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I don’t usually like to make bold statements, too often they come back to bite you. Call it superstitious but in my opinion making brash and cocky predictions is an invitation to jinx your team.
The risk of getting egg on your face is high.
However this weekend, I sense a big performance coming from the All Blacks. The stars are aligned if you like, and to me this match at Twickenham has the potential to be a memorable occasion.
There are a few reasons for this, the first being that although the All Blacks have had another largely successful season thus far, winning nine, losing one and drawing one, there seems to be a nagging feeling of doubt.
Taking away the first half of the third Test versus England and the Eden Park Bledisloe massacre, the All Blacks have kind of spluttered along this year, not often getting out of third gear.
This might sound crazy especially given the fact that they have wrapped up another Rugby Championship and not to mention the Bledisloe Cup, but in all reality the majority of games have been rather close affairs, in fact four of the nine wins came with margins of less than five points.
Three of those games, England at Eden Park, South Africa in Wellington and Australia in Brisbane, could easily have gone the other way.
Of course in the end the All Blacks came out with the win in these tight encounters which in itself is a sign of a champion side. And ultimately it is only the All Blacks who could be accused of perhaps not performing to their full potential when their season reads 9-1-1. But that nagging persists.
When the All Blacks set their goals for their season, obviously on their list would have been winning the English Series, the Rugby Championship, the Bledisloe Cup and coming through their end of year tour undefeated.
In addition to this there would have been a number of other KPIs that would have been near the top of that list. This includes winning the big matches away from home – Australia in Sydney, South Africa in Johannesburg, Argentina in La Plata, England in London and Wales in Cardiff.
So far in that list the All Blacks have managed a draw, a loss and a solitary win, one has to imagine hardly statistics to keep Steve Hansen satisfied.
This leaves the All Blacks with two big away games left in their season, no disrespect meant towards the Scots. The All Blacks will be determined to leave London and Cardiff with not only victories but also big performances, a parting salvo just to remind their opponents of what they are all about as the rugby world heads into Rugby World Cup.
Taking the USA game out of the equation, the second important reason why I sense a big performance coming surrounds the fact that the past two Test matches the All Blacks have played have been distinctly poor by their own lofty standards.
Sure they contributed to another outstanding clash against the Springboks however it still resulted in a loss and a first half performance the squad were openly critical of. And that was followed by a disappointing and error ridden performance against the Wallabies, with the fact they managed to win probably more owing to the dire state of the Wallabies than anything else.
And that is the point. How often do you see two poor performances in a row from the All Blacks let alone three? For that reason coupled with the fact that their foe this weekend is a massive World Cup contender and then of course adding in the 2012 loss still being fresh in their minds, the All Blacks will be determined and motivated to pull off a big one at Twickenham.
It’s always hard for international sides in their first outing of the season and England no doubt wish they had the All Blacks last in their autumn series, much like they did in 2012.
Instead they get New Zealand focused, relatively fresh but more importantly battle hardened and conditioned.
The All Black camp often talk of putting in a performance they can be proud of. The English on their home patch will be tough and dangerous opponents, but I just suspect that we may get one of those performances from the All Blacks on Saturday.
Of course England will be doing their best to prevent this, and they are one of only a few sides in world rugby currently capable of doing just that.
New Zealand fans at least will be hoping the stars align. Let the battle commence.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.