HOW I BEAT THE ALL BLACKS: No1 CHRIS ROBSHAW
England 38 NZ 21 December 1 2012, Twickenham
I will never forget the way Manu Tuilagi played, running through people, swatting off New Zealand’s players. Without him we would not have had that scoreline.
He was incredible, a man possessed; he was tackling, smashing people, carrying, getting intercepts, he scored a try, he set up other tries.
If England are to win this weekend they need him to produce a performance like that. Defensively we smothered them but we had a bit of luck. Dan Carter missed a couple of kicks that he normally would have slotted over in his sleep.
Just after half time we were 15-0 up, but they scored two very quick tries. I heard the whole crowd go “ooh” almost as if they were thinking, “here they come, this is what the All Blacks have been waiting for”, but Manu was unrelenting; he was the real force behind our win.
It was only towards the end when we started to pull away that I started to feel like we could do it. Only in the last five minutes did it feel like a done deal.
Against New Zealand the whole team have to play well and we had 15 guys on form, with Brad Barritt not far behind Manu. In my six times playing them that was the only victory.
Facing the haka that day was quite something. The crowd’s singing engulfed it. It helped get us off to the perfect start. There was a real edge and intensity about the match, but also a party atmosphere.
There was real excitement and tension and as players we lived off that energy. That spurred us on. I had a lot of friends and family there. It is a memory that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
Richie Mccaw and his team were very respectful after that match. He always tested you as a back row. So, to play against him and swap jerseys was very special. They don’t lose too often, but they were very gracious.
It is one of the best games and results in my career. But there was so much more than just the match – the atmosphere, the team, the fun we had afterwards; there were a few sore heads.
You always want to be the ones to upset the odds, to be the ones to make history in an England shirt and that is the opportunity the guys have. I think we are in a strong position to beat them again.