A ruthless New Zealand gave England a lesson in finishing on Saturday, clinically punishing their northern hemisphere rivals to clinch a 26-16 victory at Twickenham.
In a match seen as the first serious test of Martin Johnson’s emerging England team, the All Blacks overcame a fierce second half fightback to extend their winning streak against the 2003 rugby world champions to nine matches.
Two first-half tries from winger Hosea Gear and number eight Kieran Read proved decisive for New Zealand, with fly-half Dan Carter contributing the rest of their points with the boot.
Trailing 17-3 at half-time, England clawed their way back into the match with a Dylan Hartley try but were undone by errors at key moments which denied them the opportunity to overhaul the All Blacks.
New Zealand skipper Richie McCaw said he was pleased with the way his side had bounced back from last week’s agonising defeat to the Wallabies but said his side had made too many mistakes.
“I think we are still guilty of giving away too many chances. There were times when we had breaks and did not hang on to the ball,” McCaw said.
England No.8 Nick Easter meanwhile said the match had been won and lost midway through the first half when New Zealand scored two unanswered tries within minutes to surge clear.
“We prepared as well as we can and definitely we were a bit sloppy. We were very disappointing for 15 minutes in the first half.”
“There was too much to do in the end,” Easter told Sky Sports.
England had started brightly, running the ball back at New Zealand from the kick-off and flying into tackles.
But after a promising England attack broke down after a knock-on by Easter, the All Blacks were soon into their stride and the English were to spend much of the opening quarter struggling to keep their opponents at bay.
With New Zealand being able to punch holes in the opposition midfield seemingly at will, it was only a matter of time before the pressure told, and midway through the first half England’s defence finally cracked.
Sonny Bill Williams burst through the centre and off-loaded deftly to Jerome Kaino, who fed Gear to touch down in the corner after prolonged deliberations by the video referee.
Carter made it 7-0 with the conversion and moments later New Zealand doubled their lead, Read bulldozing his way from the breakdown after a five-metre scrum to leave England rocking.
Toby Flood put England’s first points on the board with a penalty on 25 minutes but the home side squandered the little attacking momentum they managed to generate for the remainder of the half.
New Zealand extended their lead through a Carter penalty which made it 17-3, but Flood missed the chance to reduce the deficit when a three-pointer from distance and almost in line with the posts.
On the stroke of half-time England finally mounted an attack near the New Zealand line, but though fullback Ben Foden was driven over, the All Black defence managed to hold the Northampton player up.
England got off to a solid start in the second half when pressure at the scrum forced a New Zealand penalty and Flood added the three points.
But the All Blacks responded almost immediately through Carter’s second penalty to make it 20-6 after captain Lewis Moody was offside at the breakdown.
England came roaring back moments later though, with an opportunist try launched from inside their own 22 when Chris Ashton took a quick mark and tap to burst forward and offload to Mike Tindall.
A kick forward by Flood took England to the New Zealand and replacement hooker Hartley managed to sneak the ball through to touch down for a converted try to take England to within seven points.
Yet once again the home side gave away a needless penalty straightaway to allow New Zealand to restore their 10-point cushion, Carter kicking over after the English failed to release to make it 23-13.
Flood and Carter swapped penalties shortly afterwards but with England refusing to admit defeat the New Zealanders were put under fierce pressure which told when Jerome Kaino was sinbinned for infringing.
England thought they had closed the gap to five points with three minutes to play when Shontayne Hape went over in the corner only for to be adjudged to have been in touch by the video referee.
Colin N
Guest
"Colin – I’m not sure where you got the idea that “advantage is given to the attacking side”. That was more in jest, but it's hard to display over the internet. "I suspect it’s not entirely deliberate – the officials are probably concentrating on seeing whether the ball is going to be grounded correctly – though there may also be an element of allowing more latitude to the defender in a desperation situation." I know what you are saying but it doesn't take back from the fact that it should have been a penalty try. At the same time, you can understand why Poite missed Ashton being offside, but it doesn't make the decision correct. I reckon sometimes referee's just get caught up in the moment (and it was a thrilling second-half) and if they do, they will miss certain things. It probably didn't even occur to the referee that Toeava led with his shoulder.
