England face a daunting challenge as they prepare for second New Zealand Test, writes ALEX BYWATER But Steve Borthwick's side can draw inspiration from their last visit to Eden Park back in 2014 as they look to tie the series

The challenge facing England at Eden Park on Saturday is daunting to say the least.

New Zealand haven’t lost at the Auckland venue since 1994, winning 48 of their matches in that time and drawing twice.

Steve Borthwick’s men will have to break the course of history to seal a famous victory. But as they seek inspiration ahead of their second Test, England could do a lot worse than look at the performance of the last national side to have played at the ground synonymous with All Black rugby. It's been 10 years since a Red Rose team took to the Eden Park stage.

In 2014, a weakened England XV coached by Stuart Lancaster met the then world champions New Zealand and were given next to no chance of success.

They nearly proved their doubters wrong, producing a performance for the ages before falling just short to lose 20-15 after a late try from home centre Conrad Smith.

‘We were gutted. To come so close meant it was frustrating. That game was 10 years ago now and you don’t get many opportunities like that in your career,’ Chris Robshaw, who captained England that June day a decade ago, told MailSport.

‘We were going up against one of the best sides in the world who had just won a World Cup and then went on to win another one so it was always going to be tough.

‘But we saw it as a good opportunity. It excited us to be up against Richie McCaw and Co.

‘It was a who’s who of New Zealand rugby. To face the haka at Eden Park in that atmosphere and against a side like that was an amazing experience.

‘It’s a memory I look back on with fondness even though the result went the other way. It’s a special place to play. There’s a nice record there you want to go and break and that also puts a lot of pressure on the New Zealand side. They don’t want to be the team to lose.

‘If you can start well and shock them a little bit, there’s every chance for sure.’

England’s class of 2024 lost their first Test with the All Blacks by just a point in Dunedin. The 16-15 defeat was a game they should have won. But they will still run out at Eden Park with many believing they can break New Zealand’s record unbeaten streak. That wasn’t the case in 2014.

New Zealand went into that game 10 years ago as 1/16 favourites with the bookmakers as England were not only hit hard by injury, but also hindered by a scheduling mishap.

The 2014 Premiership final at Twickenham only took place a week before the Eden Park game. It meant that the players from league winners Northampton Saints and Saracens were not considered to take on the All Blacks because they only arrived in the southern hemisphere a few days before the Test.

With Owen Farrell, then of Saracens, and Northampton’s Stephen Myler unavailable and George Ford not on the tour due to a shoulder injury, Freddie Burns started for England at No 10.

Burns kicked four penalties in a tight game that was locked at 9-9 until the 64th minute, before Smith and New Zealand made England pay for a yellow card to Marland Yarde.

‘I remember it well,’ said Burns, taking a trip down memory lane. ‘We were given no chance because the Saracens and Northampton players from that year’s Premiership final weren’t involved.

‘We saw it as a bit of a shot to nothing. I remember Chris made a break through the middle in the first minute and that really set the tone for us. It made us think “S***, they’re not unbeatable here.” Smith scored in the corner with about five minutes to go, but it was a brilliant game to be a part of and it’s one I look back on and not kick myself, but think “What if?”

‘We came so close to achieving something that not many teams have done. With the All Blacks I don’t think it matters where you play them because it’s always going to be a huge game.

‘If anything all the history around Eden Park is more of a pressure on them than it is on the opposition team. We didn’t really talk about that.

‘We talked about opportunity because for the group that played that 2014 game, we had a chance to make a statement. It was a brilliant chance for us at such an historic ground against one of the best teams in the world to go out there and have a crack.

‘When I look back on my England career, I have a little bit of frustration at only getting five caps and sometimes think maybe I think I underachieved a bit.

‘But I also played in a time of great fly-halves in a competitive position. My five caps all came against top opposition and three of them were against New Zealand.

‘To be honest, I probably should have retired after we beat the All Blacks on my debut in 2012! One and done! But New Zealand is such a great place to play rugby.

‘Things are just different down there. In 2012 we beat the All Blacks at Twickenham and when we faced the haka, we had 80,000 people singing Swing Low to drown it out. When you face the haka in New Zealand, it’s totally different – almost deathly quiet. Stuff like that makes it an incredible place to play.

‘I was very lucky to play against New Zealand in New Zealand for England. It was an incredible experience but when you’re in it, you maybe take it for granted. I know I’m still playing but now I’m in the tail end of my career, I realise what an incredible achievement it was for me to be in an England squad in New Zealand and to play at Eden Park.

‘Jeez, that was a great performance from the team. Even if we’d got a draw it would have been a great achievement. If only we’d just held on.

‘But they scored at the death and that’s what the All Blacks do.’

New Zealand had an all-star side in 2014, one which history now tells us was good enough to win back-to-back World Cups. England’s team 10 years ago meanwhile contained the likes of Burns, Kyle Eastmond, Rob Webber and David Wilson. They still came so close to a famous win.

Borthwick’s current crop is much stronger and will be hoping to level the 2024 series at 1-1.

‘I think England have a great opportunity this weekend,’ Robshaw said.

‘They came so close last week. New Zealand just know how to squeeze teams and put pressure on at the right time. That’s what happened to us in 2014. There’s no doubt this England side is really building. It’s really exciting with the speed they’re playing at.

‘They’ve definitely started to make people really respect them and sit up and take notice with their performances in the last four games.

‘They’ve got a brilliant age bracket. They do have some experienced guys, but there is great young talent coming through. Hearing soundbites from the guys, they’re excited about the challenge this weekend. Chandler Cunningham-South has been brilliant for me. For such a young player, he’s a man already! England needed another big carrier and he’s exactly that.

‘He’s a player who would run through a brick wall.’

Burns added: ‘I said a couple of weeks ago England could do something special and they almost did in Dunedin. They could do something really historical this weekend.’

Burns was the drop goal hero for Leicester in 2022 when they won the Premiership with Borthwick as head coach. The fly-half, still playing in Japan, said: ‘Steve is hands down the best coach I’ve played under in my career and when you’ve had as many clubs as me, it means you’ve played under quite a few!

‘He’s brilliant. Before I signed at Leicester, he told me first and foremost he wanted to make the Tigers difficult to beat. That’s what he’s done with England. I know people complained about the style of rugby to start with and at the World Cup. But now what you have is an England team that’s difficult to beat and that means they can now start improving their attack.

‘That is what’s happening now. There’s still a lot of growth to come from this England team which is brilliant.’