Peter Lakai sets sights on showdown with 'heartbeat' of England

Peter Lakai has taken the All Blacks‘ No.8 jersey with both hands in 2025, and looks all but locked in for another start against an English side packing plenty of star power at Twickenham.

The 22-year-old made his Test debut during last year’s Autumn Nations Series, proving his Test readiness with his second appearance in black, a 79-minute performance against France in Paris.

While an MCL injury postponed his 2025 All Blacks campaign, a powerful showing off the bench in round five of the Rugby Championship earned him his first Test start the following week. He has owned the No. 8 shirt in both of the Tests that have followed.

A game-high 21-tackle, no misses performance in Edinburgh is unlikely to disrupt the Hurricanes star’s starting run. And should another start come his way, this week would see Lakai square off with a deep England loose forward unit. Five loose forwards were named to face Fiji last week, with England coach Steve Borthwick opting for a 6/2 bench split to accommodate both Tom Curry and 20-year-old sensation Henry Pollock.

Lakai said the All Blacks would “100 per cent” need to be better in London to earn another win on the tour.

“There were a few positives that came out of the Scotland game, but also a few work-ons,” he told New Zealand media on Tuesday morning. “Our focus is just to get better every day and build on the last Test.

“We know how good England are, especially their back row, being the heartbeat of their team. So we’re just focusing on us, looking to get better every day and building towards Saturday.”

Team Form

Last 5 Games

48 - 46

23 - 18

21 - 42

31 - 20

48 - 7

26 - 52

33 - 19

17 - 25

13 - 26

14 - 28

1

Wins

4

4

Streak

1

21

Tries Scored

21

2

Points Difference

47

2/5

First Try

4/5

1/5

First Points

3/5

1/5

Race To 10 Points

4/5

England come into the contest on a nine-game win streak, but haven’t beaten the All Blacks since 2019’s famous Rugby World Cup semi-final.

Lakai’s Hurricanes teammate, Billy Proctor, acknowledged that fixtures at Twickenham are always highly anticipated for the All Blacks, but the prep will be the same.

“We have had a week-to-week mindset,” Proctor explained. “So we haven’t turned the page to England until this week. With how they play and how they have been playing, they’re up there with one of the best, and Twickenham is a place that they pride themselves on, and an atmosphere where the crowd gets behind them.

“So, we understand the task at hand this week, and we’re starting to build into it, and we’re looking forward to it.”

While the English forwards accounted for four of the six tries the team scored against Fiji last weekend, the backline’s electric, young outside backs claimed a couple of world-class finishes to complete the performance.

From a backline perspective, Proctor says England’s talent, which is also spread beyond the starting XV, poses a significant threat.

“Obviously, they back themselves in the air. They’re a team that likes to bring a lot of linespeed and put our skills under pressure, and there are a lot of athletes on their team that can work magic with the ball.

“We’re well aware of the threat that they bring, and as the week goes by, we’re going to find our areas where we’re going to attack them and areas where they’re going to be good, and we’ve got to contain them and put them under pressure as well. We know it’s a big Test coming up this week, and we’re looking forward to it.”

For the All Blacks, a growing attack took another step in Edinburgh, with the team enjoying the upper hand in the collisions for much of the first half and final quarter. Proctor said there were plenty of signs of promise from the Kiwi attack.

“If you look at the Chicago game, the back end of that, you can see the damage we can do when we execute the options that are there for us.

“It’s just about our ability to do that more consistently or more often. But I’d say we’re creating opportunities; it’s the ability to see them and execute them that the boys have been getting right in parts of our game.”