England in New Zealand: George Furbank insists backline is ‘exciting’ and ready to attack All Blacks | Rugby Union News

George Furbank insists England will look for opportunities against New Zealand in Dunedin on Saturday as they look to continue to refine their attack.

Steve Borthwick’s tourists followed a spirited end to the Six Nations against heavyweights Ireland and France by scoring eight tries in their summer opener against Japan.

World Cup finalists New Zealand will be a tougher test than any they have faced so far this year but Furbank insists England must retain the playing courage they discovered in the Six Nations.

“There’s definitely a sense of seeing opportunities and empowering yourself to seize them,” Furbank told reporters in Auckland. “We have a very exciting young defense that wants to be able to do that and the coaches have fully bought into that as well.

“We have very good scorers, very precise, and wingers who are quite happy to play and put the ball in the air. It’s one of our great strengths, that’s obvious.

“We’ve also added some really good layers to our offense. We have a better understanding now, as a group, of where we want our offense to go and what we want it to look like.”

Will any changes be made for the All Blacks challenge?

England caused a surprise a fortnight ago by naming their squad to face Japan 48 hours earlier – and Borthwick could take the same bold approach when preparing for the first of two tests against the All Blacks, live. Sky Sports.

While the players appreciate knowing where they stand with the selection earlier in the week, the move has also been seen as a sign of Borthwick’s growing authority in his role as head coach as well as a tactic aimed at to downplay the mind games of Japan boss Eddie Jones.

Summer matches in England

• Saturday 22nd June – Japan 17-52 England
• Saturday July 6 – against New Zealand (8:05), live Sky Sports
• Saturday July 13 – against New Zealand (8:05 a.m.), live Sky Sports

Changes are expected to be kept to a minimum after that 52-17 win, with Marcus Smith continuing to play at fly-half and while the Harlequins playmaker will oversee the attack, he will likely operate amid a core of Northampton Premiership champions in Furbank, Alex Mitchell and Tommy Freeman.

The trio helped energise England with the ball in hand and, ironically for New Zealand, it was one of their own who inspired the Saints trio after Chris Boyd spent four years as director of rugby at Franklin’s Gardens until 2022.

International Rugby Union live

Saturday July 6 at 7:30 a.m.

“It was about playing in space. You never mention the word risk with him,” Furbank said of the 65-year-old former Hurricanes boss who transformed Northampton’s style of play.

“It’s always been a decision and if you make the right decision, whether it’s on your own tryline or the opposition’s, he will support you to do that. It’s about seeing that decision first place and support you to execute it.

“He gave us a feeling of freedom to go and play. Some coaches can make you worry about making mistakes, but it was a new philosophy and helped the kids get through it.

“The All Blacks are happy to be able to step in anywhere on the pitch. If they see an opportunity they will back each other and I was lucky to play at a club that has a similar approach in place.”

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