"You’re only as good as your next game" - Sam Underhill ready for All Blacks battle

The 29-year-old Bath flanker is more focused on taking each game as it comes, but admits that there is a special feeling when the All Blacks come to town.

“It’s certainly an exciting challenge, isn't it?” Underhill says. “They're one of the best teams in the world and have been consistently for a long time. There’s no such thing as an easy Test match, but this is certainly one of the more challenging games and one that, as a result, as a player you look forward to the most.”

England go into Saturday’s Test on a nine-game winning run, their best streak under Steve Borthwick. They’ve beaten Australia and Fiji so far this autumn and, for once, the bookmakers have made them favourites against the All Blacks, an extremely rare situation for England to be in. Underhill laughs that off.

“We’re not allowed to bet so we don't hold much sway with bookies,” he says. “I guess, as a player and as a team, you’re never as good as you think you are and you’re never as bad as you think you are. Bookies have got a job to do, but ultimately our job is to listen to our coaches, our teammates and our game plan and focus on ourselves.

“If we're in a good spot, that's because we've been focusing on ourselves and we continue to do that by keeping that sort of insular approach.”

England’s improvement has been gradual but real. Borthwick’s side look more comfortable in attack, more settled in defence, and increasingly confident in tight games, following some tight defeats last year, including a 24-22 late loss to New Zealand. But Underhill insists that confidence doesn’t come from the scoreboard.

“Confidence comes from performance rather than result,” he says. “Sometimes you can play really well and still lose a game. Equally, you can have a game where you’re frustrated with the performance and still win it. We look more at the performance — the less glamorous stuff.

“That’s what we spend hours doing. We’re in a good place, but you’re only as good as your next game, right? The one you’ve played doesn’t really matter anymore.”

For Underhill, New Zealand brings back plenty of memories. He faced them in 2018 at Twickenham — the match where his disallowed try remains one of those “what if” moments — and again in that famous night in Yokohama the following year, where England reached their first World Cup final in 12 years with a 19-7 victory.

“It was one of my earlier games,” he says of 2018. “I try and keep a limit of two or three years on things that have happened before to not dwell on them too much. That was one of the earlier opportunities I got and it went well. Hopefully we’ve got other back rows now who’ll get their chance against good opposition and get that experience too.”

There may be a minor injury crisis for England with Ollie Chessum and Tommy Freeman doubts for the weekend, leaving the second row and backline somewhat thin.

Despite that, the back row remains one of their strongest areas, with a strong contingent of versatile players that have a wide range of skills available at Borthwick's disposal.

“It's good,” Underhill says. “The English back row has been very competitive as long as I've been here. You’ve got guys like Ben Earl, who’s gone from strength to strength, and younger lads like [Henry] Pollock and [Guy] Pepper coming through. Whoever gets picked, there’s a roundedness to the group — good carriers, good defenders, good lineout forwards. There aren’t any glaring weaknesses.”

Underhill’s own game has always been built on physicality — those trademark hits that have become a staple of highlight reels. But he’s quick to draw a line between what fans see and what players focus on.

“There’s almost two sides of rugby,” he says. “There’s the spectator sport — and that’s great — and there’s the sporting side, which is players and coaches. We spend hours in the week preparing for the slightly boring stuff. Most of what we aim for is unglamorous. If that goes well, you tend to find you’re on the right side of performances and results.”

That mindset, he says, is pushed by the England coaches. “Wiggy [Richard Wigglesworth] and Lee [Blackett] are brilliant,” Underhill says. “Lee in attack is always looking at what you could do to make a difference off the ball. Wiggy’s the same in defence. Steve’s much the same — he values off-the-ball effort.”

It’s an attention to detail that Underhill believes defines this England side, even for those outside the matchday 23. “Steve’s made a concerted effort to make people feel valued,” he says. “You can’t keep everyone happy, but you can build an environment where being a good team-mate is encouraged. For me, this is one of the best England environments I’ve been part of.”

The Bath flanker also looks forward to facing New Zealand's traditional pre-match ritual, the Haka, “I like it,” he says. “It’s an historic part of the game. If you get to face one, you’re lucky, because you’re playing against a very good team. I enjoy it.”

Saturday’s game will be the latest chapter in England’s long rivalry with New Zealand — and another chance for Underhill to test himself against the best.

“They’re incredibly good decision-makers,” he says. “They take advantage of teams that are slow to react. The physical intensity is very high, the game is very fast. That’s the challenge — and that’s why you play.”