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Sat 1 Dec 2012 | 05:12
England upset the All Blacks with famous win at Twickenham

53
Comments

England shocked the rugby world with a highly impressive performance that blew the All Blacks off the Twickenham turf yesterday. The visitors made uncharacteristic errors and England punshed them, winning 38-21 and ending the 20-match unbeaten run.

While Owen Farrell hit the headlines earlier in the week unexpectedly, on Saturday he made it clear that he's a force to be reckoned with when given the opportunity. The Saracens flyhalf kicked England to a 15-0 halftime lead, which included a nicely taken dropgoal.

New Zealand fought back to 15-14 through two smartly taken tries and looked as though they were kicking into gear. England didn't take their foot off the throttle though and responded with two quick tries of their own, effectively holding off the imminent All Black comeback.

"To put that scoreline on an All Blacks side that good is way beyond what we could have asked for, but we've had the belief all through the week," England coach Stuart Lancaster said post match.

Despite losing to the Wallabies and Springboks leading up to this game, England shocked the rugby world with a performance that many fans and pundits are still struggling to get their heads around.

It was England's record margin of victory over the All Blacks, their highest ever score against them, their first win over them since 2003, and only their seventh in 35 Tests between the two nations.

It was also New Zealand's first loss since going down to the Wallabies 25-20 in July last year.

"It's bitterly disappointing. We struggled to get any sort of momentum and England played particularly well - credit to them," said Richie McCaw. "You're prepared for a big battle and that's the way it was, they caught us on the hop. They're a good team and they took their chances."

Tomorrow's Rugby World Cup 2015 Pool Allocation Draw could see England and the All Blacks placed in the same group, as Saturday's win wasn't enough to move England into the top four, where New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, and France occupy the crucial spots.

England are in the same tier/band as Ireland, Argentina, and Samoa, Wales dropped to ninth in the world following their loss against Australia, so will be alongside Italy, Scotland, and Tonga.

View the full match replay

Time: 2:58
Credit: Post now updated with Official RFU highlights

Posted By: Grant Constable

53 Comments

  • pretzel
    3:12 AM 07/12/2012

    Why not, sensible play is something NZ do ALL the time. It is something "we" as fans often label as cynical when it comes to foul play, i.e. do it in anywhere BUT your own 22 and the referee will most likely forget about it, and of course there is the common sense sort of play like not committing every man you have to a ruck that is well and truly lost.

  • browner
    11:13 PM 06/12/2012

    Hi Pretzel

    You may be interested in this ..... I spoke to an England Forward on Tuesday...he gave the credit to the performance to 'Coach Farrell' and his mentallity discussions in the build up.

    Source [hush lips sealed] said it became about 'the 8 inches between the ears' ........ maybe the sports psychologists won this battle

  • pretzel
    1:22 PM 05/12/2012

    The stats in most rugby games do interest me quite a bit, I like seeing how they stack up in comparison. One thing I would say with things like missed tackles, (only now that I think about it) is, "are they missed tackles, where bad form and technique ruled the day, or are they broken tackles, where players are bumped off by hard runners?"

    For instance the Scotland NZ match, I remember Denton actually bumped Richie McCaw, now that would go down as a missed tackle I assume, it just makes me wonder if England were running hard at certain players, or running hard between players or something. I didn't see the game so of course this is just speculation on my part, NZ could have just been asleep in the tackles.

    From what I hear I think England did a lot of analysis before this game, perhaps a lot of NZ game watching, videos of what NZ do at breakdowns, etc, and I think they was probably the focal point of their training that week. From what friends have said, it looked like England didn't just play their game, they played "upset NZ's game" too..

  • pretzel
    3:06 PM 04/12/2012

    Well I guess it makes you wonder what meds they have access too. I'm not suggesting anything untoward at all, but I assume they have the perfect combination drugs and corks or something.

    Hmmmm drips anyone? Do these guys ever use them?

