Rugby World Cup: England pull off their greatest victory...
When the All Blacks perform the haka before matches, their opponents usually line up shoulder to shoulder, said Nik Simon in The Mail on Sunday. Not England. On Saturday, moments before the start of the World Cup semi-final, the players formed a “V” shape. And when Owen Farrell “stepped in front of the haka and broke into a twisted smile”, it was clear that something was brewing. What followed was England’s “greatest 80-minute performance in history”. They beat the three-time world champions, a team who had not lost a World Cup game for 4,403 days, by 19-7 – and if anything, the scoreline flattered New Zealand.
In his three years as England’s head coach, Eddie
Jones has spoken of wanting his team to be “true to the national rugby DNA”, said Chris Foy in the Daily Mail. That has meant emphasising “set-piece strength, work rate, defensive force and all-round aggression”. But this remarkable performance was more than the “full English”: at times, England looked more like All Blacks than New Zealand did. They were more skilful, more accurate, more clinical. Jones and his coaches “deserve as much credit” for the victory as the players, said Robert Kitson in The Guardian. Their “intensively choreographed” game plan – which started with that response to the haka – was carried out to a T. It was their line-out plan that made the biggest difference, said Gavin Mairs in The Daily Telegraph. That set-piece was supposed to be the All Blacks’ strength – particularly as they had selected four jumpers for the occasion. Yet England dominated throughout. And that allowed the team to unleash Tom Curry and Sam Underhill, their fearsome flankers, to spearhead their “brutal assault on the breakdown”: England exerted so much pressure that they forced the All Blacks to concede 11 penalties, compared to just six of their own.
Several England players “produced the performances of their careers”, said Daniel Schofield in The Sunday Telegraph. Curry and Underhill had New Zealand “in a tailspin”; George Ford, restored at fly-half, played “with majesty”. But Maro Itoje, the 25-year-old lock, was on another level. He found “a way to control the tide, bending the game to his will”. Every contribution – whether it was one of his “bone-rattling” tackles or his disruption at the breakdown – was decisive. This performance could mark the “beginning of a dynasty in English rugby”, said Mick Cleary in The Daily Telegraph. What is so exciting about the victory is just how young this side are: Ford is 26; Underhill is 23, and Curry just 21. Only two of the players who started on Saturday are in their 30s. This England team has a bright future.