n my preview for this game, I placed a lot of stock on the fact that Brodie Retallick had (cheekily or otherwise) implied that he didn’t know who any of the England team were. Now, in this day and age of video analysis, I suspect that he may have just been doing a bit of jesting (these Kiwis have an odd sense of humour – try watching the bizarre, but admittedly excellent, Flight of the Concordes), but it certainly summed up the situation nicely as the All Blacks prepared to take on England at Eden Park on Saturday.
Here were the 2013 Invincibles, unbeaten since November
2012, with their last defeat before that coming prior to the 2011 World
Cup. A side with match winners all over
the park, despite the fact that world class players such as Kieran Read and Dan
Carter were injured/sunbathing for this first test match. Despite a couple of substitute debutants on
the bench (including a long overdue introduction for the superb TJ Peranara) this
was the most established side in world rugby, playing at the most intimidating
venue in world rugby. And against them
were a side who – apparently – nobody knew, with 4th choice players
filling in at hooker, fly half and centre. Surely it would be no contest? Surely England’s realistic objective should
just be to ensure that the Kiwis knew who they were by the end of the match?
England actually set about introducing themselves in
spectacular fashion straight away from the kick off, with Chris Robshaw leading
the way. The England skipper burst
straight through a ruck in centre-field, with just Israel Dagg ahead of him and
James Haskell on his shoulder, but his support was denied when Ma’a Nonu
clearly hauled the support back off the ball.
It was spotted by referee Nigel Owens, but it was just a penalty –
although, to my mind, there is little doubt that it should have been a yellow
card, since it was a cynical infringement in a try scoring opportunity. Perhaps Nonu was saved by the fact that the
game was only 2 minutes old, but either way Freddie Burns coolly slotted the 3
points to give England the early lead.
The All Blacks were looking rusty to say the least, with the
ball going to ground often and veterans such as Nonu booting the ball out on
the full, but they were given a prime attacking position when Owens made his
second blunder by wrongly calling a knock on against Jonny May, even though the
ball clearly went backwards. The mistake
allowed the hosts to set up camp in the England 22, where they forced a penalty,
which was stroked over by Aaron Cruden.
England may had been written off by the majority of those
watching at Eden Park, but they then delivered a stark warning to remind
everybody that they meant business.
Robshaw and Haskell once again made metres down the left, and Ben Youngs
recycled quickly to give Burns the chance to slide over in the corner – but play
was pulled back for a slight knock-on by Mike Brown. The warning shot had been fired, however, and
it was difficult to argue that they didn’t deserve a 3 point lead after Burns
slotted another penalty 8 minutes later.
Things were going well for the Leicester-found fly half as
he shook off the rustiness of a poor season with a succession of devastating
up-and-unders and smart touch finders, and it was one of his kicks which forced
a scrum to allow Joe Marler to win a penalty, which Burns again nailed from
distance. The men in white were now 9 –
3 up, and Eden Park had gone very quiet indeed – aside from the relentless
booing of the kicker, which is frankly pathetic from supporters of a team as
iconic and dominant as the All Blacks.
Games against New Zealand, though, carry a feeling of
inevitability with them and, as you would expect, the Kiwis began to pile the
pressure back on the English. Cruden’s
kicking was putting the All Blacks into dangerous positions, with Aaron Smith
probing expertly for gaps, but it was English errors which were giving them
points. Firstly, Chris Robshaw came in at
the side of a ruck and then Haskell was penalised at a breakdown, allowing the
Hurricanes 10 to slot both kicks to draw the scores level. With half-time looming, the visitors launched
one further attack, with Manu Tuilagi breaking away after collecting a kick ricochet,
but Burns was just off-target with an attempted drop goal – the only mistake of
a very impressive half for the talented 10.
England had made New Zealand and the supporters acutely aware
that they believed they could win the game with even a mix n’match team out, but
the hosts were level largely due to errors from players and – it had to be said
– Nigel Owens at key times. But there
was nothing lucky about the way the All Blacks started the second period,
coming out fired up and forcing England onto the back foot immediately, with
Dagg scything his way through the defence to bring the crowd to life. For 10 minutes, the All Blacks pressed, with
Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick making hard yards in the middle of the
field, and Nigel Owens yet again gifting them field position with another
shocker of a knock-on call. England’s
defence held firm, however, with Burns tackling bravely and Robshaw and Geoff
Parling getting through mountains of work, although their line came dangerously
close to being breached when Aaron Smith kicked ahead only for Jerome Kaino to
knock on with the line begging.
But it was from this resulting scrum that England re-established
themselves, with Ben Morgan galloping off the base to charge 30 metres, before
Kyle Eastmond stepped past Nonu and Cruden to launch a stunning attack into All
Blacks territory, with May and Brown also making good yards. It all came to nothing as Dave Wilson knocked
on in a promising position – for the third time – but the momentum was now with
the visitors. May then kicked ahead with
a hopeful grubber, but substitute Beauden Barrett made a hash of the loose
ball, allowing the Gloucester man to regather right by the All Black line,
forcing Malakai Fekitoa to concede a penalty for not releasing. Given the fact that Fekitoa conceded right on
his own line when quick ball may well have resulted in a try, the debutant can
consider himself lucky not to have seen yellow, but England settled for another
Burns penalty to give them the lead.
It was a lead which lasted all of three minutes though, as
Cruden punished Yarde for going offside with another 3 points, but things were
about to get much worse. Tuilagi made a
huge gallop into the Kiwi 22, shrugging off 4 tacklers in the process, but the
good work was undone when Ben Youngs spilt the ball at the ruck, allowing
Retallick to gallop 40 metres towards the line before being hauled down
superbly by Yarde. The new Quins man
then unfortunately lay all over the wrong side of the ball, and rightfully
received a yellow card for his troubles, but Owens had demonstrated an
infuriating inconsistency by yellowing this offence and not the previous All
Black offence, which was closer to the try line. I am generally a big fan of Owens and I have
very rarely claimed that a referee had a decisive impact on a game due to their
mistakes, but this – for me – was one such occasion. Cruden put the hosts ahead for the first time
in the game, but the real news was that England were down to 14 men.
