England to show ‘no fear’ of All Blacks

IAIN BALSHAW has urged England to show “no fear” when they face the most daunting prospect in world rugby – stopping New Zealand.

Despite their status as world champions, England will go into battle in front of a record 82,000 Twickenham crowd on Sunday written off as 5/2 underdogs.

A team containing three new caps – Wasps wing Paul Sackey, Gloucester centre Anthony Allen and Bristol scrum-half Shaun Perry – must try to halt an All Blacks juggernaut on a seemingly unstoppable march towards World Cup glory next year.

England have lost a dozen players through injury, while New Zealand arrived in London earlier this week with arguably their strongest possible squad.

Recent form could hardly have inspired red rose supporters either, with the home side striving to avoid a sixth successive Test defeat which would represent their worst results sequence since 1972.

Gloucester full-back Balshaw accepts the odds are stacked against England, but he knows they cannot afford to sit back and allow New Zealand to dictate.

“We are confident,” he insisted.

“There are a lot of lads playing for their clubs who are on form, which is a positive thing.”

Wing Ben Cohen apart, Balshaw is the most experienced player in an England back division eager to make its mark, although he admits his selection came as something of a surprise.

The 27-year-old was injured on his Guinness Premiership debut for Gloucester against Bath in early September,

Coach Andy Robinson can only hope his preparations are not hit by any further injury setbacks.

England are without the services of Lewsey, Morgan, Mark Cueto, Olly Barkley, Stuart Abbott, Jonny Wilkinson, Mathew Tait, Perry Freshwater, Matt Stevens, Steve Borthwick, Tom Rees and James Forrester for arguably their biggest game of the season.

And lock Ben Kay, one of three vice-captains named by Robinson, has until today to prove his fitness after suffering a dead leg during Leicester’s Heineken Cup victory over Cardiff Blues last weekend.

Robinson though, remains resilient in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds, claiming: “We pick competitive animals who enjoy winning, who get turned on by winning, and go on the pitch with the ability to win the game.”

“I’ve seen teams play New Zealand over the last few years, and they have gone on the pitch and just with their body language, they’ve lost. They have not had the belief to take them on.”