(CNN) Their all black jerseys are recognizable the world over, but playing with a red poppy on the sleeve to honor those killed in war will be "a special occasion," according to New Zealand rugby coach Steve Hansen.

The All Blacks and opponents England will both sport the iconic emblem of remembrance when they clash at Twickenham, London Saturday, a day before the centenary of Armistice Day signaling the end of World War I.

The wearing of poppies to commemorate the fallen has raised emotions in recent times, with Manchester United footballer Nemanja Matic refusing to wear one on his shirt last weekend because it reminded him of his childhood when the former Yugoslavia was bombed in a NATO-air campaign that lasted 78 days in 1999.

But Hansen says the famous All Blacks will be wearing their poppies with pride.

"Any time you put the poppy on is a pretty special occasion marking one of the disastrous occasions, World War I and what happened then," he told reporters in the New Zealand team's hotel on the banks of London's River Thames Thursday.

"So many people from so many countries lost their lives and it changed families for ever, but they lost them trying to do what was right for their country and there were a lot of New Zealanders involved.

"Thirteen All Blacks from the original team died in World War 1, and the first ever captain was one of them."

There were also 27 Englishmen among the 131 international rugby players to have died in the war. When the players run out, they will pass the spot where soil from the Belgian grave of former captain Ronnie Poulton, who was killed in 1915, was buried at Twickenham in May.

New Zealand flyhalf Beauden Barrett will line up opposite Owen Farrell for England.

The two sides have not met since New Zealand edged a close encounter 24-21 at Twickenham in 2014, but the world champion will take on a resurgent England side fresh off victory against South Africa last weekend.

They will be playing for the Hillary Shield, named after Kiwi great Sir Edmund Hillary, who along with Sherpa Tenzing, was the first person to climb Mt. Everest in 1953.

The name of Hillary, who died in 2008, has extra resonance for the All Blacks.

"Ed Hillary was one of the great men of New Zealand," added Hansen. "He and Tenzing climbed that mountain for the first time, when New Zealand was unheralded, a place of farmers and colonials, so to speak.

"We were good at rugby and not getting a lot of credit for a lot of other stuff and he helped put New Zealand on the map.

"He did a tremendous amount of work in the Himalayas for people who were poorer off than maybe others were, so he's a tremendous man and it's a really great trophy to be playing for."

The All Blacks will wear a poppy on their sleeves against England.

If Hillary put New Zealand on the map, the all-conquering All Blacks have made it the center of the universe when it comes to rugby.

New Zealand has won the last two World Cups, has been the world's top-ranked side since 2009, and has won 23 of its last 27 Tests.

Its only loss this year came in a 36-34 defeat against South Africa in Wellington, New Zealand in September, but as one of sport's most dominant winning machines, Hansen says the All Blacks are used to dealing with the expectation of a rugby-mad nation.

"The one constant thing about being in the All Blacks is you're under pressure constantly," said Hansen.

"You're expected to win every Test match and not only win it but win it really well.

"Once you come to realize that life becomes a little easier. [The pressure] is there, it's not going to go away. And it does, a lot of times, give you an advantage because when other teams get put under pressure they haven't experienced as much as maybe we have."

JUST WATCHED Dan Carter on Japanese rugby and New Zealand Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Dan Carter on Japanese rugby and New Zealand 03:10

'Overwhelming place'

The All Blacks as a unit talk about the expectations on them, and Hansen and his staff encourage the players to "walk towards the pressure."

"It's been there since day one for me," said flyhalf Beauden Barrett, who will be winning his 71st cap against England. "We're used to it, we're expected to win every time we go out there, but we embrace it as a team and walk towards it as a team."

Winger Rieko Ioane, 21, added: "The pressure we put on each other is probably bigger than what everyone perceives we get on the outside.

"That's probably what makes it easier to cope with. The management are real harsh on the boys and the boys are harsh on each other so it makes it a healthy competitive environment."

Hansen said players new to the set-up "feel it straight away" and admitted the All Blacks' world can be an "overwhelming place," but stressed the key is to talk about it and help players cope with it in their own way.

"Once you've acknowledged it's there you can deal with it," he said.

Natural athletes

However, Saturday's clash has a bigger "buzz" than even when New Zealand hosted the British and Irish Lions in 2017, says Hansen.

"We understand who we are and our history, but you've got to be reasonably stupid if you can't work out this is going to be big," he adds.

