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Brad Shields ready to deal with emotions facing 'enemies' when England play the All Blacks
By Online Editors
Wasps flanker Brad Shields is preparing to ride a wave of emotions if he is named to play the All Blacks for the first time this weekend for England at Twickenham.
"There are going to be some emotions, there is no hiding from that," Shields told BBC Sport.
"But it's how you deal with it."
The ex-Hurricanes flanker will potentially face off against some of his closest friends, including ex-teammate Beauden Barrett. Shields, who represented New Zealand at under-20 level, made his debut for England in June and started his first test against at Twickenham against South Africa in 12-11 win.
"What's the old saying 'enemies on the field and best friends after the game' - that's my mentality," Shields added.
"I've got some really good mates in the group and it would be a shame to stop talking to them just because you are playing for a different team.
Shields qualified for England through his parents, deciding to make the switch of allegiance and leaving the chance to represent the All Blacks and his beloved Hurricanes behind.
"The Hurricanes were very supportive of my decision, they made the whole transition a lot easier and they are always going to hold a special place in my heart.
"I have taken a different route and everyone has been supportive of that."
Another New Zealand-born England representative, Ben Te'o, explained the mood in the camp has been lifted following a first up win in the Autumn Internationals.
"Everything is better when you win," Te'o said.
"The air is fresher, the food tastes better, you sleep better.
"If you can just get in that winning mentality, the boys get confidence and there is a real buzz about the place.
England have just six wins from 40 clashes between the two sides, with their last win coming in 2012 at Twickenham.
England squad to play All Blacks
Forwards: Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby), Jamie George (Saracens), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints) co-captain, Alec Hepburn (Exeter Chiefs), Maro Itoje (Saracens), George Kruis (Saracens), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Zach Mercer (Bath Rugby), Ben Moon (Exeter Chiefs), Brad Shields (Wasps), Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins), Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby), Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs), Mark Wilson (Newcastle Falcons)
Backs: Chris Ashton (Sale Sharks), Danny Care (Harlequins), Elliot Daly (Wasps), Owen Farrell (Saracens) co-captain, George Ford (Leicester Tigers), Jonny May (Leicester Tigers), Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Ben Te'o (Worcester Warriors), Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
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Latest Comments
oh ok, seems strange you didn't put the limit at 7 given you said you thought 8 was too many!
Why did you say "I've told you twice already how I did it but your refuse to listen" when you had clearly not told me that you'd placed a limit of 8 teams per league?
"Agreed with 4 pool of 4 and home and away games?"
I understand the appeal of pools of 4, but 6 pool games might not go down well with the French or the South Africans given already cramped schedules. I do still think that you're right that that would be the best system, but there is going to be a real danger of French and SA sides sending b-teams which could really devalue the competition unless there is a way to incentivise performance, e.g. by allowing teams that do well one year to directly qualify for the next year's competition.
Go to commentsFoster should never have been appointed, and I never liked him as a coach, but the hysteria over his coaching and Sam Cane as a player was grounded in prejudice rather than fact.
The New Zealand Rugby public were blinded by their dislike of Foster to the point of idiocy.
Anything the All Blacks did that was good was attributed to Ryan and Schmidt and Fozzie had nothing to do with it.
Any losses were solely blamed on Foster and Cane.
Foster did develop new talent and kept all the main trophies except the World Cup.
His successor kept the core of his team as well as picking Cane despite him leaving for overseas because he saw the irreplaceable value in him.
Razor will take the ABs to the next level, I have full confidence in that.
He should have been appointed in 2020.
But he wasn’t. And the guy who was has never been treated fairly.
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