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Fin Baxter insists England’s clash with New Zealand at Allianz Stadium on Saturday will be as much a battle of will as physicality.
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Steve Borthwick’s men are determined to register their first victory over the All Blacks since the 2019 World Cup semi-finals and their maiden win against their rivals at Twickenham for 13 years.
Borthwick has told his players they must be ready for “pain and suffering” if they are to prevail in the headline fixture of the autumn with assistant coach and rugby league great Kevin Sinfield and Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler giving team talks this week.
Sinfield has repeatedly tested his own boundaries of endurance by running ultramarathons to raise money for motor neurone disease charities while 32-year-old Hurzeler has spent two days in the England camp.
“This is going to be a tight Test match, so competitive and one where every little thing counts,” said rookie Harlequins prop Baxter, who faced New Zealand three times in 2024.
“Kev spoke to us and so did Fabian, who spoke about being the best team-mate, being selfless.
“When it comes to enduring pain and doing stuff for the team, you are being selfless.
“You are running when your body is telling you not to, you are getting up, getting off the line and hitting things hard. That’s a big part of rugby and the mental side that is not so obvious.
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“You have to keep going and ignoring the little voice that is telling you to stop because that is what’s best for the team.
“We have so many experiences from previous games and training of getting to that point so we know that if you push through and keep going, you have a greater chance of getting a good result.
“There is a pleasure in coming out of it with a result, knowing that no one has opted out and you know as a group you are not just doing it for yourself. It’s so that everyone can have that result.”
While England are going to the well in hope of ending New Zealand’s bid to complete a grand slam tour of the home unions, George Ford will be providing the brains needed to claim a famous win.
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Borthwick believes Ford will one day become head coach of the national team and Baxter has praised the 32-year-old fly-half’s strategic vision.
“George is so brilliant at communicating to the team about the bigger plan. That’s what I have been most impressed with,” Baxter said.
“It is not just, ‘what just happened and what the hell is going on?’ It is the bigger picture and that overview he has.
“It is such a hard skill to have but that is why he is a 100-cap international. I don’t know where it comes from, but he has got it.”
