Danny Care feels England are “really close” to going up another gear as they prepare for a blockbuster Autumn Nations Series opener against New Zealand on Saturday.
The All Blacks have beaten England eight times from 10 starts since 2012, most recently a 2-0 series triumph in New Zealand this summer.
But England ran them close on both occasions, losing by a combined margin of just eight points, which followed a 33-31 Six Nations defeat against France when Steve Borthwick’s team produced some thrilling rugby.
“I am fascinated to see how this game goes. When New Zealand come to town, there is just a different feel,” said former England scrum-half Care.
“I feel England are really close. That missing ingredient is the toughest one, and it is so hard to put your finger on what it is.
“It’s probably being a bit more ruthless – when you have got momentum, when you have got teams by the scruff of the throat… to really press home that advantage. You have to be clinical against the world’s best teams.
“If you look at the South Africa World Cup semi-final (in 2023), if we had been a little bit more clinical we could have put that game out of sight.
“If you give the best teams in the world a sniff – the best teams in the world are that for a reason – they come back and find a way to win.
“It is about winning those tight games, and there is no better time to do it than this weekend.
“There is something in the air when New Zealand come to town, and you know you have to be on top form.”
Despite being beaten in Dunedin and Auckland during the July Test window, 101-times-capped former England scrum-half Care, who retired from Test rugby after last season’s Six Nations, reckons a lot will have been taken on board.
“I think England will have learned a lot from the summer. Yes, they were defeats, but you almost learn more from that than if they had won the series,” he added.
“It sounds simple, but it has to be an 80-minute performance. You can’t switch off against these guys and have little lapses because they are good enough and deadly enough to punish you.
“Discipline is going to be massive. You want to keep them as far away from your line as you possibly can, but they also have the ability to strike from deep. You need to be thinking the whole time, and almost be one step ahead of the game with them.
“Against the best teams in the world, it comes down to physicality. If we can get some dominance up front and provide some quick ball for this exciting backline we’ve got, then I think we will cause them a lot of problems.”
Care has been encouraged by the club form of many England players during the the first six-match block of Gallagher Premiership games that finished last weekend.
England head coach Steve Borthwick (right) and Chandler Cunningham-South in discussion during a training session at Pennyhill Park, Bagshot
Borthwick’s team selection for Saturday is packed with that personnel, and Care is particularly relishing seeing his Harlequins team-mate Chandler Cunningham-South in action ahead of an autumn campaign that also features Allianz Stadium appointments with Australia, South Africa and Japan.
Cunningham-South packs down in the back row alongside Tom Curry and Ben Earl, and Care said: “He is as close to a Courtney Lawes-type of character that I think England have got.
“He is raw, he is fresh, keen as anything. He just wants to learn, wants to get the ball, wants to run over people, hit people backwards in defence, and he is a specimen.
“I am sure he is a bit of a coach’s dream to work with. He is hungry for the ball and hungry for work, which is always a good combination.”
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