New Zealand captain Richie McCaw says his players will be fighting fit to face England on Saturday, despite a virus having struck the All Blacks squad.

Several players were laid low by vomiting and diarrhoea prior to last weekend’s 33-10 win over Wales and the virus had spread to 30 members of the 32-man squad by the middle of this week.

However, those who fell ill are now on the road to recovery and McCaw says it will not put them off their stride at Twickenham.

“I had a bit of it myself but I feel pretty good today. It knocked the stuffing out of a few of the guys.

“For a day or so the boys didn’t have a lot to eat and were a little ginger yesterday.”

Meanwhile, McCaw has expressed solidarity with his England counterpart Chris Robshaw, who came in for criticism over his strategic decisions in the recent defeats by Australia and South Africa.

More worryingly for Robshaw, British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland has even questioned his ability to play as an openside flanker, but McCaw feels the 26-year-old is the right man for both the captaincy and the number seven shirt.

“The best way to learn as a captain is to go through those experiences,” the Crusaders flanker said.

“There’s no doubt he’ll be better off having been through tight matches. I’ve had that myself over the years.

“The key to leading is being able to make the right decisions when it counts. But the right decision is not clear all the time, so to say something was right or wrong — it’s easy in hindsight.”

England fell to Australia and South Africa in their past two outings, and Robshaw, who led Harlequins to the Premiership title last season, faced questions about his ability to think clearly under pressure, but he believes the experiences will make him a better captain.

“It has been different to previous weeks and it has made me really appreciate the players and coaches and the back-room staff that we have in this squad at the moment,” Robshaw said.

“Everyone has been terrific. There have been a lot of lessons for myself to learn and move forward, whether it is decision-making or other things on the pitch.

“We have to take those lessons and look forward. We can’t be dwelling on what happened the last couple of weeks.”

The New Zealanders are bidding for a 10th consecutive victory over England on Saturday, while a win would also see them finish the year undefeated.