Lewis Moody fears England could face backlash from All Blacks

Captain Lewis Moody is warning his England team they will face a "very fired up" New Zealand on Saturday.

He believes the All Blacks' 26-24 loss to Australia five days ago has made the world's leading team even more dangerous at the start of four successive Tests for his men at Twickenham.

Moody hopes that the confidence generated by England's 21-20 win over Australia in June will help his side stand up to the task.

He said: "We had a good victory in the summer in terms of building this team but we appreciate how tough the road ahead will be.

"You don't become the best team in the world with one away win and this series of internationals starts with the No1 team, who are coming off the back of a defeat that will only rile them even more. They will be very fired up, which means we face a very steep and difficult challenge."

The flanker faces a massive personal battle against rival captain Richie McCaw, who is part of an outstanding back row unit that will attempt to dominate the home team at the breakdown.

But Moody, who is only just back from an eye injury, is raring to go and is backing his young players to rise to the occasion.

He said: "I remember my first game against the All Blacks and I was ridiculously excited. You appreciate and respect them and that makes it even more enjoyable when you get the chance to play your first game against them. We are not going to get bogged down in thinking about any one-to-one confrontations in this match."