A striking image from Saturday night at Murrayfield captured the essence of New Zealand’s indomitable spirit. Damian McKenzie, bloodied and bandaged at the final whistle, epitomized the All Blacks’ refusal to concede defeat, a testament to their enduring prowess on the rugby field.

Despite their resilience shown in Edinburgh, there’s a sense that the once formidable aura of invincibility surrounding the All Blacks has diminished. While they remain a formidable force, that legendary mystique isn’t as overpowering as it once was.

Looking ahead to this weekend, I am confident that England will triumph over New Zealand.

This belief stems more from the remarkable progress of Steve Borthwick’s squad than any decline in their opponents. England’s transformation has been impressive.

Undefeated in their last nine Tests and having secured victories against Australia and Fiji this autumn, England has climbed to fourth in World Rugby’s rankings. Their recent performances reflect a team riding high on confidence, bolstered by a strong squad dynamic. With world-class talents like Maro Itoje and Jamie George, England boasts a wealth of experience.

Having previously bested New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup semi-final, England understands what it takes to succeed against them. The team also benefits from fresh talent, such as the fearless Henry Pollock, who injects new energy into the squad.

In captain Maro Itoje, England have a world-class player with a huge amount of experience – including of beating New Zealand

But in young guns like Henry Pollock (centre), they also have a talented new generation unburdened by fear 

New Zealand are still a fantastic team – and the image of a bandaged, bloodied Damian McKenzie at full-time at Murrayfield on Saturday night summed up their never-say-die spirit

The likes of Pollock don’t have past baggage of losing to big teams. That can be really helpful.

England also have extraordinary strength in depth. As coach, Borthwick knows if he loses one man, there is another to replace him. That’s a huge luxury. Even in my best years with Wales, that’s something we didn’t have.

Our depth wasn’t there, even if we did have brilliant players.

I’m willing to nail my colours to the England mast this weekend for a number of reasons.

I really, really like the progression they’ve shown as a team. They’re on an upward curve. It seems they’ve made big strides mentally. England have always had quality players. But last year, they couldn’t win tight matches. 

I was interested to read comments from George that England have used a team psychologist to help give them mental clarity in big moments. Make no mistake, that is a highly significant step. And it seems clear, from the outside at least, that it has worked. In their two games so far this month, England have come under pressure, but their composure and the impact of their bench has seen them over the line.

Clearly, New Zealand will be another big step up. If I look at the All Blacks this autumn, they’ve shown some serious bottle to beat Ireland and Scotland. They’ve had a lot of travel with the Rugby Championship and by playing Ireland in Chicago, so I do wonder if that will catch up with them this weekend.

Against Ireland and Scotland, New Zealand have made lots of uncharacteristic errors.

I expect Steve Borthwick to go back to George Ford (pictured) at No 10 this weekend based on how well he carried out the game plan to beat Australia

New Zealand are always intimidating opposition – as Scotland would attest after their 25-17 defeat on the weekend

They’ve been put under serious pressure, which is something you don’t normally see. In Edinburgh, they had three yellow cards. Scotland couldn’t make the most of them. But if New Zealand are as sloppy again, I think England will punish them.

I’d expect Borthwick to go back to George Ford at No 10 this weekend based purely on how well he carried out the game plan to beat Australia. England are very, very well coached.

A key thing for England will be to stop New Zealand playing to width. McKenzie has been hugely instrumental in appearing off the bench in both autumn matches so far.

He’s had a brilliant impact, helping Beauden Barrett as a second playmaker and kicker. I wonder if McKenzie will start against England because New Zealand’s best moments in the past two weeks have come with him on the pitch.

With Jordie Barrett injured, Scott Robertson’s side are playing slightly differently. They are really, really good at sucking teams in defensively to get them narrow before then unleashing the ball out wide to the likes of Will Jordan and Leicester Fainga’anuku, a guy I played with at Toulon.

McKenzie’s ball playing ability alongside that of Beauden Barrett is key. To stop that, England need to put pressure on at the ruck. They need to stop New Zealand getting quick ball and bring immense line speed in defence. 

One of England’s real strengths is their back-row, so they have plenty of players who can compete for the ball. Defending against New Zealand in the wide channels is so difficult. They play with such speed. Everything happens so quickly.

The No 13 position is key to this. The best defender I ever played with in that position was Jonathan Davies.

The No 13 position will be key to England’s success, or otherwise, on Saturday – the best defender I ever played with in that position was Jonathan Davies

And I would be picking Ollie Lawrence (left) in that role against the All Blacks

He excelled there for Wales but was on another level against New Zealand on the 2017 Lions tour. Jon was deservedly Lions player of the series on that trip. There has been a lot of debate about England’s back-line.

