England's last outing was a narrow 21-20 win over Australia in Sydney but while that brought some confidence to the team Johnson realises that more is needed to down the All Blacks.

"It's about time England beat New Zealand," Johnson said.

"But this is going to be a real battle.

"The squad's in a pretty good place but we will be tested mentally and physically. We have got to be up to it.

"It's about getting the balance right. We have to have the confidence and belief in what we do.

"We've also got to be realistic and know that to beat these guys we're going to have to play the best this team's played."