RUGBY UNION BEST IS YET TO SCRUM

England produce an incredible performance to knockout the All Blacks and Jones vows his side will be even better in the World Cup Final

Alex Spink

OWEN FARRELL and his h England heroes stormed into the final of the Rugby World C Cup - then promised the best is still st to come.

An astonishing mix of power, po pace and precision allied to suffoca suffocating defence saw England crush the t two- time defending ch champions in Yokoha Yokohama.

N Never had the R Re d Ros e n nation beaten N New Zealand in a World Cup befo before ransacking their hopes and turning th their dreams to nightmares yesterday. “New Zealand are the gods of rugby,” Eddie Jones (below) said after his side led from start to finish to set up a final against either Wales or South Africa this coming Saturday.

“We wanted to take it to them, to put them on the back foot. Where this ranks as a performance we don’t know, we’re not historians.

“What we do know is that we can play better next week.”

England had the All

Blacks on the back foot from the moment they lined up in V- formation and closed in on them during the pre-match Haka.

“We wanted to make sure they understood we would be ready for the fight,” said Mako Vunipola.

Referee Nigel Owens actually had to warn Joe Marler to move back in order that the men in black could perform the famous Maori war-dance. “Hope they don’t live to regret that,” World Cup winner Matt Dawson said from the sidelines, echoing what England fans were doubtless thinking.

Sensational

He need not have worried. Not on this day, in this town, with this team, for England were simply sensational.

If New Zealand came into the contest as gods they left as mere mortals, so bruised that coach Steve Hansen appeared to offer out a j ournalist who questioned whether his players had turned up with the right attitude.

Condemning what he saw as disrespect, Hansen snapped: “If you want to spend some time outside I’ll give you a rugby