  • spencah
    12:56 PM 04/12/2012

    Just a wee dip into History pages....NZ have come down with food poisoning on more than one occasion. Most notably the final of the 1995 RWC where the food poisoning source was heavily debated. Yet they still went on to perform to a level which no one could question was impeded by their supposed poisoning. Even if they did lose to a Joel Stransky drop goal in extra time....one of the best world cups to date in my opinion. (not at all bias views from a Zimbo/safa neighbour)

    However I had food poisoning last month and I was dead to the world for at least 3 days so the fact they not only recovered but played an international test is testament to their professionalism and their staff for getting them ready. Equally the way in which Richie and Hanson presented themselves was incredibly gracious, should be commended AND replicated in other sports....especially those with round balls!

    This game and what followed is definitely bigging up men with odd shaped balls!

  • spencah
    12:45 PM 04/12/2012

    Hear hear! or is it Here here!....aye, who knows but I agree!

  • kadova
    12:21 AM 04/12/2012

    Pretzel:
    "I feel sorry for the next team that has to face NZ, I fear that they will feel the full brunt of an angry NZ team looking to get back on a winning streak, albeit next season. "

    Don't say that to me :) If the June tests are the next international games, they have France in Eden Park as their first match.

  • kadova
    12:12 AM 04/12/2012

    Sure, i agree with that. I was not thinking about the bout of illness. I was thinking about all the talking about Richie McCaw last game before his 6 months off, and the record of (matches) wins in a row. I believe they were thinking too much and England caught them cold.
    That's not usual for an AB team to miss 16 tackles, for instance.

    The great thing about this result is also that every team now is going to improve, like Leadbitter said.

  • prestwick
    6:15 PM 03/12/2012

    Do find it funny that people get mad at McCaw simply for doing his job. I thought being a douche at the breakdown was the job of a number 7? :S

  • benny
    3:28 PM 03/12/2012

    I assume you're just trying to wind everyone up but in case you're not, bringing up the ref might be excusable if we'd lost by 1 point but let's face facts, we got our arses handed to us. There were a few calls i disagreed with but as with every game and every season, the team that plays the most rugby tends to get away with a bit more. We weren't the team playing the rugby on saturday.

    Congrats to the English. A pity it only counts if you can do it at the world cup *joking* it's the first time in my life i could say that :)

  • stroudos
    3:14 PM 03/12/2012

    Funkyrooster:
    Let go of the illness excuse, AB fans. Doesn't do you any credit.

    I'm not aware of a single AB fan using that excuse. Definitely not on this page anyway, where the only people to have even mentioned it are non-Kiwis, as far as I can tell.

  • prestwick
    9:42 AM 03/12/2012

    Great posts from Lead, Pretzel & Stroudos. I think you need to look at it this way. Over I'd say six months or so this has been a long time coming and for several reasons.

    One. The All Blacks seem to always commit the bare minimum at the break down and stack their line with the maximum afforded yet no team other than..well..David Pocock or France has clocked onto this fact. Only on Saturday did someone say "hang on lads, if we rush the ABs with more than three players we'll either force the turnover or slow down the ball so much on such a legal level they won't be able to play their game".

    Secondly, the likes of Dagg, Jane, etc are only good under the high ball so long as they have time and support under the high ball. England afforded them neither and the pressure showed with some excellent turnovers caused directly down to pressure on the ABs back end.

    Thirdly, Scotland & Wales alluded to it and Australia damn near proved it but the AB midfield is fallible if you run hard enough and straight enough and Tuilagi proved this when he said "seeya!" to Carter and co and ran off before releasing Ashton for the 2nd try.

    This was an excellent victory but it will only count for something if England win a six nations (not necessarily a grand slam) and funnily enough this makes Warren Gatland's job even harder now.

  • mise
    3:40 AM 03/12/2012

    true Pretzel, I'm prejudging and preempting...

    courting eh? haven't heard that word in a while. A bit like wooing (is that even how you spell wooing?!?) ...who's wooing who(m) in this clip? Not sure....

    And hey, didn't Michael Jackson say (something like) love isn't black and white he wasn't all 'Bad' was he.....there's ...shades...of... grey.... *gets coat, leaves promptly*

  • pretzel
    3:02 AM 03/12/2012

    "check out the perfect, subtle cheating at 1.02: NZ #13 ENG #10 strolling along, hand in hand, but only one player is benefiting..."

    How do you know only one player benefited? NZ 13 may have been courting the Eng 10, if they're holding hands he may have suceeded in the first stage, this could result in a beautiful relationship..

