"We want to be the ninth" - Maro Itoje wants England to make history against the All Blacks

Both sides arrive unbeaten after two rounds: England with wins over Australia and Fiji, and the All Blacks having edged past Ireland and Scotland. Neither team has been perfect, but both have shown enough resilience to suggest they are moving in the right direction.

For Scott Robertson’s New Zealand, that knack for getting over the line has become a feature. Since taking over as head coach early last year, his side have made a habit of squeezing out results even when their rhythm has gone missing.

England know that feeling all too well. The All Blacks beat them twice last year on home soil—16-15 in Dunedin, then 24-17 in Auckland—before edging a two-point win at Twickenham when George Ford missed a late penalty and drop goal. England’s history in this fixture is stark: eight wins from 46 meetings, with the last Twickenham success coming back in 2012.

Now Maro Itoje leads England into another attempt at shifting that story. The captain was quick to play down the personal significance of being the next man to try to break the run.

"It’s nothing to do with me being captain. It has everything to do with the team. As I said, I think the team is capable of it. We want to be the ninth English side to do it. I think we’re capable of doing that. That’s the opportunity that’s there for us. In life you don’t get many of these opportunities so we want to go out there and take it if we can."

England’s nine wins in a row has helped build a sense of momentum, and Itoje has felt that connection with the supporters at Allianz Stadium.

"The crowd has been great at Allianz. There is a real feeling of excitement as we get off the bus and walk to the stadium, the looks on the fans’ faces is of genuine pride and as players we feel the responsibility to live up to that and we want to live up to that. We value their support greatly. I would encourage the fans to be as proud and as noisy as they possibly can on the weekend."

He was still at school the last time England beat New Zealand at Twickenham, the 38-21 win in 2012 that remains one of the great home performances of the professional era.

"That was my last year of school. I definitely watched the game, most likely at school. It was an incredible one. Thirteen years later, people are still remembering it. Manu [Tuilagi] was the MVP of that game. Brad Barritt was amazing that game. The pack were great. You could see Twickenham at the time was bouncing. It was one that continues to live long in the memory."

George Ford, meanwhile, carries his own memories from last year’s narrow defeat, but there is little sense of dwelling. The fly-half sees this as a fresh challenge for a team that has been through plenty since.

"Every time England play New Zealand, it feels like a big game so we're all excited by it, the opportunity that we have in front of us. I think the main focus has been the week, trying to get preparation right, and making sure we're crystal clear on the plan that we want to play, but understanding the positives that they're going to bring as well.

"More often than not, in Test matches it's about how you deal for things you haven't planned for as well."

Looking back at those tight defeats, Ford says the context has changed.

"They were close weren't they? I would say you're a period of time down the line and a lot's happened since then, there's been a Lions tour, we went to Argentina… I think the team's probably in a bit of a different place than it was when we toured New Zealand as well. And I'd imagine they are as well, they've played a lot of rugby.

"History would suggest that it's going to be a tight game. The key thing for us, and I think we've done it really well over the last period of time, is when it does come to that last 20 minutes, we've found a way to win."

Ford has also reflected on those missed kicks at Twickenham and what he learned.

"In terms of the end of the game, whenever you want three points to win a game, you've got to make sure we still have an attacking mindset to go and play and try and get on the front foot and speed of ball… If we look back, we probably went back about 15/20 metres before we kicked the ball… Let's absolutely keep going at them, don't have a set up mentality."