Scott Robertson: England can expect new and improved All Blacks

While England last took the field in New Zealand’s rugby cathedral of Eden Park, the Kiwis have, on the other hand, had a busy international season developing under new head coach Scott Robertson.

Three and a half months separate the first two Tests between the historic heavyweights and the upcoming rematch, offering the Kiwis a chance to prove how much they’ve developed over a rocky Rugby Championship.

New faces will likely be unleashed after missing the earlier Tests, with players like Wallace Sititi and Cortez Ratima earning favour already in their rookie seasons.

Will Jordan and Cam Roigad missed the July series through injury but may well find themselves back in the matchday 23 next weekend, while the likes of Samipeni Finau and Stephen Perofeta look likely to watch from the sidelines after failing to demand selection since starting against the English.

Dalton Papali’i, Ethan Blackadder and Luke Jacobson will also miss the rematch through injury while Finlay Christie missed selection for the squad altogether. Mark Tele’a and Sevu Reece also started against England earlier in the year but will likely be competing for the No. 23 jersey at best thanks to the form of Jordan and Caleb Clarke.

Beyond an individual perspective, New Zealand have now had 10 Tests in 2024 to find their feet in a new system under the new guard of coaches, giving them little excuse for anything other than a win after claiming victory in both July Tests.

“They’ll obviously still be match fit, a lot of their players a playing in the Premiership, that’s a great comp and they’ll be ready,” the coach said of England with a grin at the airport in Tokyo.

“They’ve been under Steve (Borthwick) for a while now. It seems a long time ago since we played them, a lot can happen in between that.

“We’re playing good footy, they’re playing a little bit more footy than they have before so it’s going to be an exciting week.”

The boot is on the other foot after an England squad at the end of a gruelling season landed in New Zealand looking to build on both the Rugby World Cup and Six Nations campaigns against a team who hadn’t played in eight months.

Now, it’s New Zealand looking to capitalise on recent results while the English are just generating their first traces of momentum.

The rust of a new season was expected to play against Robertson and company, not helped by the introduction of the new leadership with new ideas. With the bulk of an international season in their pocket, Razor says England can expect a new and improved All Blacks team.

“We’ve been on tour a few times, we’ve experienced some different environments and we’re a lot more connected and understanding of our game, so we were in a good spot.”