Joh4Canberra
Roar Rookie
@ Jerry: "it does seem to be something of a loophole that a player tackled near the goal line is allowed to reach out and score and a tackler simply has to allow him to do so. If he’s allowed to try and score, surely the defender should be permitted to prevent him?" Defending players who are on their feet do NOT simply have to allow the tackled player to plant the ball over the goal line. Law 22.4(f) (which was quoted above) says that "defending players who are on their feet may legally prevent the try by pulling the ball from the tackled player’s hands or arms, but must not kick the ball.”
Ben S
Roar Guru
I think that's a rather unfair analysis of the 10-12-13 channel. I thought Flood was good, and Hape very good. Very few 10s in Europe can play like Flood can, and England need him. He is tall, is a good kicker, can off-load and mixes the play well. I hope that Hape will go on to become a very good England player. He's defensively sound, a physical presence and on Saturday he showed a real willingness to take the initiative. That he's playing 13 at Bath leads me to think that Flutey-Hape might be an option down the line. The key point is that England don't want to play like Australia do, with long quick passes out wide. They want two big men to defend, challenge the gainline, draw in defenders and then off-load to their dynamic forwards, creating space for the wide men. If you have ball carriers in the pack like England does then why ignore them? Tindall has never been the most skilled operator, and he wasn't spectacular on Saturday, but he is a good player. Whether he is able to last the course for the WC is another matter, but every good game that England has played over the past two seasons has coincided with a good game from Tindall, and incidentally, Flood and Easter too. I think that England need more pace at 13, but I also read an interesting interview with Nick Evans the other day where he noted that the small midfielder has no role at Test level anymore. When was the last time D'Arcy or Giteau had a really barnstorming game at international level?
Pajovic_
Roar Rookie
England seem to unfortunately have the opposite problem to Ireland, good scrummage and plenty of grunt and endeavour up front but total lack of class at 10, 12 and 13. Tindall has got the footballing skills of a tighthead prop, that missed overlap with him and moody was laughable. In the absence of Flutey I'd like to see Jonno have the testicular fortitude to go with someone who can play a bit at outside centre like Waldouck or Clarke but is not going to happen. just seen that Mealamu has been cited. About time, he has always been a cheap shot merchant. I assumed that Hartley would also be cited for that forearm smash - both typical New Zealand hookers really! I think England need to keep it the same really. bought the Sunday times yesterday, had almost forgotten how shockingly benighted Stephen Jones is, some completely bizarre assessments of some of the players. Your two props who dominated nearly every single scrum, made their share of tackles and both had a couple of strong carries - 6/10 - god knows what they'd have to do to get a 10 from him! what you'd expect though from a man who thinks Simon Shaw is currently the best player in the world and that James Haskell should be England captain.
Jerry
Guest
Colin - I'm not sure where you got the idea that "advantage is given to the attacking side". And yeah, by the letter of the law that's an illegal tackle, I'd say. Penalty for sure if it happened anywhere else. My observation about leniency isn't anywhere in the rulebook, but comes from watching rugby for the past 25 years and noticing that both head high tackles and shoulder charges are more frequently ignored when they happen on the goal line. I suspect it's not entirely deliberate - the officials are probably concentrating on seeing whether the ball is going to be grounded correctly - though there may also be an element of allowing more latitude to the defender in a desperation situation.
Derm
Roar Guru
Nick KIA: "Way to pull out the racist sterotype. Where’s the evidence that “these types of tackles” are more dangerous than any other tackle?" What racist stereotype? They are a regular feature of PI tackling. I didn't say that these types of tackle are more dangerous than any other tackle. I said some of them could be very dangerous. I said they were not picked up on regularly enough by the IRB. In my view - a blind eye is often turned to them. In contrast, tip tackling or through the horizontal or spear tackling was eventually picked up on by the IRB - largely through the ill-fated 'legal' tackle on O'Driscoll some years ago, and refs have been much more stringent on them since. They are another type of dangerous tackle that have been clamped down on.