  • mise
    2:41 AM 03/12/2012

    @bumptruck (and in general)

    check out the perfect, subtle cheating at 1.02: NZ #13 ENG #10 strolling along, hand in hand, but only one player is benefiting....

    Well done to England, they dominated and really had NZ rattled by the middle of the second half - no mean feat. Somehow, I think that if there was a series of NZ ENG games, the next one might result in a slaughtering of ENG, but we'll never know. Good for rugby thou, this result. Shakes things up a bit.

    Some lot of talk of SBW in NZ press, and what he might have done, but I'm not sure if anything would have helped this weekend.



  • matt
    12:23 AM 03/12/2012

    If anything the ref gave NZ every chance, the maul that apparently stopped in NZs 22, a little later in the first half the ball came out of a ruck, hit Smith in the leg and bounced back into the man on the floor, who then played it back again, the ref even called that it had come off his leg but allowed NZ to play on with the ball. The All black's first try, and only real passage of control in the game came from a logic defying pentalty against Owen Farrell for tackling Aaron Smith with the ball, the penalty that resulted in Vunipola being sent off came from a ruck where there were 5 All Blacks lying on the floor and over the ruck yet Tuilagi, as the tackler, was penalised for being off his feet.

  • matt
    12:17 AM 03/12/2012

    I don't think we should get ahead of ourselves here, there is still a big gap between the NH and SH.
    I don't have the stats in front of me, but I bet if you tally up the results between the big 4 of the north and the big 4 from the south in 2012 it'll make sad sad reading for a European

  • matt
    12:15 AM 03/12/2012

    I liked this post purely because of your shit pun

    The rest of it was well reasoned truths and very gracious, however, you can't beat a great pun

  • matt
    11:19 PM 02/12/2012

    I agree with you on almost everything, the benefits of that win will be felt for a long time yet.
    However, I don't think many of Robshaw's critics will feel any different; the criticism of him was due to his poor decision making over the previous two weeks, not his playing ability.
    So while he had a great game yesterday even by the English standards of the day, as a captain his performance was every bit normal.
    He hasn't proven that he can make decisions under pressure

  • mrp
    10:51 PM 02/12/2012

    I watched it on Prime in NZ last night and it was way closer than the reporting tells it, just goes to show that margins of error are very small in games like this. I just think that England had the ABs figured out and executed a gameplan to exploit their predictability (for once!)

    They replayed the Jane offside a million times and to be honest, it looked offside from some angles, it looked onside from others. In balance, fair call from the ref.

    Carter was awful, not sure why Hansen didn't replace him early(ish) on.

    Don't blame it on the ref and the virus, the AB's were the worse team on the day, give England some credit where it's due.

  • pretzel
    10:43 PM 02/12/2012

    I agree that the apparent illness probably took it's toll on the NZ team, but I personally use that phrase when a team plays so badly and allows another bad team to get a win, for instance I hear the Australia Wales match was a case of Wales playing the better rugby, but also losing the match with a give away opportunity. Whereas from what I here, England ran rampant through their own skill and NZ couldn't keep up...

  • pretzel
    10:38 PM 02/12/2012

    Thank you for your reply Leadbitter.

    From what I hear and have seen on these highlights, England did play very well.

    I was not suggesting that NZ "let England win" or were not up to the task. However I feel the early stages at which England is in, would not have beaten NZ "on a good day". I fear I'm leaving myself open to criticism here, and to form any sort of negative comment on this game is not what I am trying to do. I do think legally targeting McCaw is one of the only ways to stop NZ's attack, or counter-attack, as with Australia and Pocock.

    My sympathy for the next team is not due to me feeling they will have a guaranteed loss, but the "bounce back" reaction that NZ have in the past possessed suggests that they will come out all guns blazing, so it will probably be a hard fought match.

    I for one like to see any success in "under-dogs"; again, that is not an insult, it is merely a comment on how NZ were the favourites, and thus, by default Eng were the under-dogs. Although in some respects England have not been performing as well as they have done in the past, so I hope England continue to climb, it is a bit disappointing for a rugby community to see them go from World Champions down to average - poor - good - poor - average etc etc.. Last time against Aus they produced a great game against the Aussies, this autumn they failed etc, I hope as you say it will be the start of something.

