England boss Steve Borthwick piles the pressure on New Zealand ahead of second Test - and reveals an awkward encounter with a local after his side's defeat in Dunedin England take on the formidable hosts at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday They are looking to square the series after 16-15 defeat in the first Test By Chris Foy Published: 13:21, 11 July 2024 | Updated: 13:22, 11 July 2024 e-mail View comments Steve Borthwick knows England are up against it this week and they cannot afford to be passive before the second Test against New Zealand, so he was on the front foot again – boldly setting the agenda. The national coach is demonstrating an increasingly assertive streak on this tour. He was in his element yesterday after including Fin Baxter in an otherwise unchanged starting XV; emphasising how the pressure is on the All Blacks at their Eden Park stronghold, how England have unsettled their rivals and how the home scrum requires official scrutiny.
Last weekend, Borthwick suggested that all the onus is on Scott Robertson's Kiwi side this week and he doubled down on that view by revealing an awkward encounter with a bullish, partisan local as England flew out of the south island. He said: 'When I was leaving Dunedin, there was a New Zealand supporter who said how well he thought we had done but he said, 'You will get beaten next week and we will beat you with style'. I said, 'Oh, really?'.
He said, 'Yes, we didn't play with style.' 'So, there is an expectation that New Z.