Mungehead
Guest
Hi Jerry, it's a rare situation where there are no defenders to contest or create a ruck, and I don't have a problem with the ball carrier being able to reach out and score if uncontested. Btw, the tackler/defender is actually permitted to prevent him, by releasing, getting to his feet and contesting. In theory. It only becomes impossible in practice.:)
ohtani's jacket
Guest
I'm liking the talk about Read for captain. He's one guy on tour who hasn't let his standards drop. All Black captain in 2012?
ohtani's jacket
Guest
I thought it was all shoulder myself. He may have been trying to use his arm but the shoulder hit first. But if the ref and his assistants don't see it then the TMO can only ajudicate on the grounding and whether he was in touch, right? He was asked whether there was any reason he couldn't award Hartley's try and all he was concerned with was the grounding.
Colin N
Guest
Jerry, That photo proves my point. The fact the arm was on his shoulder 1) doesn't mean it was used in the tackle and 2) showed that there was no attempt to wrap it round the player. Also: "though as I said upthread, refs give a lot more leniency when it’s a last ditch effort on the goal line." 1) it's illegal therefore going by the letter of the law should have been at the very least a penalty and most probably a penalty try, and: 2) I thought the advantage was meant to be given to the attacking side?
andrethegiant
Guest
yes there was ,on the reverse angle you could see his arm
Cattledog
Guest
That was about the extent of it, Ben. But she loves her dear ole Dad so no big deal!!
Winston
Guest
i meant second half
Jerry
Guest
Oh, and also Mungehead, I'd argue refs allow less latitude* for placing a ball over the line than they do for placing a ball in midfield. You see players holding on (if not contested) for a good 5 seconds in general play. *as they should, IMO - it's a much more critical situation.
Jerry
Guest
As an aside, and not wanting to get into the Whitelock/Carter/Hartley specific situation, it does seem to be something of a loophole that a player tackled near the goal line is allowed to reach out and score and a tackler simply has to allow him to do so. If he's allowed to try and score, surely the defender should be permitted to prevent him?
Jerry
Guest
1 - His foot wasn't down though. At least not at the time when he grounded the ball.
Gavin Fernie
Guest
One thing is certain in rugby; after the first three clashes between the leading Southern Hemisphere teams and three of their Northern Hemisphere counterparts, the raging debates over the validity of Gear's try and whether Hartley's try should have been disallowed make one realize that the modern professional game of rugby is heavily influenced by technical rulings. From my point of view it is thrilling to see a backline move the ball to the wings, as the All Blacks and Wallabies do in even the toughest games, and oh so disappointing yet again to watch how little ball the Springboks move out wide. The All Blacks have 3 or 4 wings of real quality, and the Wallabies make the most of their excellent outside backs. It must be so rewarding as an aspirant All Black or Wallaby wing to know that you will get quick ball and will have the opportunity to showcase your pace and guile. What does the aspirant and incumbent Springbok wing have to look forward to? It is so long since the Springboks scored a try in the mould of Gear's thrilling run on Saturday, that Habana and company must wish they too could play outside a flyhalf who can get the backline away like Carter or Cooper. The really sad thing is that the professional franchises in South Africa produced a plethora of good tries by the wings receiving the ball in full line movements. Not for the test squad.Too rich a diet; back to the old hoof the ball upfield and hope that the opposition cock it up and give the kicking machine another opportunity to set more records. What about striving to set try scoring records in test matches. It seems the All Blacks do it and win more than they lose. When will the penny drop? As for England on Saturday; a vast improvement in intensity and grunt. Very good second half. Now all Johnno needs to do is pack his lumbering pal Tinball off to the country to look after his princess. Surely there must be a few real centres in England?
Winston
Guest
Nonu is so far ahead of Barnes and Gits now
Winston
Guest
The first english try wasn't a try. Double movement, in front of the kicker, SBW held back, take your pick Hosea's try was touch and go, pretty much the same as Richie's try at Soweto. As for Toeava's try that happened in so many games and never been picked up. Plus his warms were involved to some degree ABs were far from clinical in the first half. Gear has got to get Rok's spot now I thinking it might be SBW at 12 to start against the scots. Maybe even Toeava at 13. Could be interesting.
kovana
Guest
Comments on the game. Great ploy by england in slowing the game down. Kept them in touch right till the end. I do believe England could have won this match.. Why? 1. Hosea's Gear did not score that try.. His leg was over the white chalk..... 2. Toeava did a SHOULDER CHARGE on Hape... Should have been a penalty try! Also.. The ref was hopeless at scrum time.