But I’d play Ollie Lawrence at 13 alongside Fraser Dingwall as the centre pairing with Tommy Freeman on the wing. Of course, Borthwick will be hoping both Freeman and lock Ollie Chessum are fit to start as they continue to struggle with knocks.

To beat New Zealand, England will have to be close to perfect. They are more than capable of that, but have a greater chance of being so with their best players in their best and most common positions.

ALL BLACK McKENZIE WINS MY REMY MARTIN MOMENT OF EXCELLENCE AWARD

I have teamed up with Rémy Martin VSOP Cognac to highlight Moments of Excellence on and off the pitch from this month’s Quilter Nations Series. 

There was only ever going to be one winner from last weekend once I’d watched the Scotland-New Zealand match – Damian McKenzie’s 50:22 kick. 

The All Blacks back had an amazing 35 minutes on the field after coming on as a replacement. At the hour mark, Scotland had come roaring back to tie the game at 17-17. They had all the momentum and New Zealand were in real trouble. They showed real signs of panic, like a boxer on the ropes after taking a series of heavy blows. 

But McKenzie got them out of trouble with three huge moments. The first was the best and most significant. His 50:22 was extraordinary and gave his team the position from which he then scored an incredible try. How McKenzie contorted his body to finish in the corner almost defied the laws of physics! After that, he then nailed a monster, match-winning penalty. But the try and penalty wouldn’t have happened without the earlier kick.

In Test rugby, there is a lot of talk about ‘clutch’ moments – when big players step up and deliver for their team when it matters most. That’s exactly what McKenzie did.

WHY THE BOKS ARE THE NEW ALL BLACKS 

I was in Paris on Saturday night for France against South Africa and there were two highlights. The first was the quality of the match. But not far behind was meeting Thierry Henry! I couldn’t wait to tell Henry about the fact I was playing in a charity football match in Toulon on Monday night which was attended by Zinedine Zidane! 

I had a chat with Zidane in the tunnel. He didn’t play, but French legends Fabien Barthez, Bixente Lizarazu and David Ginola all did. So too did former West Ham man Dimitri Payet. The team I was in lost 6-4. Lewis Ludlam, a former team-mate of mine with Northampton and Toulon, scored twice but missed a penalty which we had a good laugh about.

Like the rest of France, Henry went home disappointed on Saturday. The Springboks were too good. To me, they are the new All Blacks, and I mean that in a respectful way. Like the New Zealand teams of 2011 and 2015, they are almost invincible. They just expect to win. 

I don’t think any team other than South Africa could have won at the Stade de France. They were hit with a red card at the end of the first half and still ended with a comfortable success.

Rassie Erasmus and his team are streets ahead of the rest in international rugby right now.

South Africa have incredible strength in depth and can win a game playing in a variety of different ways.

Erasmus is an unbelievable coach. When Lood de Jager was sent off, he responded by taking off Siya Kolisi to bring on a new lock. Kolisi is not only South Africa’s iconic captain, but he was winning his 100th cap too!

With Newcastle legend David Ginola on Monday night – maybe my old team-mate Lewis Ludlam could go to him for some penalty tips!

Springbok legend Siya Kolisi was taken off by Rassie Erasmus against France, cutting short his 100th appearance for his country

So, to take him off was a huge, huge call. I don’t think any other coach or team would have substituted Kolisi in such a situation. But that’s exactly what happened. It worked like a dream. 

You never know what will happen at a World Cup, but it will take some team to stop South Africa winning a third straight global showpiece in 2027.

WALES OFFER REASONS TO BE HOPEFUL  

There were positives and negatives from Wales’ first game under Steve Tandy.

They were beaten by a bigger, better and stronger team in Argentina. But they did score four tries which is no mean feat in any international game these days. The Welsh attack looked well drilled at times.

Jac Morgan was ridiculously good. In his current form, I’d say he’d be good enough to play for any of the world’s top sides. His dislocated shoulder is a massive, massive blow.

Jac Morgan will miss the rest of the autumn internationals with a dislocated shoulder, a massive blow for Wales

Morgan is going to miss the rest of the autumn now and possibly the start of the Six Nations. My concern is that he is the one Wales player who can stand toe-to-toe with the most physical players in the international game. It’s an area Wales as a team struggle in. So, without Jac, it’s going to be really, really hard for them.

A big area for improvement for Wales is the aerial game. They really struggled there and I’m sure it will be a big topic in training this week. 

Wales also conceded too many penalties, were ill disciplined, and allowed too many soft entries. But fix these areas and even without Jac, I think they should beat Japan.

Rémy Martin VSOP Cognac – an excellent gift this holiday season. Please Enjoy Responsibly.