DAVID WILSON insisted yesterday that England are refusing to accept their role as victims-in-waiting before their first test against world champions New Zealand.

The prop will start against the All Blacks at Eden Park on Saturday as part of a team plagued by injury, with head coach Stuart Lancaster poised to name his full team tomorrow night.

Arrayed against them will be a vastly experienced All Blacks line-up that won all 14 of their tests last year and have triumphed in every match at Eden Park since 1994.

“If you look at the world rankings we’d probably be underdogs, but coming to New Zealand that’s to be expected,” said Wilson.

“We’ll thrive on that and give it everything.

“You have to believe you can win every game. It’s a big challenge because they’re the best team in the world, but we’re here to test ourselves against the best leading up to the World Cup.

“We have belief within the camp and what we’ve done in the past.

“It’s a brilliant opportunity for everybody involved. As a schoolboy I used to dream about playing in New Zealand. And here I am.

“You know they’re a class act, but they’re 15 men and so are we. We did actually beat them two years ago and we can remember that.”