KEY POINTS:
The 119kg frame of England prop Tim Payne will tread lightly this week, making sure to evade the man he credits most for his late-blooming test rugby career.
Payne, 29, is the only change to the England starting pack for the second test against the All Blacks in Christchurch on Saturday, replacing injured loosehead Andy Sheridan.
A key member of English champion club Wasps, Payne charts his rise back to learning the ropes from former All Blacks prop Craig Dowd, who played and more recently coached at the club for six years.
Now back in New Zealand, Dowd has played the role of informant for All Blacks coach Graham Henry going into this two-test series.
"I haven't spoken to him at all ... the less I say to him the better," smiled Payne, who otherwise regards Dowd as a friend and mentor.
"When I first came to the club he took me under his wing and I learned a lot from him on and off the field.
"Whether it was in the gym or what it's like to be a professional. He's one of the All Black greats."
Payne's fifth test start will see him lock horns with Greg Somerville, who is just two tests short of Dowd's All Blacks test record appearances for a prop of 60.
Payne disputed the All Blacks' assessment that England scrummaged passively when he was on Eden Park as a reserve over the final 20 minutes of the 20-37 first test loss.
However, unlike English tighthead Matt Stevens, who fingered All Black Neemia Tialata as the collapsing culprit, Payne kept his thoughts to himself.
"I've heard them say we've been collapsing it. They can say what they want, I don't mind as long as I know I go out there and do my best and get stuck into them."
A confident Payne didn't feel the pressure of replacing Sheridan, who is highly rated in England but failed to make the impact hoped against Somerville at Auckland.
"It's not daunting at all, I know exactly what I can do," Payne said.
"I've been at a club that's won six trophies in five years so I know how to play under pressure.
"The Leicester-Wasps (Premiership final) at Twickenham was 82,000, the biggest club game ever, bigger than anything they have in New Zealand.
"Playing in situations like that can only help you out, hopefully it will help me on Saturday."
In terms of turning around their Eden Park defeat, Payne believed a positive mindset this week could go a long way.
Again, he pointed to the ongoing success at Wasps.
"We've been in situations where we've lost a big game and then gone and played the same team a week after. We knew we screwed up so we had to put it right the next week and we did."
- NZPA
