England ready to face 'beatable' All Blacks, says Andy Farrell

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England assistant coach Andy Farrell

Andy Farrell has called on his "fearless" young England side to record a significant milestone in their development by beating world champions New Zealand on Saturday.

England head into their final autumn Test on the back of narrow defeats by Australia and South Africa.

But assistant coach Farrell believes England can upset the odds and beat New Zealand, saying: "They are beatable.

"This [England] group is fearless, it could certainly be a great milestone."

England may have lost their previous two fixtures but Farrell saw enough in the 16-15 defeat by South Africa last weekend to believe they are on the right track.

New Zealand are unbeaten in 20 matches, and have not lost an autumn international in a decade.

Despite that daunting record, Farrell said the England players are in good spirits and relishing the opportunity to test themselves against the best.

He added: "The discussions this week have been ones that were upbeat and the players are super excited about playing against the best in the world.

"I would think that our boys will see this as a massive privilege to be involved in at such a time in their development - to play against a side that is really, really experienced and has been through a lot and made themselves one of the best sporting teams at the moment.

"Let's be honest New Zealand are a fantastic side at the minute, there are not many weaknesses throughout, they seem to be completely in sync and they have grown together as a team. They are playing some outstanding rugby at the moment.

"They do a lot of things right but they are also vulnerable in places, there is no doubt about that. You cannot be exceptional in every single department for the whole 80 minutes.

"It is up to us to make them have an off day and hopefully be on song ourselves."

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470 comments

  • Comment posted by Richard, at 18:23 27 Nov 2012

    I admire the confidence, let´s face it, with out a certain level of self confidence we may as well give up.
    Not sure its a good idea to go telling the world about it.
    Can´t see us winning, but am ever hopeful. Just want to see some positive attacking rugby.

  • Comment posted by U15505724, at 21:02 27 Nov 2012

    The ABs are beatable, but certainly not from a one dimensional side like England. They play boring rugby. Spend too much time in the gym and very little on basic rugby skills. And they have very little natural flair. You only have to watch a junior rugby game in NZ to see the flair and instinct on display. You cannot coach that stuff. England are in for a beating.

  • Comment posted by Tinoflyer, at 21:32 27 Nov 2012

    We will get tonked if we kick often and badly like against the Boks. Sadly, Youngs at 9 and Farrell at 10 will give most of our possession away. Barritt will offer nothing but defence - Goode at 15 has shown he is well marshaled at 15 by a good defence. The Coaches need to throw out their gameplan (if there is one), pick Joseph and then get the team to play Quins style. Not Sarries.

  • Comment posted by smackeyes, at 19:27 27 Nov 2012

    Welshguy your skype id says enough for me ta! And shouldn't wind if you don't like being wound:)

  • Comment posted by Its_not_rocket_science, at 21:03 27 Nov 2012

    100
    I cant see how England are making progress. Being good at stopping the others from playing is not enough, in fact that is going backwards. The successful teams will leak a couple of tries over the match but score 3 or 4.
    You can coach defence to anyone, the duller they are the more likely they are to stick to the plan. What takes real talent is picking players with vision, skill and pace.

  • Comment posted by U15266537, at 19:38 27 Nov 2012

    All season The AB's creative attacking rugby has been mesmerizing spectators around the world. As the game becomes gladiatorial and training
    regimes more rigorous, replacement stars are having to step up. The AB's have unequalled depth on the bench and back in NZ. Yes, they will lose one day.That day will not be next Saturday.
    Enjoy the game.

  • Comment posted by Its_not_rocket_science, at 18:32 27 Nov 2012

    That just about sums up the ambition of the coaching team - let's hope the opposition have an off day!
    Not let's pick an attacking team and try and create a few tries.
    God help us (that's not you Clive W)

  • Comment posted by namuncura, at 18:07 27 Nov 2012

    Andy, Andy ... as an England supporter I can't help but point out that you should do the pre-match talking with players behind closed doors and only after over-delivering tell the wold how much conviction you had about the All Blacks being beatable. As things stand after these comments, there is a very large probability that come the end of the week-end you'll look like a gobby fool.

