All Blacks v England - what the British media are saying

Sonny Bill Williams will pair with Ma'a Nonu in forming a 212kg midfield partnership, the heaviest in All Black history. Photo / Getty Images

The advent of Sonny Bill Williams into the lineup is rumoured to have sent shivers down the spine of Engish rugby supporters, in much the same way as they feared the prospect of playing Jonah Lomu in his heyday.

But many of the leading rugby analysts in the UK, whilst acknowledging Williams' undoubted impact on the game at Twickenham, are still talking up England's chances.

Here's a sample of what the British rugby media are saying, in the lead-up to Sunday morning's test match at Twickenham:

The Telegraph's Leigh Hinton wonders, just how can England beat the All Blacks?

Best he can suggest is "a severe case of food poisoning," recalling one of the reasons put forward for the All Blacks' loss to the Springboks in the 1995 World Cup final.

"New Zealand have been playing a brand of rugby that will have the England players and coaching staff concerned to say the least.

"The skill level and physicality displayed from 1 to 15 is at such a high level that the northern hemisphere teams playing the All Blacks this autumn face a massive challenge."

Also writing in The Telegraph, Dan Hipkiss says the element of surprise is one thing England have going for them:

"England meanwhile, haven't shown the Kiwis anything yet and all they will be able to plan for are the shapes England used on their tour of Australia in the summer.

"You can be damn sure that England will have changed some things since then and that element of surprise might catch the All Blacks out", he writes.

"That means New Zealand will go into the game with a lot of homework to do."

Alex Spink, Rugby Correspondent for the Mirror, spoke with Sir Clive Woodward, 2003 World Cup-winning coach and boss of the England team that beat the All Blacks 31-28 at Twickenham in 2002.

Woodward said: "I think England's prospects are good.

"This is a chance of a lifetime for Martin (Johnson) and his players. He's obviously got a good team building now and they're playing at Twickenham.

"I absolutely believe if they get it right they can beat New Zealand."

The Independent's rugby writer Peter Bills is worried about the choice of referee for this weekend's clash, Frenchman Roman Poite.

The standard of play in the French competition has not impressed Bills:

"England's worry centres around their fear that Poite, like so many French referees this season, will allow many of the old tricks and skulduggery at the breakdown.

"Justifiably, they point to the chaos on show at most of the French Top 14 matches this season where players have been able to get away with either killing or slowing down the ball at the breakdown, or even diving over the top in many cases without sanction."

It could and should be a magnificent spectacle, writes Bills.

"But that will only happen if Poite climbs into both teams at the breakdown and sorts them out early on, like Irish referee Alain Rolland (sorted out) the New Zealanders in Hong Kong last weekend."

Everything the All Blacks do from here on out is direct preparation for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, says Robert Kitson in the Guardian.

In contrast to Clive Woodward's unabashed optimism, Kitson thinks England have plenty of reasons to be watchful:

First, he quotes the law changes; which, he reckons, read like a wish-list for the New Zealand style of play. Then:

"A new wave of Kiwi talent has emerged, unaffected by the psychological scars of the past. Kieran Read, Jerome Kaino, Owen Franks and Gear may not be household names in the UK but their potential is considerable.

"Then there is Sonny Bill Williams. It is asking a lot of a former league favourite to become a union darling in a matter of months but Sonny Bill has already done it, thanks to a series of dazzling performances for Canterbury since returning from his sojourn in Toulon."

And Kitson has done his homework on SBW:

"Even as a teenager Williams caused good league judges to reach for the highest superlatives. "Players like him come along once every 10 or 15 years, if that," Frank Endacott, the former Kiwi league coach, said six years ago. "It can be dangerous to say this about someone so young, but I can tell you he's going to be something very special."

BBC rugby blogger Tom Fordyce laments England's sad history of frustration against the All Blacks - just six wins - over the last hundred years.

But he believes a first win over New Zealand in eight years is on the cards for what he calls a young, dynamic England team.

He writes that pivotal to England's success is the man who will be adversary to Alby Mathewson at halfback on Sunday morning, 21-year-old Ben Youngs.

"Scrum-half Youngs, hailed by Austin Healey as a potential world-beater and by Jeremy Guscott as 'for his age, the best northern hemisphere scrum-half I have seen in years', was the breakthrough star of that summertime win over Australia."

Fordyce says Youngs "looks every inch the answer to England's long search for a consistent first-choice nine."

WHAT: All Blacks vs England
WHEN: 3.30am Sunday
WHERE: Twickenham
LIVE: Sky Sport 1

- NZHERALD STAFF