Waiting for the All Blacks to play at Twickenham is a little
bit like waiting for a first date with a professional kick-boxer. If it goes well, you’ll get a hell of a lot
of street credibility and people aren’t going to mess with you anymore, and if
goes badly then you will not only end up with the stuffing kicked out of you
but also pretty comprehensively embarrassed as well. It’s why England fans were perhaps a little
nervous going into Saturday’s fixture – shorn of key attacking weapons in Alex
Corbisiero and Manu Tuilagi, and the raw talent of Marland Yarde and Christian
Wade, it was difficult to see how they could threaten a side that has topped
the world rankings for 4 consecutive years and won its last 12 games against
top-quality opposition. There may have been
hope for a glorious victory and a great night out – but the expectation was for
the ‘stuffing-kicking’ outcome instead.
Those fears seemed to be realised when the visitors exploded
out of the blocks in the opening minutes at Twickenham. Lancaster would have emphasised to his men
the utter importance of kicking with accuracy against the best counter
attackers in the world, but instead Lee Dickson kicked too far for his chasers,
and too short to place the All Blacks under pressure. The visitors counter attacked through Ma’a
Nonu, who forced Mike Brown to concede a throw by his own line. From the lineout, Carter’s quick flick was
picked up by the wonderfully influential Kieran Read, who drew in 3 defenders
by the touchline before flicking it back inside to the returning Julian Savea,
and the big winger strode in unopposed for the game’s opening score after just
2 minutes. Dickson was again partly to
blame for the huge gap that opened up for Savea, unnecessarily committing to
the tackle on Read when he was being dealt with by Chris Ashton and Billy
Vunipola, compounding a disappointing start for the England 9.
The Twickenham crowd seemed shell-shocked but England, to
their credit, wasted no time in looking for a counter punch. After Ben Foden rose majestically to take the
restart, Billy Twelvetrees and Vunipola carried strongly to build field
position and force the All Blacks into conceding a penalty when Carter failed
to roll away. Owen Farrell stepped up and
kicked the 3-pointer, and the hosts were off the mark. Perhaps the opening couple of minutes were
just a fluke for the All Blacks?
Any thoughts that might have been pertaining to that notion
were swiftly dispelled as the world champions proceeded to boss the next 10 minutes,
with Dan Carter varying the attack beautifully and taking advantage of England’s
narrow defence – using quick hands or cross-field kicks to put the likes of
Savea and the electric Charles Piutau into space. With Read still offloading with sublime dexterity,
the men in white had the likes of Chris Robshaw, Joe Launchbury and Courtney
Lawes to thank for some intelligent and aggressive defending that kept the
relentless waves of black from their line – for a while. After Ben Foden had raced away with an
intercept – only to be called back for an offside penalty which was knocked
over by Carter – England found themselves unable to mount any pressure of their
own, turning over possession on every attack with Joel Tomkins particularly guilty
on a number of occasions. By contrast,
the All Blacks were utterly clinical.
After prop Ben Franks had burst through a gap left by a miscommunication
between Robshaw and Dan Cole, the ball was spun right to Read, who galloped
past Foden to dive over in the corner.
Carter swept over a magnificent conversion and the visitors had a
seemingly unassailable lead of 14 points.
Seemingly unassailable to us mere fans, but not to Robshaw,
as he showed big cajones in turning down a kickable penalty off the restart to
go for the corner. It was a statement of
intent that eventually paid dividends, with the England packs snarling and
smashing their way over the All Blacks line twice. The first time, off a lineout drive, there
was no clear evidence of Vunipola grounding the ball – despite all common sense
opinions suggesting that he had managed to do so – but there was little doubt
the second time. Cole made mincemeat of Tony Woodcock in the scrum and,
although the ball went loose at the base, Launchbury scooped up the pill to
touch down for his second try in as many tests.
Farrell’s conversion brought England within 7.
Twickenham was then subjected to the sad sight of seeing
Carter leave on the day of his 100th cap, but the All Blacks game
hardly suffered with substitute Aaron Cruden immediately knocking over 3 points
for the visitors following an offside by Robshaw and Twelvetrees. The All Blacks were rocked, though, by the
sight of Read trotting off the field to the sinbin following a series of infringements
by the men in black. It not only meant
that Farrell could claw 3 points back from the ensuing penalty, but he also could
add another 3 five minutes later as the England scrum took advantage of the
weakened Kiwi pack to claim another favourable blast of Craig Joubert’s whistle,
taking the hosts to within 4 points at the half time break.
It had been absorbing, relentlessly physical and fast. Despite concerns that they couldn’t compete,
England were taking control of possession and territory, with their pack gradually
gaining the upper hand in the colossal arm wrestle between the two sets of
forwards. The second half started as
intensely as the first one finished and, after Chris Ashton had kicked away a
promising opportunity built by powerful carries from Cole, Twelvetrees and
Vunipola, Cruden hit the posts with a tricky penalty. Farrell, though, was looking utterly
unshakeable off the tee, and added two penalties after Ashton was impeded
chasing a kick and Richie McCaw was penalised for going off his feet in a
ruck. For the first time in the match,
England were in the lead – and they were good value for it, too, as the English
pack broke the gainline time and again against the All Blacks.
But this New Zealand side hasn’t carried the title of ‘the most
dominant team in the history of the world’ for no reason. Aided by England’s faltering lineout – which coincided
with the introduction of Tom Youngs – the world champions once again
demonstrated their uncanny ability to strike at crucial moments, just when the
game seemed to be slipping away from them.
