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Lewis Moody has revealed that England have developed a siege mentality after being heavily criticised for their displays this month.
The flanker is the one England player to emerge with any credit from the defeat to Australia and the scrappy win over Argentina.
Moody says the players have been fired up by the flak they have taken and accepts that if they don't return to form they will be in for a very hard time against New Zealand tomorrow.
"People have written us off, talking about the All Blacks going to hammer us," he said. "There's an element of us against the world creeping in. You want to show why people are wrong and we have to play with twice as much passion and pride as usual. We want to go out from the autumn Tests with a bang."
Team manager Martin Johnson said: "If we win by a point against New Zealand it goes on a not very long list of English victories against them."
The Rugby Football Union today announced that Francis Baron will retire as chief executive next year. Baron, who will then be 65, is going in 2010 to ensure his departure does not clash with RFU chairman Martyn Thomas, who is quitting the year after.
