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Brilliant England stun New Zealand
Brodie Retallick of New Zealand tries to disturb the maul during the QBE International match between England and New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium on December 1, 2012 in London, England.
(November 30, 2012 - Source: Hannah Johnston/Getty Images Europe)
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Delirium was the order of the day on Saturday at Twickenham as England defeated New Zealand 38-21 with three second-half tries.
New Zealand responded to a 15-0 defecit with scores from Julian Savea and Kieran Read, before England took charge thanks to three of their own from Brad Barritt, Chris Ashton and Manu Tuilagi in an astonishing second-half performance.
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Kieran Read of New Zealand runs through to score a try during the QBE International match between England and New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium on December 1, 2012 in London, England.
(November 30, 2012 - Source: Hannah Johnston/Getty Images Europe)
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Man of the match: Two assists and one crucial interception try from Manu Tuilagi make him the player of the day.
Moment of the match: With New Zealand edging back into the match, Brad Barritt's score swung the momentum back in England's favour.
Villain of the match: The mystery bug that struck New Zealand earlier in the week. McCaw might have denied it would have an effect, but the All Blacks looked exhausted.
Owen Farrell of England tackles Conrad Smith of New Zealand during the QBE International match between England and New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium on December 1, 2012 in London, England.
(November 30, 2012 - Source: Clive Rose/Getty Images Europe)
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All Blacks stunned by England
By Gregor Paul in London
The unbeaten record has gone. The season has ended in stunningly bad fashion with England bursting into astonishing life at Twickenham to not only beat the All Blacks - but to beat them well and to beat them playing inspired rugby.
England looked a lot more like the All Blacks than New Zealand did. They were smart, they were committed and they were creative. And on top of that they were relentlessly physical. They won because they deserved it - ran the All Blacks off their feet in the end after blasting them off in the first half. New Zealand didn't have a lot of answers - it's been a long season for sure but they were in London to win and didn't stand a chance, not because of fatigue but because they weren't allowed to play the game they wanted.
They weren't really allowed to play any game as England controlled things for most of the game bar the first 10 minutes of the second half when the All Blacks scored two tries and gave the impression they were going to storm home at a canter.
Didn't happen. It was England all the way from there. Much like France did on the same ground in 1999 at about the same stage in the game, England went a little crazy.
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Israel Dagg of New Zealand kicks the ball up field during the QBE International match between England and New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium on December 1, 2012 in London, England.
(November 30, 2012 - Source: Clive Rose/Getty Images Europe)
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England are peppered with criticism for not playing a Southern Hemisphere style of rugby. But why should they? When they play their own style, they can be deadly.
They were impressive in the way they mixed their brutality with a bit of trickery and movement in the midfield to keep the momentum going. Why take the All Blacks on at the high tempo business? No one wins when they try. So England kept it simple and they kept it effective and once they had built the pressure, then they went wider and harder and faster.
It was a supremely well constructed performance that had flow and momentum all of its own.
The pack worked the one off runners around the fringes and then Owen Farrell would bring Manu Tuilaigi into the game on direct busts up the middle and off they would go again. Some good tactical kicking was mixed in and New Zealand were made to look ordinary - rattled and scrambling, easily the toughest 40 minutes they have endured in 2012.
read the whole thing here:
Victor Vito of New Zealand is tackled by Brad Barritt of England during the QBE International match between England and New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium on December 1, 2012 in London, England.
(November 30, 2012 - Source: Julian Finney/Getty Images Europe)
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England v New Zealand: Stuart Lancaster's men hit new heights with record win over the All Blacks
England came of age under Stuart Lancaster on Saturday, producing one of their greatest performances of recent years to inflict a record-breaking defeat on the mighty New Zealand.
Lancaster’s side, inspired by the exceptional Manu Tuilagi, banished the memory of their frustrating defeats against Australia and South Africa to rip apart the reigning world champions with an exhilarating performance that saw them lead 12-0 at half-time and then run in three tries in eight giddy minutes midway through the second period, just when the All Blacks were threatening a trademark comeback.
It was enough to secure the hosts’ first triumph against the Kiwis - who had been unbeaten in their previous 20 Tests - since 2003 while the margin was England’s best against these opponents.
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Brad Barritt of England goes over to score the first try during the QBE International match between England and New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium on December 1, 2012 in London, England.
(November 30, 2012 - Source: Clive Rose/Getty Images Europe)
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New Zealand, the world’s No 1-ranked side, were 1-12 favourites to beat an inexperienced England team with barely 200 caps between them. However, Owen Farrell kicked England into a 15-point lead just after the interval and, while the All Blacks hit back with two converted tries of their own, Tuilagi then took charge by setting up two and scoring the third try himself.
New Zealand’s squad had been affected by the norovirus in the build-up to the game but Richie McCaw, the All Blacks captain, refused to use that as an excuse for a below-par performance.
“If we had fallen off at the end then probably we could have blamed it on that,” McCaw said. “But we just struggled to get into the game and, apart from that period after half-time, we were on the back foot.”
History Boys
Cory Jane of New Zealand is marshalled by Mike Brown of England during the QBE International match between England and New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium on December 1, 2012 in London, England.
(November 30, 2012 - Source: Julian Finney/Getty Images Europe)
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England 38 New Zealand 21: Sensational display of character sees Lancaster's men turn their autumn around
As Twickenham Man bellowed Swing Low, Sweet Chariot and Irish referee George Clancy blew for full-time after 80 tumultuous minutes, England — much maligned and virtually written off by the pundits — completed one of their greatest-ever victories.
New Zealand began their final match of an unbeaten year as 12-1 on favourites to brush aside an England team that, for all their physicality in losing to South Africa last week, had not given even their most ardent supporters a shred of hope that they were capable of halting the All Black juggernaut.
But an extraordinary performance by Chris Robshaw’s men simply made a mockery both of the odds that had been stacked against them and, for that matter, the experts who had expected the English to be steamrollered.
The records tumbled. It was the highest ever score by England against the All Blacks and a record winning margin of 17 points — beating England’s previous best of 13 in 1936.
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It was also New Zealand’s second-heaviest defeat in their long and largely successful history — and this despite the fact that they started the game on an unbeaten run of 20 Tests and with a line-up boasting 788 caps to England’s paltry 206.
And it was England’s first win over the All Blacks since Martin Johnson’s men won in 2003 in Wellington, five months before they lifted the World Cup in Australia.
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In halting a run of nine defeats by New Zealand, England were, to a man, magnificent. Tom Wood was made man of the match, and rightly so. He brought the ‘dog’ he had promised to the breakdown and how England benefited from his pitbull aggression.
But Wood was not alone. Joe Launchbury is the find of the autumn and produced yet another outstanding display in the loose, the lineout and at the re-starts. And Tom Youngs, in just his fourth Test, carried the ball like a man possessed.
Dan Carter of New Zealand tries to burst through the England defense during the QBE International match between England and New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium on December 1, 2012 in London, England.
(November 30, 2012 - Source: Clive Rose/Getty Images Europe)
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The rankings for the 2015 Rugby World Cup draw have been completed following Saturday's two internationals.
1 New Zealand - 90.08
2 South Africa - 86.94
3 Australia - 86.87
4 France - 85.07
5 England - 83.90
6 Ireland - 80.22
7 Samoa - 78.71
8 Argentina - 78.71
9 Wales - 78.39
10 Italy - 76.24
11 Tonga - 76.10
12 Scotland - 75.83
England will remain fifth in the rankings but the gap to France above them will be slashed by nearly three points after the win over New Zealand, who remain the number one side in the world.
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