They injected another 10% - another 10% no side in the world seems to
possess – and the likes of Israel Dagg and Charles Piutau began to purr into
life as the All Blacks started hammering the England line. The defence, from Farrell, Robshaw and Mike
Brown in particular, was superb, but eventually something slipped – and it was
an opening created by a piece of All Black magic that has become almost mundane
with this side. With quick ball, Ma’a
Nonu slipped a sensational offload between Lawes and Ben Morgan, allowing Savea
to show immense strength to touch down despite an excellent double tackle from
Brown and Youngs. Cruden made no mistake
with the conversion, and the natural order had been restored.
The momentum had shifted, and it was a momentum that the men
in black carried through to the end.
Despite intelligent kicking from substitute Ben Youngs and big carries
from Morgan, the All Blacks had the extra class where it mattered – with Piutau
causing havoc in the open spaces and Read continuing to drive forward. England were out on their feet, and it showed
as Toby Flood failed to roll away and was penalised, giving Cruden 3 points,
before the last 10 minutes played out with the hosts failing to make the same
indents in the Kiwi defence as they had done over the middle 40 of the game. It left the final score at 22 – 30 to the
visitors; the best side in the world continued their quest for a magnificent
perfect season with their 13th straight victory.
But, in defeat, England finally answered some questions. Some of the answers were negative – Joel
Tomkins is not an international-quality centre, Chris Ashton and Ben Foden do
not provide adequate threat on the wings, despite their industry – but the vast
majority of answers were positive.
England officially have a pack to take on and better the world’s best. Billy Twelvetrees can make the step up to
take on top-level internationals. There
is now a real depth of talent and genuine competition for places up front. It’s not the complete package, but it’s a
start – and a good job, too. The
countdown begins now.
England Player
Ratings
Mike Brown – 8 – Consistently very good. Safe at the back and always beating defenders
going forward. Some of his defensive
work was magnificent. Has made the 15
shirt his own.
Chris Ashton – 6 – Probably his best performance of the
autumn, but not good enough to keep his critics at bay. Looked lively with some good carries at
times, but kicked the ball away in a great position in the second half.
Joel Tomkins – 4 – I like Tomkins, he’s an honest,
hard-working player, but he’s not good enough.
His handling was disappointing and he offered no threat whatsoever going
forward.
Billy Twelvetrees – 8 – A game in which he grew up. Some superb stepping and carrying, coupled
with decent distribution, finally helped fix and draw in All Blacks
defenders.
Ben Foden – 6 – Thought he’d scored with a sharp intercept,
but it wasn’t to be. Utter commitment
throughout and did nothing wrong, but had no chance to show his running ability
in open space.
Owen Farrell – 7 – You cannot put a price on that ability to
build points on a the scoreboard. Was
flawless off the kicking tee and great in defence, but questions still remain
over his ability to run a backline.
Lee Dickson – 5 – An awful start handed the initiative to
New Zealand and all too often he got caught dithering at the base of a
ruck. Improved as the game went on with
some tenacious defensive work.
Joe Marler – 7 – Held his own in the scrum very well and was
a real force in defence, with one hit on Nonu in particular rattling the bones
of everyone watching.
Dylan Hartley – 7 – Not quite as obvious as last week, but
still a powerful figure in the loose and ran a perfect lineout. A couple of silly penalties at key points
restricts his score, though.
Dan Cole – 8 – Justified his return. Became more dominant in the scrum as the game
progressed and, on watching the game a second time, he got through a huge
amount of work at ruck time. Key to
England’s continuity in the middle period.
Joe Launchbury – 8 – Was well on his way to another man of
the match performance before being forced off with a shoulder injury. A grafter and a poacher – carrying strongly,
tackling hard and staying alert for his try.
Courtney Lawes – 9 – Magnificent. That second row berth now has three worthy
contenders but Lawes looks to have finally lived up to his promise, delivering
shuddering hit after hit and carrying with a colossal amount of dynamism. England’s man of the match – though I’d give
the overall award to Kieran Read (despite his yellow card and Savea’s clinical display).
Tom Wood – 8 – I’ve usually thought the ‘new Richard Hill’
tag was a little over the top, but I stand corrected. Unfussy, unspectacular, massively
effective. An absolute workhorse around
the park who was everywhere in defence.
Would like to see him carry more though.
Chris Robshaw – 8 – Loses a mark for his role in the All
Blacks’ second try but was pretty much flawless aside from that. Carried hard, tackled harder and worked
expertly in slowing the All Blacks’ ball down.
Matched McCaw – there are not many who can claim that. Led with intelligence and passion as well,
inspiring his side by playing on despite sporting a gigantic shiner that
effectively meant he had to play with one eye closed.
Billy Vunipola – 8 – Aggressive and effective. Was not overawed by the occasion and gave his
all for an hour before running out of puff.
Constantly attracted at least 3 defenders.
Subs used
Tom Youngs – 5 – Not the impact he would have wanted. Some dynamic work in the loose couldn’t hide
the fact that the lineout faltered when he was introduced.
Dave Wilson – No time to make an impact.
Geoff Parling – 6 – A busy display although he was unable to
make some of the obvious inroads that Launchbury did. Gave his all.
Ben Morgan – 8 – Matched Vunipola in the short time he was
on for effectiveness on the carry as he impersonated an angry rhinoceros. England now have two gargantuan number 8s
capable of causing havoc.
Ben Youngs – 6 – Kicked well but the supply of quick ball
was drying up by the time he got onto the field.
Toby Flood – 5 – No time to have an impact with the ball in
hand and will be disappointed – although arguably not to blame – for the
penalty that effectively sealed the game.
Alex Goode – No time to make an impact.
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