    It is particularly encouraging that all the Kiwi fans on here have so far shown a great amount of humbleness. The NZ management again have been very congratulatory, all in all I imagine this has probably given NZ a reality check that they're NOT unbeatable, it's given England a reality check that they CAN beat the best, and probably the rest of the world an eye opener that they are never out of the race.

  • kadova
    9:16 PM 02/12/2012

    You should have it here during the week.

  • kadova
    9:13 PM 02/12/2012

    Sure, I didn't mean to undermine England win. It's just i'm feeling it this way. But that removes nothing from England great performance.

  • stroudos
    9:02 PM 02/12/2012

    Are you trolling or just ill-informed?

    Penalties conceded: England 11, NZ 13.

    Source: http://www.espnscrum.com/new-zealand-tour-2012/rugby/match/153977.html

  • stroudos
    8:57 PM 02/12/2012

    kadova:
    Congrats to England, although i think it's more an All Blacks defeat than an England victory (if that make sense to you).

    I think I know what you mean, but that would be unfair. Sickness earlier in the week aside, this was a full-strength New Zealand team that played pretty well on the day. Carter uncharacteristically missed a few kicks and you might argue that if they'd got to 9-3 ahead at half-time the pattern of the game might have changed but that's a moot point. I'm not getting carried away about it but I would call this a well-deserved England victory.

  • stroudos
    8:53 PM 02/12/2012

    Cracking post. Love the bit on blueprint for beating NZ. I'd add on the "win the breakdown" point, "win the breakdowns that you have a chance of winning and get out of lost causes". This is where Wales came unstuck last week, committing too many players to rucks they weren't going to win. Each time the ball came out on the black side Wales were short of defenders. England seemed to get the balance right, knowing when to throw blokes in and smash the ruck and when to concentrate instead on getting organised for the next phase.

  • kadova
    4:30 PM 02/12/2012

    lol, Matt ! I was thinking of this, too

    (only joking...)

  • kadova
    4:29 PM 02/12/2012

    Get over that finale, please ! It was more than one year ago and French website Le Rugbynistere has an analysis which proved Joubert was not one-sided, he made mistakes against both teams equally. Analysis validated by the now world boss of the referees, the French Joel Jutge.
    And yes, i'm French too.

    Congrats to England, although i think it's more an All Blacks defeat than an England victory (if that make sense to you).

  • 3:53 PM 02/12/2012

    Probably not since we never have. Though we have beat England oh and screw you.

  • katman
    1:57 PM 02/12/2012

    Great performance by the England team - they managed to keep the intensity up for the full 80 minutes. Farrell, Barrit, Tuilagi and Brown were really good, as were all three the loose forwards. I was also impressed with Launchberry - last week he was a little subdued, but yesterday he had a great game.

    The AB's just didn't get things going. Too many aimless kicks and weak clearances, and intercept passes are never going to help your cause. On the upside, Savea and Smith are in top form.

    Most of these year-end tour games have shown that you can hardly speak of a gap between the hemispheres any more.

  • colombes
    11:12 AM 02/12/2012

    well, well, well... England accomplished the upset of this autum tour
    and it was well built and deserved.

    After defeats with boks and ozzies, i thought that England should really use Tuilagi with more intelligence as he seemed to be the only english player to break SH defences, and he finally played in this way vs AB's. But the most impressive english perf was in defence where they showed patience and discipline.

    On the blacks, i'm speechless. i just didn't recognize them in defence as they offered huge gaps and highways to tuilagi and co. Their pride allow them a fightback but there was certainly something which didn't click.. Novovirus? Whatever, it was great to hear mccaw gracious in defeat. don't think, they will repeat much of that "shit" in the future.

