This is England’s best chance to win in New Zealand, ending their 20-year drought.
Hope Building
England began their first tour of this new season coming off the back of a promising Six Nations campaign. An historic win against the indomitable Irish, denying them the Grand Slam, and a narrow two-point loss to France; Steve Borthwick’s men had turned the tide on England’s fortunes.
With the conclusion of a highly competitive Premiership still to play, English fans could finally see light at the end of a troublingly dark tunnel.
The Northampton Saints lifted the trophy for the first time in 10 years, led by an array of young and exciting English talent. Finn Smith, still just 22, displayed composure beyond his years. Wingers Ollie Sleightholme and Tommy Freeman showed why they are two of the most dynamic and prolific try-scorers in world rugby. Whilst the efficiency of George Furback and Alex Mitchell was plain to see.
Bath were unlucky to fall to 14 following a red card shown to Beno Obano after just 21 minutes, but their refusal to be put down was remarkable, led by half-man-half-truck Ollie Lawrence and ‘the Orc’ Sam Underhill.
This crop of hungry talent, somewhat unfamiliar with the successes of old, suggests hope for a bright future for English Rugby.
An Awkward Reunion
Calling together his squad for the upcoming tour of New Zealand, Borthwick would first have to face his former boss and England head coach Eddie Jones, now leading Japan.
This was always going to be uncomfortable. Eddie himself is notoriously prickly, and, having left England in a somewhat acrimonious fashion, he was coaching his third team in a little over twelve months.
On the other hand, England, now led by Jones’ former assistant, were set to field players denied a chance under Eddie’s reign and determined to prove they had moved on to bigger and better things following his departure.
England has never lost in Japan, and despite typical mind games deployed by Jones – “I want to see him [Steve Borthwick] sweating up there, mate” – they were acutely aware of this fixture’s potential as a banana skin.
They did not want to be the first English side to lose to Japan.
England instead imposed a barrage of offensive misery upon the Cherry Blossoms in a cathartic assault on their former coach. With the final score close to resembling that of a cricket match (52-17) the demons of the past were put firmly to bed.
Challenging the All-Blacks
There is a reason England has not beaten the All-Blacks in New Zealand for 21 years, and it is not for want of trying or lack of talent.
England has at times had some success facing the most feared side in rugby, coming within one point on multiple occasions and even winning twice. The most memorable fixture was England’s faultless display in the 2019 World Cup, now hailed as one of the greatest performances in the history of the game, let alone by an English side.
But winning in New Zealand is an entirely different challenge.
In their last victory, a mere two decades ago, it took masterful efforts by England captain Martin Johnson and kicking maestro Jonny Wilkinson, to secure a two-point lead at the final whistle.
Since then, England has faced elite All-Black sides who take losing on their home soil immensely personally. Beating them in New Zealand is truly one of rugby’s great challenges.
Coming close
Saturday’s loss by just a single point was a body blow for Borthwick’s side, having come so close and led for large portions of the game.
England went down inside 15 minutes despite impressing with their new blitz defence, orchestrated by two-time World Cup-winning defence coach Felix Jones. A fantastic crossfield kick from Damian McKensie resulted in a characteristically incisive try, scored by winger Sevu Reece.
Nevertheless, England responded almost immediately after an intelligent sequence conducted by scrum-half Alex Mitchell. Having put Feyi-Waboso through down the right flank, it was his grubber kick which won a line out inside the New Zealand five-metre line. From there, Cunningham-South barrelled his way to the touchline where Saracens captain Maro Itoje was able to pick and ground.
Continuing this blistering period, New Zealand recovered the ball quickly after kick-off. Ben Earl uncharacteristically missed his tackle during one of England’s dauntless blitz charges which allowed New Zealand to create the numerical advantage on the right wing and Ardie Savea to put the All-Blacks back ahead.
The blitz can be a fruitful tactic but if it is not performed perfectly, you can be punished. Savea did just that.
England came out strong in the second half, scoring in the 48th minute following some creative play from fly-half Marcus Smith: It was his pass which sent Cunningham-South through a gap in the defence. England then battled their way to the try-line before Smith perfectly timed the decision to go wide, allowing Feyi-Waboso to score uncontested in the corner.
In the end, it was penalties that saw England fall inches short. Three consecutive penalties allowed McKensie to boot New Zealand into the lead, whilst Smith left eight points on the board following his missed kicks.
Losing by such a fine margin was heartbreaking, but England can take a lot away from what was a performance of the highest quality and worthy of victory.
Can they win?
England are set to take on the All-Blacks in the second and final fixture of this tour in Auckland this Saturday.
Having performed so well and come so close in the opening fixture, they should not only feel confident but inspired to finally break that barrier that has held them for so long.
England’s hopes of winning hinge on the perfection and coordination of a few integral elements of their game.
Firstly, their blitz defence must be executed faultlessly. They must stay connected at all times; they cannot afford to miss tackles. If England can pressure the All-Black back line, forcing handling errors and turnovers, they will prevent them from getting into their offensive flow keeping New Zealand on the back foot.
Secondly, Marcus Smith must step up. He showed flashes of his maverick brilliance on Saturday, playing an integral role in England’s second try with his herky-jerky style and elusive footwork. If England are to maintain attacking pressure and keep the All-Black defence backpedalling, Smith will need to be at his best. Moreover, he cannot afford to miss penalties in the way that he did. You have to get points on the board where you can, and England missed out on a historic win due to Smith’s shortcomings in the kicking department.
Finally, the pack must be dominant. England has some fearsome forwards capable of tearing up New Zealand with the ball in hand. They suffered from some questionable refereeing decisions surrounding New Zealand’s scrummaging which has been deemed illegal by many pundits. If they can avoid conceding penalties in the scrum, and get the ball into Ben Earl and Cunningham-South’s hands in some space, these ridiculous athletes will eat up the yards and punish the New Zealand defence.
Photo by M. Cooper on Unsplash
