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British newspapers found few reasons for optimism after England ended rugby’s international season with a 32-6 loss to the All Blacks at Twickenham.
But they rejoiced in Wales’s 21-18 win over the Wallabies, the lone victory this month secured by a home nation over one of the southern hemisphere ‘big three’ of world champions South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
For the third week in a row England, under new manager Martin Johnson, were well-beaten after a record-breaking 42-6 thrashing by the Springboks followed on from a 28-14 loss to Australia.
Sunday Times rugby correspondent Stephen Jones praised New Zealand’s “magnificent achievement” in completing a grand slam of wins over Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England without conceding a try.
But as for Johnson’s men, he said: “The nation of scrummage and power is now turning out feeble packs of forwards.”
The tabloid News of the World’s Adam Hathaway pulled no punches, saying England fans “deserved better than the utter shambles they have been exposed to over the last three weeks”.
And after seeing All Black captain Richie McCaw lift the Hillary Shield, named after New Zealand mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary, who conquered Everest in 1953, Hathaway wrote: “Johnson has a bigger mountain to climb – and he can’t call on Sherpa Tenzing to carry his bags.”
Former England lock Paul Ackford, writing in the Sunday Telegraph, said the All Blacks had laid waste to the best of British rugby “with barely a bead of sweat lost”.
Turning to England’s recent record against the Tri-Nations of “five years, four coaches and 18 defeats from 22 matches,” since they won the World Cup with Johnson as captain in 2003, Ackford added: “All this from the richest rugby nation on the planet with the biggest pool of players to choose from.
“It doesn’t make comfortable reading the day before England discover which of those sides (plus Argentina) they’ll face in their pool at the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.”
The Sunday Express’s Jim Holden noted the calmer reaction of home supporters, who booed England off after the Springbok match, to this defeat.
“The crowd appreciated the passion the players showed – and the fans even won their own small battle when they sang their traditional anthem ‘Swing Low Sweet Chariot’ so loudly it drowned out the effect of the pre-match haka.”
From Cardiff, meanwhile, former Wales captain Eddie Butler saw the Six Nations champions win a Millennium Stadium match he likened in the Observer to a “spray of glitter on a dark background”.
Butler, who predicted Wales would provide most players for next year’s British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa, said of Johnson’s England: “There is nothing any non-player can do to turn an average team into world-beaters.
“England are where they are because they are what they are. It is somebody else’s turn to take the European game forward.”
It was only Wales’ victory over the Wallabies that “prevented a humiliating whitewash of the home nations”, said the Sunday Times.
“That victory was all about the top three inches,” wrote former Wales and British Lion No 8 Scott Quinnell, saying the Welsh side had shown “evidence of a new streetwise maturity”.
“During this autumn, we have learned that the class of 2008 has some real substance about them,” Quinnell added in his Wales on Sunday column.
“They gave the Springboks a scare, ran the All Blacks close for 40 minutes and have now beaten the Wallabies.
“That is not a bad return for a side with a coach who still has not seen out his first year in charge. Bring on the Six Nations!”
Former Wales outside-half Barry John predicted that “there are certainly better days to come”, while former stalwart prop Graham Price dubbed Wales the “stand-out northern hemisphere team”.
“They will almost certainly go into the new year as the team to beat in the 2009 Six Nations championships,” Price added.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.