Welcome back to the Ruck, the journalist's rugby podcast from the Times and the Sunday Times as we head into the third week of November

internationals and the biggest week from an England point of view. I'm Alfie Reynolds alongside

Will Keleher and Alex Lowe. We're back up at the England training base. This is the big one,

isn't it, lad? This is the one Alex that was circled in the calendar before a ball was kicked

this November? For England, definitely. I think we all saw the Australia team likely to deliver the performance.

They did outside of the window, tired as they looked tired all autumn.

Fiji delivered the performance.

I think we expected, which was exciting, open, aggressive, attacking for an hour and then wouldn't be able to match England

in the last 20 minutes, fitness, etc. This is the game that will define the autumn, but I think

is also a statement game for this Borthwick period with England. I think they've gone nine in a row,

nine wins in a row. There is

definite progress. If you look at, you look at where this England team were a year ago,

compared to where they are now, they were very close to beating the All Black three times.

I think they can and should and maybe will beat them this weekend. Better team, better squad,

better mindset, better everything.

There's a lot of riding on it. And I would hope that we get a real bouncing, fizzing,

Twicken them as well. I can't wait. Like, we probably get a bit used to these weeks sometimes

because we are lucky and we do a lot of them and we basically are there whenever

England play but I'm really really looking forward to Saturday.

England, New Zealand at Twickenham is a great fixture isn't it? And it's not always a great game

but on, as you say, circling on a calendar using the old school thing, I was thinking when you

said that is it is the modern equivalent like getting a notification off your time tree, maybe? Doesn't have the same ring to it, does it? No, not really. But it's just that thing of, like, the best stuff in sport is when you're about to kick off whatever game it is or have the first ball of an ashes next Friday or something like, and you go, I don't know what's going to happen, and this is going to be great. and I think that's what Saturday at 10 past three will be like we'll have the hucker we'll have swing low as usual ringing round during it and we'll all go right what have both of these teams got and that's a great place to be in isn't it really even so it's going to be wicked yeah it's really funny, depending on who you speak to in the England camp this week,

...