Despite all the collective uproar over Joe Marler’s indiscreet comments about Haka before the game, one can forgive Marler Inc. for issuing an invoice to the RFU. Because his incendiary verdict on the protected sanctity of New Zealand’s rallying war cry sent waves of electricity through his 82,000 fans. The same goes for the cacophony of sound that engulfs the stadium seconds before kick-off, threatening to hit the Richter scale.
Eighty minutes later, the situation was quite the opposite. The air was sucked out of the stadium for what seemed like forever, but was measured in two seconds. The crowd was transfixed by the rugby ball, which rose vertically from end to end into the sky. There was a collective groan within milliseconds as the ball flew a few meters wide of the target.
Anyone with a trained eye on George Ford would have guessed the result when his shoulders slumped and when he turned around, confusion was hidden behind those cold blue eyes. Ford, often Britain’s savior, exaggerated his lines.
That was the game. Just as Marcus Smith blew the metaphorical roof off Twickenham by demolishing Ireland with a final swipe of his right boot in March, Ford’s spotless boot kept England at bay looking for an answer.
Steve Borthwick rushed to the press after the game and offered his usual praise for the ‘great’ New Zealand team and his team’s incredible effort. His usual monotonous delivery was tested once when he was asked about England’s late decision and he asked the inquiring reporter exactly what the question meant. Of course, the real scrutiny will be far away from the prying eyes and ears of the media gathered within the confines of Pennyhill Park, but there is no time to brood over the Wallabies’ fourth narrow loss in five Tests when they land in London. In just a few hours. We need answers and there is no time to waste.
Borthwick doesn’t have to look hard to find the question. With England leading 22-14, why did they take out a half-back unit that seemed poised to finally take control of the game? Were the isolation of Ellis Genge and the untimely departure of defense coach Felix Jones a factor in two of New Zealand’s three tries? Would Fin Smith rather than Ford have been a better choice, given Ford’s lack of matching sharpness?
In fact, England’s use of the bench has been linked to a worrying decline in impact. In three Tests against the All Blacks, the Red Rose have scored just nine runs in the final 30 minutes. This is equivalent to 90 minutes of rugby. There are blunt instruments and there are times when England finish the game. Compare and contrast this with Rassie Erasmus’ strong bench and you’ll be worried about the visit of the double world champions. It is foolish for England management to talk about ‘learning’ while putting up signs saying ‘nothing to see here’. Just as the 2003 World Cup winners paraded from their headquarters in front of a passionate crowd at half-time, they must learn the tricks of winning close games.
England’s back-row performed commendably, with Chandler Cunningham-South’s thunderous tackle no doubt earning a respected nod from the watching Courtney Lawes.
It wasn’t all bad. Far from it. England’s back row put in a commendable performance, with Chandler Cunningham-South’s thunderous tackle earning a respected nod from the undoubtedly watching Courtney Lawes and Ben Earl earning a points decision in a heated battle with Ardie Savea. But the player who outperformed everyone else on the park was Wallace Sititi. Over the past 12 months, he has taken charge of Savea as a young New Zealand prospect aged just 22. His off-target acceleration, offloading ability (which helped him land his first attempt at Telea’a), and understanding of space saw him introduce himself onto the world stage after a breakthrough season. England had absolutely no players to compete with.
Rob Valentini may not have Sititi’s skill set, but Will Skelton and Taniela Tupou are also in the same ranks, so he may not run out of fitness on Saturday and England’s defense will not dare to drop below the 88% tackle success rate they achieved against All. black.
Despite playing more creatively than in 2023, there is little room left to struggle in 2024 before England get their report card after their kick-and-chase tactics have prompted groans of frustration. A win over the Wallabies is essential and a statement win over the Springboks would make up for the one-point loss during the World Cup. But there is hope, but despite the passion of Jamie George’s protests and rallying cries, confidence is fragile. Honest and intelligent, George used to struggle to win poker games. Because the pain was etched on his face when the final whistle blew. And in no case is he one to make poor excuses. “We’re very close to being a good team, but we’ve been saying that for a while.” The UK is definitely good, but the results are not good.
Mahler, who was seen pounding the press center after the game wearing a flat cap, all black jersey and shorts ensemble with ankle boots and pink socks, has lost some of the color of the team, but there is no time to lament. Britain has lost one of its biggest figures. Just hours after his replacement was announced, Asher Opoku Ford-Sejour steamrolled his way into the England camp.
A clearly relieved Scott Barrett suggested after the game that if there were any differences between the two sides it would have been down to New Zealand wanting to play more rugby and it would have been difficult to agree.
What is blatantly clear is that as much as Borthwick retains older lieutenants to keep order (read: Dan Cole, George Ford, Jamie George and Henry Slade), he also includes up-and-coming man Immanuel Feyi-Waboso in his squad. Fin Baxter, Cunningham-South and Theo Dan have become more attractive. Cunningham-South and Feyi-Waboso have been the main players in getting the crowd to support their team and their youthful exuberance is infectious.
A clearly relieved Scott Barrett suggested after the game that if there was a difference between the two sides, he wanted New Zealand to play more rugby, and it was difficult to agree since they had beaten England 3-1. They outperformed England in every attacking metric. They did more line breaks, post contact meters and ball carries. Defensive statistics (101 tackles for New Zealand and 178 for England) also showed that the England side rarely bothered Scott Robertson’s men. The suggestion is that for all the offensive weapons Britain professes to possess, risk-averse pragmatism is never far behind.
The aquaculture brochure suggests that Joe Schmidt’s men will provide easier prey. Satirized on the shores of the Rugby Championship and looking for an identity in a code struggling for relevance in a crowded sporting landscape, they will have nowhere to hide for the coming month but if they are within a score of a faltering England with 20 minutes to go. Few would blame fans for shifting anxiously in their seats as time ticks away.
If England can once again rouse the classy Twickenham crowd to build a wall of noise as they did against the All Blacks, they will have done their job. Because there’s still a lot of goodwill left in the tanks for Borthwick’s troops. They are tantalizingly close to where they want to be, but Test fixtures do not hand out cigars for second place and this is where England are now more routinely found at the final whistle. Patience is not infinite so you need to stop making excuses and look for solutions. A win against the Wallabies would be acceptable.
