the heart of England’s dominant first-half display having been given a chance to start by national coach Stuart Lancaster in place of rival hooker Tom Youngs.
Now Hartley is aiming to be involved from the start when world champions New Zealand, who’ve won all 12 of their Tests so far in 2013, return to the ground where England beat them 38-21 in stunning style last year.
Reflecting on the Pumas match Hartley, who will win his 50th England cap if he features against New Zealand, said: “I enjoyed the game. It was good to be back and to contribute to a good first-half forward performance was satisfying.
“At the end of the tunnel I knew there was a starting place against the All Blacks available, but I didn’t want to get too caught up in that.
“It was more about doing my job in the team and I think I did that,” added the 27-year-old Hartley, born in Rotorua but who joined Northampton’s academy in 2005 after finding his opportunities as a then loosehead prop limited at home.
England were 24-6 up at half-time against Argentina, the kind of situation in which New Zealand would have likely gone on to win by a crushing margin.
Yet only a try shortly before the finish from replacement Ben Morgan extended England’s lead.
Hartley said England needed to play “the perfect game” if they were to beat New Zealand, 26-19 winners over France in Paris on Saturday,
“The All Blacks have been fantastic on recent form and come here with a big number one badge on,” said Hartley.
“There’s no doubt they’ll want revenge. They’re a proud nation and a proud team and will be looking for payback.
“We’ll have to be up for it and play the perfect game — for the whole game.”
Meanwhile Hartley’s club and Test colleague Tom Wood would like Red Rose wins over the All Blacks to stop becoming collectors items ahead of the 2015 World Cup in England.
In 35 Tests dating back more than a hundred years, England have beaten New Zealand on just seven occasions, suffering 27 defeats with one draw.
“We want to get to the position where we don’t declare national holidays every time we beat them. We want it to be a regular occurrence,” Northampton flanker Wood said.
“We want it to be a level playing field. We want to be considered their equals or better than them. We want it to be that when anyone comes to Twickenham, they are underdogs, not us,” he added.
“You have got to hand it to the All Blacks — they are still the benchmark in world rugby. They have got threats all over the park and strength in depth, but we are getting there,” insisted Wood who, unlike Hartley, played in last year’s corresponding fixture.
“I’m not going to make wild statements about us being better than the All Blacks. We have still got a point to prove. We have still got to back it up week in, week out.
“But I definitely think we are going in the right direction and developing something with a bit more substance and sustainability.”