New Zealand enforcer Keith Robinson admits he will be treading a fine line when he resumes hostilities with Danny Grewcock in a tussle that could ignite Twickenham.
Robinson was a key figure in 2004 when England were dismantled over both Tests of their summer tour with his aggression proving a constant menace to the world champions.
A towering performance during the second Test in Auckland saw the 29-year-old Waikato hardman take a knee in the back from a frustrated Simon Shaw, who was sent off as a result.
In both Tests – three of Robinson’s six caps have been won against England – he faced Grewcock and Sunday’s collision will be their third meeting in total.
Grewcock also has a fearsome reputation – and a disciplinary record to match with biting, kicking and stamping offences against the All Blacks alone ending in lengthy suspensions.
One of the incidents involved All Black golden boy Dan Carter, who starts in place of hamstring injury victim Nick Evans, and he admitted: "I can’t complain if New Zealanders hate me."
The two locks are a potentially explosive mix that could start the Twickenham fireworks early – with Robinson lighting the fuse by declaring he will not allow New Zealand to be dominated.
"I’ve heard people say about when I butted heads with Danny when we played England in 2004, but I can’t remember it all. I might have hit him in a couple of rucks or something like that, but no butting" he said.
"You play what’s in front of you and I have to be careful with that. You don’t want to let the team down, but then you also don’t want the opposition to get on top of you.
"My game’s based on being physical at the breakdown and trying to dominate my opposite man. I don’t like it when we get dominated at ruck-time. So I’ll do my job to make sure we get ball going forward.
"You’ve got to play hard and with aggression, but do it in a way that doesn’t get the ref looking at you. The last thing you want to do is let the boys down.
"But it’s an experience thing. Maybe I’ve been lucky in the past with some of the things I’ve done. But, hopefully I can carry that experience on."
