by Scott Ingleton
During the quarterfinals of t
he Rugby World Cup 2019 we saw England defeat a fairly predictable Australian side 40 – 16, and we saw the All Blacks dismantle the fairly decent Ireland side 46 – 14. This, strangely enough, put the All Blacks on exactly the same amount of points conceded this world cup as England, and a greater points difference overall. Going into the semi finals on Saturday night, it would be surprising to see or hear someone say England would win; all the favour (and pressure) was with the All Blacks; to defeat a stalwart but ultimately flawed England team, get revenge for the Cricket World Cup final earlier this year, and win that coveted third consecutive world title. So, what went wrong? How did we go from confidently assuming New Zealand would win the final to wondering who will win between England and South Africa on November 2nd?
From before the match started, one could see that England were pumped up for this game (as you would have to be to defeat the world number 1s). During a fiery Haka, England adopted a ‘V’ shape, with captain Owen Farrell at the centre (who, as a centre, made the joint second most amount of tackles at 15 alongside the unplayable Maro Itoje, an incredible feat that shows leadership by example). A statement of intent from the off by the men in white, and a statement they maintained throughout the eighty minute match. So many players had the game of their lives; Itoje was an absolute menace at the breakdown, making turnovers and denying New Zealand the quick ball they love; Tuilagi got his early try and was an exceptional ball carrier throughout the match; Curry and Underhill were superb at Flank, showing their exciting promise to become truly world class players; Sinckler and Mako Vunipola dominated the front row during scrumtime, winning multiple penalties; the list goes on. Every man with a Red Rose on his chest played brilliantly against a well drilled and powerful New Zealand team: they played like champions.
As the match begun, England showed their intent; some very strong ball carries culminated in Tuilagi’s try, all from quick ball and a small gap in the defence. In all of England’s World Cup matches, they have started by conceding 3 points to a penalty. The more superstitious among you (myself included) may therefore have thought that this was a bad omen, that the early try would just make the All Blacks angry and they would hammer England as they did to Ireland, but it was not to be. By slowing down the breakdown, ensuring the defensive line was always manned, and with exceptional line speed, England stopped the All Blacks playing to their strengths. Multiple times, we saw Beauden Barrett, Richie Mo’unga or Aaron Smith look to pass or offload, only to see all options cut off by the English defensive line. As the game wore on, New Zealand managed to adapt to this highly energetic defensive strategy and were able to get some passes going, but it was too little too late. They were unable to play their free flowing rugby that so encapsulates viewers and perplexes defenders, unable to take advantage of gaps in the line when they could not maintain the ball.
The English gameplan centred around maintaining possession in the New Zealand half, and forcing Barrett to clear whenever they could. England’s strength at the lineout (winning 18 of their 20 throws, and stealing 2 from New Zealand) meant that they were confident in their ability to retain possession from any clearance by the All Blacks, and their phase play off the lineout was exceptionally solid. Granted, the Savea try was scored off the back of a poor lineout delivery by Jamie George, but that passage of play should fill England fans with confidence for two reasons. Firstly, the response to the conceded try was instant. The try was scored in the 57th minute, when many teams get tired and begin the fall apart in both discipline and defence. England, however, maintained their composure, setting up by the New Zealand tryline only to win (and score) a resultant penalty, going from within a converted try to nine points ahead in three minutes. Furthermore, George atoned for his mistake by delivering a very good ball to Kruis in the buildup to the penalty. If you can, go to the 58th minute and look at George’s face before he delivers the lineout – the determination is plain to see. There is no shame or regret, it’s simply “I made a mistake, I won’t make another one.”
Secondly, in the past twelve years of international test rugby, New Zealand have rarely scored less than two converted tries (the only example I can find is when Ireland beat them 16-9). It is even rarer to find them scoring not from their own creativity and attacking flair, but from an opposition mistake. As all world class teams do, New Zealand are masters at capitalising on mistakes by their opposition. But they are also exceptional at creating the space for their backs to run around and score tries to their heart’s content (just look at the quarter final against Ireland). Against England, however, they could not do it. They scored no points from their own creativity, no penalties or drop goals were missed, no try opportunities squandered – they were simply outclassed every time they entered the English half. Just look at the passage during the 70th minute; New Zealand make a break through Perenara and Coles, only for Coles to be brought down around the English 22. Usually, New Zealand have their supporting runners in close to retain possession for their scrum half to utilise quick ball. However, on this occasion Mark Wilson, who had literally just come on to the field, manages to tackle Coles with Ford, stay on his feet, and force the penalty. This brilliant breakdown play was just one aspect of a truly dominant England performance.
The road to the final has been long, but England have only ever looked calm, composed, and confident. Can they keep that composure going, or will the pressure of the biggest of all matches become too much? There’s only one way to find out…