    Last point, even if SH sides are tired, this perf just confirms that the NH sides don't necessarly play in a "2nd division" league. so the 2013 6N edition will be quite interesting to watch between young England, France and Ireland sides and a frustrated Wales

  • waikato886
    9:12 AM 02/12/2012

    Good win England. Well deserved. We had to lose at some point. TUILAGI YOU BEAST!! Only reason why I watch England Haha

    ABS - 21 Farrell/Tuilagi - 38

  • runningrugby
    4:33 AM 02/12/2012

    Well done England, in all a great result to end the best autumn international window in the professional era (in my humble opinion). On top of that we had Samoa down Wales, Tonga down Scotland and if Italy only just managed to land the KO punch to Australia it would have been an incredible result for the underdogs. Lets not forget to congratulate the French and South Africans on there undefeated efforts.

    Finally, hard luck ABs - just a bridge too far but you did us (most of us) proud. Hope you all have a well earned summer break.

  • facepalm
    3:09 AM 02/12/2012

    Ha! I've never been so happy to be so wrong. I slated England after Australia, time for me to eat some humble pie.

    Stuart Barnes just didn't have it in him to admit Tuilagi played incredible. Tom Wood was indeed excellent but it was clear to any spectator who was really man of the match.

    I just hope hope hope this isn't a one off. Please let this be the start of the side as opposed to the grand finale.

  • frenchie
    2:48 AM 02/12/2012

    53 minutes highlights on the BBC iPlayer for the ones who didn't see the game

  • frenchie
    2:45 AM 02/12/2012

    Fantastic result! Great rugby played by England. England did the basics well and showed that when you keep possession of the ball the AB are beatable.
    It was great to see a referee doing his job in the ruck area and using his whistle...I hope Mr Craig Joubert took note.

    I thought Mike Brown was amazing.
    Congratulations! So pleased...

  • mrp
    2:30 AM 02/12/2012

    Very good performance indeed. But caution required...the ABs are still the best team in the world unfortunately, although today showed we could play like them for a change. Relief and disbelief in equal measure.

    I still reckon Conrad Smith is THE most underrated player in world rugby though, had his hand in everything and even did a Bradley Davies at around the 1:00 mark, obstructing and holding back Farrel(I think). Deserved a stiff arm from the hooker obviously :)

  • stroudos
    12:19 AM 02/12/2012

    Yeah, but I also blame the wholesale changes. I still don't understand the policy of emptying the bench seemingly for no reason. The players who went off didn't look like they were tired or anything.

  • pretzel
    12:18 AM 02/12/2012

    Didn't see the game, just saw the highlights and wow.. When I first saw the score I was sure something wasn't right, mixed up the numbers or something. I think it's an incredible win for England.

    I can't help think that perhaps that mysterious waitress from the RWC was back in action again!!! I think the bug must have affected them somewhat, but what can you do? You field the side you feel confident with, and what could England do? They can only play the side they are faced with. I don't think anyone can call excuses really, there is rarely a match when both teams are 100% happy beforehand. There is always a key player with an injury here, something going on there, etc, and this is just another hurdle. From the highlights the NZ tries were their usual brilliance. England tries were well executed.

    And Farrell, my had a fair role to play in that game, perhaps I was too hasty questioning his POTY nomination, (of course it cannot be hung on one game alone).

    Well its a win for England, and it's a break in the NZ win streak.

    I don't quite think this means the next time England face the AB's they'll have the same success, but the confidence boost this must have had will definitely help them with further games.

    I feel sorry for the next team that has to face NZ, I fear that they will feel the full brunt of an angry NZ team looking to get back on a winning streak, albeit next season.

  • ollie
    12:13 AM 02/12/2012

    Fair play to all the kiwis for being great sports too. Good to see some positive messaging on the board!

  • ruggerfan
    11:46 PM 01/12/2012

    As a kiwi, while I was gutted that we lost, hats off to England man they played well. They played extremely well I thought, and we were just beaten by a better side.

  • 10:46 PM 01/12/2012

    I'll try my best to avoid overstating how important this victory is (as it is after all just one game), but the following has to be said:

    -Chris Robshaw's critics have their feet firmly in their mouths
    -Owen Farrell performed brilliantly under the POTY nomination pressure that he didn't ask for (i get the feeling even he didn't see that coming. He seems shy about the whole thing). Compare his performance with that of Carter and McCaw and this award is not so obvious as previously thought
    -Freddie Burns got quite the first cap, even if he did come on when England were already up by 20pts. Showed what he can do at the highest level. Deserves to be there
    -Chris Ashton FINALLY scores
    -Tuilagi, Launchbury, the Youngs brothers, Brown, Goode, everyone else seemed to play really well

    All in all it seems like everything that could have been asked out of this game came together - fine performances, drama, skill, tension etc. I also liked the way Robshaw and Wood mentioned the Women's game and thanked the crowd, not to mention McCaw's sportsman-like conduct in the interviews afterwards. This game showcased why I watch, play, and love Rugby.

