PAT Sanderson has made it clear -- reputations will count for nothing when the All Blacks arrive at Twickenham tomorrow.
The Worcester Warriors captain is set to win his eighth cap after retaining his place in the England back row as head coach Andy Robinson keeps faith with the side that defeated Australia 26-16 last weekend.
New Zealand have lived up to their billing as the world's best in the first two legs of their grand-slam tour, dispatching Wales 41-3 and Ireland 45-7, but Sanderson insists it will be business as usual for England.
"People have been saying the New Zealand game is bigger than the Australia game. It really isn't," he said. "It's definitely going to be a huge challenge -- the All Blacks are a very talented side and they're playing at the top of their game. But every Test you play in is a huge game and this is no different to any other.
"We've separated ourselves from everything that's been said about the All Blacks. We can't get carried away on the hype about them -- what really matters is what we think and how we prepare and what we do, not what's being said on the outside.
"We're ignoring what's been said and written and it's easy for us to do that -- people had criticised Australia but al-though they've had a bad run of results, they're still a quality side. They're a nation of very tough competitors and it's always pleasing to get a win over them.
"There were things from that game that we can still work on and hopefully we'll put them right this week."
For the 28-year-old flanker, that means pitting himself against New Zealand's formidable blindside Richie Mc-Caw. Sanderson is not fazed.
"McCaw's world-class, but so were George Smith and Phil Waugh last week," he said. "McCaw's a fantastic player but I'm going to get on with my own game and make sure I play to the best of my ability.
"Hopefully on the day that will be good enough. We've just got to carry on focusing on ourselves."
Sanderson has felt very much at home at England's Pennyhill Park base in Bag-shot, Surrey, and was delighted to earn another chance to impress as he looks to establish himself in Robinson's team.
"To get picked again was the first objective," Sanderson said. "The next thing is getting out there again.
"It's a massive task for us and it's something I'm really excited about and looking forward to.
"It was a fantastic experience last Saturday and I'm certainly enjoying myself. It's a really good atmosphere to be in -- we're getting a really good team spirit going, which makes it easy to enjoy.
"I'm relishing every minute of being here and that makes the international experience all the more pleasurable.
"Pennyhill is a lovely place and all the facilities we need are on-site. We don't want for much.
"That's important because preparation is everything and knowing that everything is in place around you just allows you to concentrate on the job in hand."
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