England boss' scary assessment after 'special' win over All Blacks
REACTION: Steve Borthwick believes England’s 33-19 win over the All Blacks could have been much bigger, as his team missed loads of opportunities at Twickenham on Saturday.
Victory looked anything but certain when England fell 0-12 behind early on, following tries from Leicester Fainga’anuku and Codie Taylor.
But England then scored an impressive 25 unanswered points, including two drop-goals and a penalty from veteran flyhalf George Ford.
This was just England’s ninth win in 47 Tests against rugby superpower New Zealand spanning 120 years and their first since a dramatic 2019 World Cup semifinal success in Japan.
The match was a personal triumph for veteran stand-off Ford, who in last year’s corresponding fixture saw a late penalty hit the post before skewing a drop-goal wide as the All Blacks won 24-22 – one of three narrow defeats England suffered against New Zealand in 2024.
‘Brilliant Ford’
But on Saturday, he not only scored 13 points but expertly pulled the strings of England’s attack in open play.
“George is a brilliant player, an outstanding leader and an even better person,” said England coach Steve Borthwick.
“I have been privileged to work with him for a period of time.
“I know you like to talk about 12 months ago and the ball hitting a post, but he came on 12 months ago and played really well, as he always does for England.
“When he pulls on the England shirt, he is just such a consistent performer.”
Borthwick, whose team conclude their November campaign against Argentina next weekend, added: “The most exciting thing I find for this team right now is that we left a load of points out there.
“That tells me there’s a huge amount of growth in this team because we were playing the number-two side in the world.”
Captain Maro Itoje said England had achieved something “special” at Twickenham on Saturday, securing a rare Red Rose defeat of the All Blacks.
“Whenever we play them, there’s always a fight, there’s always a huge challenge and you have to be at the top of your game to get results,” said Saracens lock Itoje.
“To be part of this side, to win a game like this here at the Allianz [Twickenham] in front of our home fans, it’s special.”