  • jimothy
    10:34 PM 01/12/2012

    Some great articles by the NZ press

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby/news/headlines.cfm?c_id=80

  • jimothy
    10:31 PM 01/12/2012

    Brilliant! England finally put in the performance of a lifetime and it's not the players that get the credit but the sh*ts! England played with pace and ambition and Tom Woods was outstanding. Barritt and Manu finally clicked and Owen's boot was ticking over steadily. I don't think New Zealand new what hit them and the pace with which England started really shocked them.

    DC was not in the best form and perhaps Cruden should have started but on the whole I think NZ were shocked. If they were so poorly and struggling how come it was NZ that ended the game in the ascendancy? Surely if England were the fully fit side then they would of continued to poor on the points as NZ tired?

  • stroudos
    9:48 PM 01/12/2012

    Got to the clubhouse after our game today about 55' in. Heard a massive roar go up in the bar - thought "oh, we've got off the mark then, probably 5-20 or something". Could not believe it when I got through and saw the score. Then the next two tries came and the place went mental. I still can't quite believe it!!

    Ecstatic with the result and what I've seen of the performance. Just to be a miserable bar steward though, whatever sportsmanlike statements they make I think the sickness bug probably played a role. Also, Tuilagi was instrumental in all our tries and I'm not sure anyone else in a white shirt could have made those moves happen - thrilled that he's also shut up the critics who complain he can't pass. Finally, Savea's first try was a brilliant finish, the man is a try-scoring machine.

  • stroudos
    9:38 PM 01/12/2012

    Blimey, RD, you've excelled yourselves here. Didn't think I'd be seeing proper highlights so quickly. Nice one.

  • stroudos
    9:32 PM 01/12/2012

    Top bloke. I don't care what anyone says about Offside Rich, they're just jealous. Great captain, decent bloke. For me though, he has to say that or look a bad sport - I can't help thinking the lurgy definitely played a factor, I know loads of people who's had that bug (seems to be the same one) over the last month or so and if you asked them to play 80 minutes of rugby two days later they'd have had no chance.

  • fatprop
    9:13 PM 01/12/2012

    Yes finally England play to their full potential !
    Tuilagi managed to pass and we scored two tries from it !
    If only he learnt to pass before and barritt has attacking play!? so happy Farrell played brilliantly and if he can keep this up then we will have two amazing young fly halfs in him and Burns. This probably has put more England players into the mix for the lions tour. Of course i am not stupid New Zealand were not at their best no where it but you still have to get into them and put away your chances.

  • danknapp
    8:26 PM 01/12/2012

    He's a bloody good cheat, but hats off to him, he's also a decent bloke and a good loser. Definitely one of the best captains of all time. Delighted we stuffed his boys today though!

  • matt
    7:48 PM 01/12/2012

    Yer we just need SH teams to get the shits every week now and we're set...

  • moddeur
    7:38 PM 01/12/2012

    Looks like the two best teams in the NH beat the two best teams in the SH this year (Eng-Nz, Fra-Aus). But I've got to say that perhaps the Blacks were still a bit sick from their gastroenteritis (at least now we know how to beat them: lamb curry on the house for everyone!). Nah, just teasing, England backs were very good today, and their forwards were all fired-up: a great combination.

  • besthookerintown
    7:25 PM 01/12/2012

    Oh England, as hormonal as a woman. Just can't decide whether they want to play well and beat teams or play like the previous two weeks!!

    Nice to see them beat the AB's though, who must admit were poor on the day.

    How good was Mike Brown on the wing though? Can't give that man an inch. And Brad Barritt played well today.

    Cudos to the English pack for a powerful display. Honestly I thought Dan Cole's deserved MOTM, but anybody in that pack deserved it and I'm happy Tom Wood's got it!!

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