New Zealand v England, 2nd Test
Farrell: Patience is key for England
Tom Hamilton in Auckland
June 10, 2014
Owen Farrell hopes to start Saturday's Test against New Zealand © Getty Images
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Owen Farrell has emphasised the need for patience if Saturday's Test between England and New Zealand becomes another tight affair heading into the closing stages of the game.

England pushed New Zealand all the way last Saturday only to fall to a 78th-minute try from Conrad Smith. It capped off a frantic few minutes for England who had to hold New Zealand at bay after they gained key field position form a quick-tap penalty from Aaron Cruden.

And for Farrell, he believes patience is essential if you are to overcome New Zealand on their own patch.

"To beat New Zealand in the last few minutes you need to be patient," Farrell said. "A try takes only 30 seconds to be scored and that can be done before or after the 80 minutes is up. It's about not panicking, doing what you've done in training and making sure you take your chances."

Farrell missed the first Test due to playing in the Aviva Premiership final but will hope to play some part in Saturday's match in Dunedin and he may start in place of Freddie Burns despite his impressive performance in Eden Park. Farrell has a record of won one, lost one against the All Blacks and he is fully aware of the challenge facing England at the weekend.

"We have a huge amount of respect for them - they're the best team in the world for a reason," he said. "What they've done over the last two years has been unbelievable.

"We want to challenge ourselves against them because ultimately that's where we want to be. But we have a huge sense of self-belief and back ourselves against anybody.

"It's big to win the next game because we're in a series. If we lose the next one we're out. To push it to the end is massive, but it's all about putting our effort into the performance and not worrying about the result too much."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
Tom Hamilton is the Associate Editor of ESPNscrum.

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