Matt Dawson urges England to embrace favourites’ tag against All Blacks

Former England scrum-half Matt Dawson says England should embrace being favourites against New Zealand, but warns that Wales’ historic victory over the All Blacks should not lead Steve Borthwick’s side to underestimate them.

Writing for BBC Sport, Dawson said England’s recent wins over Australia and Japan had strengthened his belief that they could compete at the highest level. England beat Australia 45-22 and Japan 78-15; their next match is against New Zealand.

Dawson praised Wales for their 35-28 win over New Zealand, which ended a 34-match losing run against the All Blacks and was their first victory in the fixture since 1953. He argued that Wales had earned the result through their performance, rather than benefiting simply from a poor display by New Zealand.

He said England’s attack had looked slick and argued that New Zealand’s attack was one-dimensional, particularly in the second half in Cardiff. But Dawson noted that the All Blacks had been without several leading players, including Cam Roigard, Damian McKenzie, Will Jordan and Jordie Barrett.

Dawson said England should expect New Zealand to be at their best and avoid an underdog mentality. He also cautioned that victories over Australia and Japan alone did not put England at the level of France or South Africa.

He described Wales’ success as important for northern hemisphere rugby and said England could take inspiration from the way Wales attacked New Zealand without fear. England and Wales are due to meet in the same pool at next year’s World Cup.