England captain Jamie George expects All Blacks to follow a certain team’s blueprint

England-captain-Jamie-George-looks-ahead-to-All-Blacks-series-Alamy

England captain Jamie George believes the All Blacks are set to play in a similar style to the Crusaders due to Scott Robertson taking over the coaching reins.

The Red Rose are currently preparing for the first of a two-Test series against New Zealand, with the opening game taking place in Dunedin on Saturday, July 6.

Following that they will head to Eden Park in Auckland for the final match of their mid-year tour, which started with a win against Japan in Tokyo a week ago.

Style of play

Speaking ahead of the series, hooker George admits there is uncertainty about how the All Blacks, under a new regime, will play, but did make one observation.

“I think there is an element of the unknown,” he said as he and other England players helped out at a food bank in Auckland, run by legend Sir Michael Jones.

“The challenge is almost not being blown away by the skill level and the physicality. The style of play they’re probably going to play is likely to be similar to the Crusaders.”

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George admitted that meeting All Blacks legend Jones was an honour and revealed his dad is a huge fan of the flanker, who was one of the game’s best in his day.

“We couldn’t respect Michael any more. I am sure my old man will be buzzing (that I’ve met him),” he said.

Looking ahead to the mouth-watering series, George urged his troops not to be overawed by the occasion as they look to claim a confidence-boosting series win.

“My message to the team is to soak it in, to love it and to enjoy it,” he told New Zealand broadcaster TVNZ.

“This is what rugby for me is all about. Coming out to tours like this, to hostile places and trying to compete against the best.”