Enter Danny Cipriani.
6 years out of an England jersey and, judging by the reaction of the
Eden Park faithful, the most unpopular man in New Zealand for some reason. But he responded superbly, making a slicing
break through the defence and forcing another penalty, which he slotted from 40
metres, demonstrating ‘nads of solid iron in the process. But, I mentioned a feeling of inevitability earlier
– and, with 14 men, that translates as certainty. With Cruden running a kickable penalty, the
All Blacks hammered the English line and, although they were held up short
once, they weren’t to be denied, as Ben Smith flicked on the ball beautifully
to Conrad Smith to score in the corner.
It was typical, gutsy and heartbreaking All Blacks, and another reminder
as to why they are the undisputed kings of world rugby. Cruden missed the conversion, but with 1 minute
to play, the game was won.
England went down 20 – 15, and there is no shame in that
scoreline. There will be pride but there
will also be frustration – frustration that they could and should have beaten a
near-full strength All Blacks outfit at Eden Park with a weakened XV, but they
were undone by unforced errors at key times.
It’s food for thought though, and Lancaster has some big decisions to
make next week after Haskell, Eastmond, Burns and Parling all impressed despite
obviously not being first choice. I’m
not sure if they’ll all earn a start, but one thing is for sure – New Zealand
sure knows who they are now.
New Zealand Player Ratings
Israel Dagg – 6 – Surprisingly shaky under the high ball but
one run reminded us of his threat
Ben Smith – 6 – Kept quiet but a couple of classy moments
were produced at key times.
Conrad Smith – 7 – Quality player as always. Defended intelligently and made the call to
go blind for the try.
Ma’a Nonu – 4 – This should have been the game where he
stamped his authority on proceedings. He
didn’t, making mistakes and being outshone by newbie half his size.
Corey Jane – 5 – Effectively invisible. I didn’t realise he was on the field.
Aaron Cruden – 7 – Crucially, he was flawless off the
tee. Not always perfect with the ball in
hand, he nonetheless had a solid game.
Aaron Smith – 8 – The best Kiwi on the park. Very quick brain and feet made for a
dangerous combination.
Tony Woodcock– 6 – Held his own against Davey Wilson but was
not conspicuous elsewhere.
Dane Coles – 5 – Under a lot of pressure in the lineout and
couldn’t influence in the loose.
Owen Franks – 5 – Joe Marler creamed him in the scrum and he
didn’t really recover
Sam Whitelock – 7 – A physical, brooding display which
helped the hosts get a foothold in the game.
Brodie Retallick – 7 – He will certainly know his opposition
now, but he still impressed with his athleticism and one great break in
particular.
Liam Messam – 8 – A brick wall in defence and a real menace at
the breakdown, slowing English ball down constantly
Richie McCaw – 7 – Not vintage Richie, but he grew into the game
with a couple of key turnovers late on.
Largely outshone by Robshaw, though.
Jerome Kaino – 6 – Solid in defence but there wasn’t really
a whole lot else he offered. They really
missed Read’s athleticism.
Subs Used
Beauden Barrett struggled at full back but Malakai Fekitoa
looked pretty lively, whilst Victor Vito was instrumental in the build up to
the score.
England Player
Ratings
Mike Brown – 5 – Like Dagg, was surprisingly unsettled under
the high ball and didn’t get the space to break free in attack.
Marland Yarde – 5 – Yellow card was deserved but
necessary. Couldn’t really get into the
game though
Manu Tuilagi – 8 – If you think England are better off
without him – or with him on the wing – you need your head examining. England’s best attacking player, beating 5
defenders for 84 metres.
Kyle Eastmond – 7 – A fine showing from somebody who is
supposedly 4th choice.
Acquitted himself well in defence and provided options – and incision –
in attack.
Jonny May – 6 – A mixed bag.
In the first half he seemed to be intent on making mistakes, but later
on he contributed with a couple of threatening breaks.
Freddie Burns – 8 – What a statement. He was calm, assured and accurate –
everything England needed, but perhaps didn’t expect, him to be.
Ben Youngs – 6 – One mistake let him down badly, but before
that his service had been sharp and his kicking excellent.
Joe Marler – 7 – A huge effort from the loosehead. Scrummaged Franks off the park and carried
hard too.
Rob Webber – 7 – Deadly accurate in the lineout, but he
still doesn’t offer enough in the loose in my book.
Dave Wilson – 4 – His scrummaging was OK, but his hands were
unacceptably atrocious, giving away great attacking positions three times.
Joe Launchbury – 5 – Not his best display. He was smashed in contact a couple of times
and he invariably struggled at restarts.
Geoff Parling – 7 – A fine return to form. Ruled the lineout and got about the park well
too.
James Haskell – 6 – A very solid display. He was physical and energetic throughout, and
could have been in for a score had it not been for Nonu’s naughtiness.
Chris Robshaw – 9 – If you are one of the lazy detractors
who claims he is not a ‘true’ seven, you have been proven wrong yet again. He tackled, hit rucks, passed, and made more
metres than any other forward on the pitch.
Man of the match.
Ben Morgan – 8 – Yet again he delivers in an England
shirt. A solid presence interjected with
a couple of barnstorming runs.
Subs Used
Danny Cipriani caught the eye for all the right reasons as he
looked to impress with the ball in hand.
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