  • Comment posted by Will123bay, at 14:04 28 Nov 2012

    @362 True England fans (not some of the WUMs on here) are not whinging & actually believe in what Lancaster is trying to achieve with this England side & I do believe this squad will be better for it come 2015 (that's what ultimately matters).

    I am actually quietly confident we can sneak a win counter to popular opinion. Your lot look tired & England have looked good despite the 2 loses.

  • Comment posted by U15517592, at 13:42 28 Nov 2012

    Find it funny you NZ'ers thinking you even stand a chance!! The game will be as close as we wish it to be! If we want to score 50 points we will, if we want a spectacle for the fans and make it a 5 point game we will! we are the best side in the world and you are no match !!! Carter has nothing on flood (the worlds best 10) and mccaw cannot compete with mr england himself robshaw (worlds best 7)

  • Comment posted by U14979412, at 10:13 28 Nov 2012

    AF isn't saying England will win; he's saying the ABs can be beaten. It's not arrogance! Would people prefer him to say "We have no chance, so try your best"? That's self-defeating, and if he said that he shouldn't be a coach! I think ABs will probably win, but England need to show more attacking intent. They're re-building and improving every week! It could be worse, they could play like Wales!

  • Comment posted by U15259510, at 23:53 27 Nov 2012

    @164: Farrell helped coach Saracens to a Prem Title and a Prem Final.
    Rowntree is a very good scrum coach. Catt won the WC and made another WC Final. Lancaster has won a lot with the Saxons.....
    Conor O'Shea is blessed with the 2nd best Fly Half in the world!

    @165: There is no way Hore was trying to clear out a ruck!

  • Comment posted by U14862412, at 19:43 27 Nov 2012

    I expect New Zealand will win. France might take them, but they're not playing France are they? The irritating thing is when everything is put in 'inevitable' terms. The whole point about sport is that surprising things can happen. I watched Scotland teams win two grand slams and reach a World Cup semi-final. Anyone between 1925 and 1984 would have recognised that was impossible, but it happened.

  • Comment posted by U15124557, at 05:52 29 Nov 2012

    @426: Re Farrell making the short-list - I agree, its quite baffling but it was explained in a news story earlier today that it follows a "tradition" the IRB have of naming an outstanding player from the junior world cup in the years short-list. Can't remember previous equivalents but the guy listed off several players. I guess the question is - why IRB, why?

  • Comment posted by daveonbank, at 20:15 28 Nov 2012

    How the hell did Farrell get on the shortlist as IRB player of the year.

    Average kicker and never seen him make a break.

    Laughable.

  • Comment posted by clownfeatures, at 17:28 28 Nov 2012

    393
    you are the worst in Rugby Fans. Rugby is not a war it's a game, which leads me to believe maybe you yourself spend too much time on "gameboys" as you seem to believe war is a game.

  • Comment posted by TheLastKingOfEngland, at 14:01 28 Nov 2012

    @319 yeah there was something there but it's still very early to lose your temper on these things. That king of obstruction and lazy running is part of every moderen rugby game.

    Anyway the 5 week ban seems fair to me. Let's move on and enjoy the games on Saturday.

  • Comment posted by Bruce Bayliss, at 12:16 28 Nov 2012

    @321 NZ media have been equally as damning as the English press on Hore's actions which is good to see. Would have been even better if Steve Hanson wasn't so nonplussed by the affair. He has shown poor leadership this week when he should have been damning of this incident.

  • Comment posted by firstfive, at 12:11 28 Nov 2012

    We'll win again
    dont know where dont know when
    but I know we'll win again
    some sunny day.

    Have to love an optimist. At least there be no happy hooker.

  • Comment posted by nzskid, at 10:36 28 Nov 2012

    Crikey! Always a little nervous heading to Twickenham! Especially at the end of a long long season and with this young and potentially risk embracing opposition..

    Should be a good game and I'm lucky enough to be heading to it!!
    Go the ABs!

    Ps. let the judges to the judging on Hore - that conversation is past the point of boring..

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