England enlist Raducanu to help beat All Blacks

Quilter Nations Series: England v New Zealand

Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham Date: Saturday 15 November Kick-off: 15:10 GMT

England enlisted the help of British number one women’s tennis player Emma Raducanu to beat the All Blacks on Saturday.

The 2021 US Open champion talked to the players at their Surrey base on Tuesday about her preparation for high-profile matches and dealing with pressure, as well as watching training and taking part in a line-out drill.

Raducanu, currently ranked 29th in the world, blitzed her way to the Flushing Meadows title as an 18-year-old qualifier without dropping a set throughout her campaign.

“There’s a reason why the girl who won the US Open [Raducanu] hasn’t done so well afterwards,” Jones said.

“What have you seen her on? The front page of Vogue, the front page of Harper’s Bazaar, whatever it is, wearing Christian Dior clothes.”

After his comments were attacked as “uninformed and sexist”, Jones said they were not intended as criticism of Raducanu and had been taken out of context.

He wrote to Raducanu to explain his words, but she did not take up an invite to watch England at Twickenham that autumn.

Steve Borthwick, Jones’ successor, said he was “grateful” and “privileged” to have the benefit of 22-year-old Raducanu’s experience.

“To have elite sports people like Emma Raducanu visit, sharing with the players her experiences of preparation for sport and international competition at the very, very top level, it’s always a learning experience,” he told Rugby Union Weekly.

Full-back Freddie Steward returns for England after a difficult afternoon in the 25-7 win over Australia on 1 November.

The 24-year-old uncharacteristically spilled several high balls early on, before being forced off in the closing stages with a dislocated finger.

“The bone was sticking out the top – out of the skin,” Steward said.

“I tried to get it back in. The physios tried and they couldn’t get it in, so I had to go down the tunnel.

“I told the lads I had injured my pinky finger and they all just laughed, but it [the injury] is a decent one.

“Australia had set up a box-kick, I was under it and I thought ‘What am I going to do? I’m going to have to catch it one-handed.’

Steward said last year’s change to laws allowing chasers an unimpeded route into the aerial contest has made fielding such kicks significantly harder.

“Two weeks ago against Australia, for love or money, I could not bring a high ball down for the first half,” he said.

“I was getting really frustrated because that’s the foundation of my game.

“You have to give the Aussie boys credit – Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii is phenomenal in the air and Harry Potter came really hard at me.

“It has become so much harder. I’ve tried to catch over my head as much as I can. That’s something I’ve been trying to do a lot at Leicester this season, because it gives you extra height, an extra metre.

“It’s made my job more difficult, but I think the law change is no bad thing.

He said that the chance to puncture New Zealand’s aura and inflict a first home win over the All Blacks in 13 years on Saturday was a special opportunity.

Steward has played New Zealand twice in his 39 caps, featuring in the 25-25 draw at Twickenham in 2022 and a 24-17 defeat at Eden Park in 2024.

England’s most recent success over New Zealand came in Yokohama in the 2019 World Cup semi-final, but they have not beaten them at Allianz Stadium since a famous 38-21 win in 2012.

“You can sense there’s like that extra buzz and a bit of excitement and a bit of desperation.

“The All Blacks are iconic aren’t they? With the haka and all that happening, it’s always a cracker.