Growing up, rugby wasn’t particularly prominent in my life. However, as my interest in the sport blossomed, the first team that truly captivated me was the 2015 New Zealand squad.

Players like Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, Sonny Bill Williams, and Beauden Barrett were especially inspiring due to their remarkable style of play. The All Blacks have long represented the pinnacle of rugby, and it’s quite surreal to now find myself competing against Barrett, a player I admired just a few years back. I hold immense respect for his accomplishments on the field.

Just like with any team, we meticulously analyze our opponents to identify potential weaknesses, and New Zealand is no exception. Our last three matchups have been intensely close, with just a 10-point difference across all encounters. Heading into Saturday’s game, we’re riding a nine-match unbeaten streak, a testament to the strength and growth we’ve achieved as a squad since we last faced the All Blacks.

A victory would greatly boost our team’s confidence. We firmly believe we can compete toe-to-toe with the world’s best. Regardless of the outcome this weekend, that confidence will remain. However, a win would reinforce our belief and extend our unbeaten streak, which is significant for us.

In my three appearances against the All Blacks, I’ve managed to score three tries. This track record gives me assurance that I can keep pace with them for the full 80 minutes.

Those narrow losses can’t be overlooked by us. They provide great learnings, even if they were painful at the time. Last autumn, we lost by two points. People will look at that game and say it came down to a missed drop goal or penalty. That’s not the reality.

Scoring against New Zealand last year gives me great confidence I can hang with the All Blacks for 80 minutes

The last three defeats we’ve suffered against New Zealand have all been by such fine margins, losing by just 10 points across those matches

The truth is that across a Test match, there are a million and one different scenarios that determine the outcome. What Steve Borthwick and the coaches have been really good at is preparing us for every possible scenario we can come across.

Crucially, we’ve placed a big emphasis on staying composed in the big moments. There will be lots of them against New Zealand and we’ll have to nail almost all of them to win.

The atmosphere for an All Blacks game is always on another level. Coming out the tunnel, there’s the flames and the fireworks and I’ll try to make sure I take it all in before the anthems begin. I try to look out for my family in the crowd. I love the anthems and the Haka. It allows me to properly dial into the game and concentrate. Once that’s done, I’m ready to go.

These are the teams you want to play against. To see the Haka in person is pretty cool. It obviously gets New Zealand up for the game but it does the same for us. It’s great to be a part of. When we played New Zealand at home last year, the Haka started and the whole crowd sung Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. It was so good. We want the same atmosphere again from our fans.

I’ve got quite a few family coming to this game – my dad, brother, sister, my brother’s girlfriend and her family. There are some of my cousins too. I’ve had to get 13 tickets in total. As a player, our allowance is 15 for the autumn so I’m pretty much using it for this game! It’s great my family will be there to share the experience.

Like me, they didn’t know a whole lot about rugby before I started playing. But they’re really starting to get into it. Some of them are still not sure what’s going on. Rugby is a hard game to understand! It’s just nice they want to come. They really enjoy the atmosphere. 

My family were a bit concerned after I was taken out in the air by Fiji’s Selestino Ravutaumada last weekend. I got lucky and landed on my front. I’ve seen some of the pictures of me in the air and I thought one of them must have been Photoshopped. I didn’t realise I’d got so high!

Fiji was so tough. I’ve never been late-shotted as many times as I was in that game. It was pretty physical. I don’t mind running into contact. But the Fijians line you up! They left some shoulder imprints on me, but it was definitely a really good test for us before New Zealand. To go into the game on the back of two wins against Australia and Fiji is a good position for us to be in.  

The demands of Test rugby are pretty brutal physically. I’m only 22, but I’m in bits the day after a game and limping all over the place.

My family were a bit concerned after I was taken out in the air by Fiji’s Selestino Ravutaumada last weekend 

I’ve seen some of the pictures of me in the air and I thought one of them must have been Photoshopped. I didn’t realise I’d got so high!

I got lucky and landed on my front. But Fiji was so tough. I haven’t ever been late-shotted as many times as I was in that game. It was pretty physical

To try and counteract that, I get in the ice bath in the changing room immediately to calm down all the bumps and bruises. I find hot and cold water therapy really good and love a spa! I try to get moving on a Sunday.

I used to do nothing all day, but actually, that was worse for me. I’ve learned active recovery is best, so I try and get on the bike or in the pool. The aches and pains the day after the game are all worth it on the back of a win.

We’re all hopeful of that being the case on Sunday morning. We know we’ll have to produce a near-perfect performance to win. But we also have a quiet confidence we can do just that. It’s going to be an amazing game.

I just can’t wait to be a part of it. It’s something I never thought would happen to me when I used to watch the All Blacks on TV.