England deny All Blacks their grand slam
MATCH REPORT: England continued their remarkable winning run, securing their 10th consecutive victory with a 33-19 triumph over New Zealand at Allianz Park, Twickenham, on Saturday.
Despite trailing 0-12 in the opening exchanges, England engineered an outstanding comeback performance to claim a famous win.
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This result marks just their ninth victory in 46 Tests against the All Blacks. Since their first meeting in 1905, England have lost 36 matches and drawn two.
England outscored New Zealand by four tries to three, with Ollie Lawrence, Sam Underhill, Fraser Dingwall and Tom Roebuck getting their names on the scoreboard. George Ford contributed 20 points through two conversions, a penalty, and two drop goals.
For New Zealand, Leicester Fainga’anuku, Codie Taylor, and Will Jordan crossed the try-line. Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie each added a conversion.
The opening exchanges were fiercely physical, with neither side giving up an inch. The All Blacks secured the first lineout, but England looked the more threatening team with the ball in hand. Sparked by an excellent up-and-under from Freddie Steward, England broke into New Zealand territory, only for George Ford to overcook a kick and undo the momentum his side had generated.
It took 14 minutes for the first points of the match, and they went to New Zealand. After initially making metres down the left flank, Leicester Fainga’anuku powered over to open the scoring.
Minutes later, the visitors extended their lead. Cam Roigard spotted space out wide and found Codie Taylor, who stepped Alex Mitchell and dived over in the corner. Beauden Barrett added the extras for a 12–0 advantage.
England were forced into an early change when Marcus Smith replaced the injured Freddie Steward, and the switch paid immediate dividends. Smith sliced through the defence before feeding Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, who carried England deep into the red zone. But superb scrambling defence from the All Blacks held Alex Coles up over the line.
While England’s lineout stuttered, their scrum was far more effective. Mitchell shifted the ball wide from a dominant platform, and Ollie Lawrence powered through Leroy Carter before stepping Beauden Barrett to finish.
England ended the half with real momentum. Back-to-back drop goals from George Ford cut the deficit to just one point, making sure the All Blacks take a 12-11 lead at the break.
The second half began disastrously for the All Blacks. After seeing their 12-point lead evaporate, they were reduced to 14 men when Codie Taylor was shown a controversial yellow card for playing the ball on the ground.
England immediately took advantage of the extra number. Sam Underhill powered over after a sharp snipe from Alex Mitchell, and George Ford added the conversion to give the hosts an 18–12 lead.
Ford nearly added a try of his own following some dreadful defending from the All Blacks, but a knock-on at the preceding lineout was spotted and the score was ruled out.
England didn’t have to wait long to extend their lead, though. A perfectly executed move from a lineout saw Fraser Dingwall finish for his second try of the match. Ford converted again, stretching England’s advantage to 25–12.
Both sides emptied their benches as England looked to protect their lead while New Zealand searched desperately for a response. The visitors camped deep in England’s 22, and after multiple infringements at the maul, Ben Earl was shown a yellow card.
New Zealand finally capitalised on the pressure when Will Jordan sliced through on a clever running line to score. Damian McKenzie added the much-needed conversion, cutting the deficit to six points and keeping the All Blacks in the contest.
But Ford’s penalty gave England breathing space and, after the ball went loose, Roebuck got on the end of replacement Henry Pollock’s kick ahead for the final try.
Player of the Match: England flyhalf George Ford earned the award for his outstanding performance. The No.10 not only guided his team with precision throughout the match but also kicked two crucial drop goals that shifted the momentum in England’s favour.
The scorers:
For England:
Tries: Lawrence, Underhill, Dingwall, Roebuck
Cons: Ford 2
Pen: Ford
Drop Goals: Ford 2
For New Zealand
Tries: Fainga’anuku, Taylor, Jordan
Cons: B.Barrett, McKenzie
Yellow cards: Codie Taylor (New Zealand, 41 – playing the ball on the ground), Ben Earl (England, 64- offside at the maul)
Teams:
England: 15 Feddie Steward, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Guy Pepper, 5 Alex Coles, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Jamie George, 1 Fin Baxter.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Chandler Cunningham-South, 20 Tom Curry, 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Ben Spencer, 23 Marcus Smith.
New Zealand: 15 Will Jordan, 14 Leroy Carter, 13 Billy Proctor, 12 Quinn Tupaea, 11 Leicester Fainga’anuku, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Peter Lakai, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Simon Parker, 5 Josh Lord, 4 Scott Barrett (captain), 3 Fletcher Newell, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot.
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Pasilio Tosi, 19 Sam Darry, 20 Wallace Sititi, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Damian McKenzie.
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Luc Ramos (France), Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
