England have gone through “some heartache” and now it is time to “get over the line” in close Test matches against the world’s best sides, says number eight Ben Earl.
Steve Borthwick’s side welcome New Zealand to Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium on Saturday having narrowly lost two summer Tests against the All Blacks, despite leading for large parts of both games.
They were also beaten by two points by France in their final match of the Six Nations, and Earl feels Saturday’s opening game of their Autumn Nations Series is the perfect time to put things right.
“We are growing as a team and it was so close [in the summer against New Zealand],” Earl told BBC Sport.
“But you don’t win tight Test matches by being close, so I think the lessons we have learned are valuable ones – how to finish games and keep your discipline in the last quarter, how you always need to be alive and concentrating against a team like the All Blacks.
“It is something that doesn’t just happen, you have to go through some heartache to then win a couple. We feel we’ve done that now.
“We have looked at each other over the last couple of weeks and thought the time is now.
“We can’t say we are an inexperienced group now and have had continuity around selection for 18 months or so.
“I think it is time now to get over the line in close games.”
Since his move to number eight before last autumn’s World Cup, the 26-year-old has shone as one of England’s most important players, producing a number of eye-catching performances.
New Zealand number eight and world player of the year Ardie Savea has taken notice, and said Earl was “on fire” after elevating his game over the last two years.
“What struck me most after the games [in New Zealand] was how humble Ardie was,” the Saracens back rower added.
“We talked about what we see in each others games and what we enjoyed.
“It is not validation as I don’t think I am near a player of Ardie’s quality at the moment, but it is something I am striving towards.”