"There will be 80,000 people, it' s all over the papers, you can't get a ticket -- you must have been on holiday if you can't work out it's going to be big.

"The buzz is bigger, that Lions tour has made it bigger. Drawing the series for us wasn't successful so it's made this week have a sharper edge to it."

Photos: RWC 2019 venues New Zealand beat Australia 34-17 to win its second straight Rugby World Cup at Twickenham Stadium, London in October 2015. Four years on, the focus will shift to Japan, where 12 stadiums throughout the country will host the tournament from September 20 to November 2. Hide Caption 1 of 13 Photos: RWC 2019 venues What: International Stadium Yokohama

Capacity: 72,327

Where: Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture

Matches: New Zealand vs South Africa; Ireland vs Scotland; England vs France; Japan vs Scotland; Semifinals 1 & 2; Final

Hide Caption 2 of 13 Photos: RWC 2019 venues What: Tokyo Stadium

Capacity: 49,970

Where: Tokyo Metropolitan

Matches: Japan vs Romania; France vs Argentina; Australia vs Wales; England v Argentina; New Zealand vs Namibia; Quarterfinals 2 & 4; Bronze final Hide Caption 3 of 13 Photos: RWC 2019 venues What: City of Toyota Stadium

Capacity: 45,000

Where: Toyota, Aichi Prefecture

Matches: Wales vs Georgia; South Africa vs Namibia; Japan vs Samoa; New Zealand vs Italy

Hide Caption 4 of 13 Photos: RWC 2019 venues What: Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa

Capacity: 50,889

Where: Shizuoka Prefecture

Matches: Japan vs Ireland; South Africa vs Italy; Scotland vs Romania; Australia vs Georgia Hide Caption 5 of 13 Photos: RWC 2019 venues What: Hanazono Rugby Stadium

Capacity: 32,228

Where: Higashiosaka City, Osaka Prefecture

Matches: Italy vs Namibia; Argentina vs Tonga; Georgia vs Fiji; USA vs Tonga Hide Caption 6 of 13 Photos: RWC 2019 venues What: Kumamoto Stadium

Capacity: 32,228

Where: Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture

Matches: France vs Tonga; Wales vs Uruguay Hide Caption 7 of 13 Photos: RWC 2019 venues What: Oita Stadium

Capacity: 40,000

Where: Oita Prefecture

Matches: New Zealand vs Canada; Australia vs Uruguay; Wales vs Fiji; Quarterfinals 1 & 3 Hide Caption 8 of 13 Photos: RWC 2019 venues What: Kumagaya Rugby Stadium

Capacity: 25,600

Where: Kumagaya City, Saitama Prefecture

Matches: Russia vs Samoa; Georgia vs Uruguay; Argentina vs USA Hide Caption 9 of 13 Photos: RWC 2019 venues What: Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium

Capacity: 16,334

Where: Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture

Matches: Fiji vs Uruguay; Namibia vs Canada Hide Caption 10 of 13 Photos: RWC 2019 venues What: Sapporo Dome

Capacity: 41,410

Where: Sapporo City

Matches: Australia vs Fiji; England vs Tonga Hide Caption 11 of 13 Photos: RWC 2019 venues What: Kobe Misaki Stadium

Capacity: 30,132

Where: Kobe City

Matches: England vs USA; Scotland vs Samoa; Ireland vs Russia; South Africa vs Canada Hide Caption 12 of 13 Photos: RWC 2019 venues What: Fukuoka Hakatanomori Stadium

Capacity: 21,562

Where: Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture

Matches: Italy vs Canada; France vs USA; Ireland vs Samoa Hide Caption 13 of 13

New Zealand has won three matches since that South Africa defeat, while England's win against the Springboks has given Eddie Jones' side renewed belief after losing six games in a row in 2018.

Hansen, however, knows his team will have to adapt to a different style from England, who traditionally play a tighter, more forward-orientated game

"We've got natural athletes who want to run and carry the ball and pass the ball and have terrific instincts and want to play what's in front of them," he said.

"They'll play a physical game up front, their kicking game is pretty good, their aerial skills to support that are pretty good.

"They'll look to wear you down. They won't go away so if you don't take your opportunities that come when you've got momentum it's going to be a dogfight.

"That's Test footy, you've got to make the most of the moments you get given."