England prop Ellis Genge is adamant defeating New Zealand on Saturday will still rank as a landmark achievement for all the All Blacks’ recent struggles.
New Zealand, for so long the standard-setters in world rugby union, lost three of their six games in this year’s southern hemisphere Rugby Championship after being edged out by a point by arch-rivals South Africa in the 2023 World Cup final.
England, however, open their November international campaign against New Zealand at Twickenham having beaten the All Blacks just eight times in 45 previous encounters stretching back to 1905.
Victory this weekend would constitute their first home win over the All Blacks in 12 years, with Steve Borthwick’s side twice narrowly edged out 16-15 in Dunedin and 24-17 in Auckland during a two-Test tour of New Zealand in July.
“Obviously you want to test yourself against the best and New Zealand have always been one of the best teams in the world,” Genge told a pre-match press conference on Friday.
“I’m excited, man, been out of the mix for a while. Be nice to step back in and get my teeth sunk into it,” added the 29-year-old, who missed the recent tour with a calf injury.
“I think everyone thinks about New Zealand being that team that moves the ball so well, but at the end of the day they pride themselves on set-piece, scrum and maul. That’s a battle of attrition which I’m looking forward to.”
The build-up to this weekend’s match has been dominated by comments from Genge’s fellow England prop, Joe Marler, calling for New Zealand to ditch their pre-match ritual haka.
Marler, not playing on Saturday, has since apologised for his remarks which England captain Jamie George say may have “prodded the bear”.
It remains to be seen how England respond to the Maori war dance, with Genge saying: “We’ll chat about it later on, we’ve got a meeting and we’ll see what the crack is.
“We’re not going to start climbing on each other’s shoulders, but we’ll sit there respectfully and watch it.
“I’ve only faced it once (in 2022). It’s massive in the history of the game. Most people who aren’t necessarily too interested in rugby still know what the haka is.
“It’s bit of a challenge. I’m a big fan of it and I don’t think we should get rid of it. You should be able to respond but everyone is respectful when they do that.”
