ENGLAND NEED KILLER TOUCH
Another lesson by ruthless All Blacks
IT WAS Groundhog Day here — the same old, familiar plot. A narrow loss for England. Gallant failure. Defiance in defeat. Talk of positives and lessons to learn. Simmering rage, barely suppressed.
Mike Brown was wrestling with the same emotions he had felt five months earlier in Dunedin, when the All Blacks’ margin of victory had been a solitary point. He spoke then of ‘failure’ and the Harlequins full-back wasn’t about to sugarcoat his assessments this time.
‘If we’re brutally honest, it is another “what if?”,’ he said, as the grimace on his face conveyed so much personal angst. ‘We’re here to win and again we’ve let it go. We’ve got to start putting these games away and there is massive disappointment at the moment.’
Putting a finger on the reasons why proved difficult. Brown talked about some ‘momentum- shifts’ which went against England. He conceded that ‘maybe’ his fumble from Kyle Eastmond’s pass which should have created a second try was a significant factor, although he pointed to his efforts to stem the black tide at the other end.
Whatever the causes, his overriding message was sheer dejection at the outcome. ‘One reason Stuart (Lancaster) picks the players he does is we are all competitive,’ said Brown. ‘I probably show it more than some of the other guys who keep it to themselves, but we’re all competitive and we want to win, so we are annoyed and disappointed.’
In reference to the next instalment of the QBE series, against the wounded Springboks this Saturday, Brown added: ‘We have to get over this quickly because we’ve got another massive Test next week. But at the moment I’m going to sulk because we came up short.’
In reality, despite the distorting effect of a late England penalty try, the harsh truth is that the national team came up some distance short this time. After an electrifying start featuring a sensational try by Jonny May, the hosts’ challenge subsided alarmingly as the stadium was engulfed in an autumn downpour.
New Zealand were commanding. They squeezed and suffocated their rivals — playing the conditions expertly, while England floundered in their own half; undermined by a lack of composure and kicking deficiencies. Lancaster’s men could not escape the world champions’ grip, even when they had a numerical advantage while Dane Coles was in the sin bin. The English party line afterwards was that this contest swung on a third quarter domi- nated by the Kiwis but, in truth, Steve Hansen’s team had recovered from a sluggish start and found some rhythm before the break.
The home side were still under the cosh after the hour mark, as they conceded one penalty that Beauden Barrett squandered and another he sent through the posts.
Then came another illustration of the gulf between these teams. The All Blacks’ 72nd-minute try, scored by Charlie Faumuina, was an exhibition of wet-weather rugby as they drove and passed at close quarters until they were over the line. That summed up the clinical edge that New Zealand possess.
Earlier, shortly after May justified his selection by scorching past Conrad Smith and Israel Dagg to score, he leapt to gather a bouncing kick in the opposition 22, but was unable to release Owen Farrell.
While it is harsh to highlight such a missed opportunity, in the same situation the All Blacks would take the chance. It was the same scenario moments later, when Brown dropped Eastmond’s pass. England will not win these contests until they develop that killer instinct.
Dave Attwood, the Bath lock who was magnificent on his return to the starting XV, conceded said: ‘We talk about being clean and clinical in our half and in the second half there were too many instances when we didn’t execute well enough. If we’re going to become world champions, we need to execute an awful lot better.’
Talk of ‘positives’ after defeat conveys a jarring message that the result is not the be-all and end-all. Yet May’s finish was dazzling, Eastmond impressed, Brad Barritt was strong and Chris Robshaw put in a herculean shift. The lineout was immaculate while the scrum reserves earned the penalty try which made the scoreline falsely respectable.
Post-match speculation about a World Cup final between these nations next year seemed fanciful. The development stage stretches on, as does the losing run, which now stands at four Tests — albeit all against the Kiwis. Next up are South Africa, stung by defeat in Dublin. A tough week could turn into a tough month.