FORMER Wootton Bassett youngster Jonny May has issued a defiant response to the perception in New Zealand that England will be lambs to the slaughter by declaring: “We are not a rubbish team”.

Stuart Lancaster’s tourists have been installed as 1/16 underdogs by local bookmakers for Saturday’s first Test in Auckland with an expectant home public eager to toast a resounding All Blacks victory.

The statistics make for frightening reading; New Zealand are chasing a 15th successive victory, have won every match at Eden Park since 1994 and have lost just once since lifting the World Cup in 2011.

In contrast England have been hamstrung by the absence of key players from Aviva Premiership finalists Northampton and Saracens and an injury list that has accounted for four Test British and Irish Lions.

“We have got nothing to lose going, but at the same time we have great players in our team,” the Gloucester wing said.

“We are going forward as a team at the moment. We are not a rubbish team, we have good principles, we have good structures and everyone is buying into that.

“We are a tough outfit to play against for anyone, irrelevant of the new players that have come in because of the culture we have created as a team and the way we play. It is easy for players to jump in to it.

“We are underdogs for this game. People have written us off in a way, but that's not an excuse.

“We put pressure on ourselves as a group, we want a performance and we will go out there and give it everything.”

England experienced mixed fortunes on Tuesday with the news that influential All Black Kieran Read will miss the first Test due to concussion being offset by Billy Twelvetrees’ absence from training once again.

The loss of number eight Read, the International Rugby Board’s player of the year, will be keenly felt while a doubt hangs over prolific wing Julian Savea who is struggling with a knee injury.

England’s own plans have been disrupted yet again with Twelvetrees’ inability to take part in the final training session.

The 25-year-old from Gloucester, who has been sidelined since May 3 because of an ankle problem, is set to be replaced by Bath’s Kyle Eastmond.

May has yet to cross the international whitewash, but understands the reasons behind that shortcoming.

“During the Six Nations I learnt that Test rugby is a big mental jump - the pressure, accuracy and intensity are higher, but I thought I came out of it a better player,” he said.

“We weren’t great at Gloucester at the end of the season but I went away and worked on things and I feel more confident in myself.

“In the Six Nations I noticed a couple of times that I could have backed myself a little bit more on the outside.

“I think that’s a confidence thing, being involve in that for the first time. I have gone back to club level and worked on that.”

“It was frustrating coming off the pitch thinking I could have gone for it then. It just wasn’t quite there but I’ve learnt from it and I want to put it right.”