New Zealand ended England’s short-lived reign as rugby union’s number one with a crushing 36-3 win on Saturday over the World Cup champions.
Flyhalf Carlos Spencer and wingers Joe Rokocoko and Doug Howlett scored first-half tries as the All Blacks shattered England’s confidence and reputation on the way to a 30-3 half-time lead.
Center Daniel Carter scored the only points of the second half, kicking two penalties to finish with eight goals from eight attempts and a personal tally of 21 points.
England’s only points came from a 12th-minute penalty to flyhalf Charlie Hodgson, who replaced injured World Cup hero Jonny Wilkinson.
”We wanted to start well and we did,” said All Blacks captain Tana Umaga. ”This is a great All Blacks outfit, a great bunch of guys, and I think we just showed experience and leadership all over the park.”
New Zealand outplayed England in every aspect, gaining the bulk of possession and territory, and giving full vent to their backline brilliance.
England fielded their largest Test pack to date, a formidable unit averaging more than 113kg per man and with three players taller than 2m. For all their weight and height, the mobile All Blacks forwards more than held their own.
”Tough day at the office? Yes, that was tough,” said England coach Clive Woodward.
”I was disappointed with the 30 points they scored in the first half. We fell off a few tackles early in the game,” Woodward said.
”They deserved to win. I thought New Zealand were far sharper, they were quicker to secure the 50-50 ball. Now we’ve got to regroup for the second Test.”
New Zealand coach Graham Henry said before the match his team were only 40% prepared to take on the World Champions. If his estimation was correct, it was a grim warning for England who must face an improved New Zealand team in the second Test in
Auckland next week.
”We’re just delighted,” Henry said after the match. ”We just took the initiative and we continued with the initiative through the whole game.”
”Both the scrum and the lineout, which we worked on very hard, were outstanding,” he said. ”They were superb, the forward pack. That was a big challenge for us and they responded to that challenge.”
From the first seconds of the match, when Rokocoko fielded the kick-off and beat three tacklers on a solo run, New Zealand showed the ability to outflank or directly penetrate the English screen.
Woodward defended his touring squad in the week before the match against charges that they were well below the standard of the World Cup-winning team.
Woodward discounted the unavailability of flyhalf Wilkinson and said the team, but for the absence of wing Jason Robinson, were the best England could field. His words may have haunted him on Saturday as New Zealand completely outclassed his line-up.
Henry may have taken a deep personal satisfaction from the win — his first in charge of the All Blacks — after tussling publicly with several of the English players when he led the British Lions to Australia in 2001.
The All Blacks’ win lifted some of the gloom that descended on New Zealand after their World Cup semifinal defeat by Australia last year.
Despite the scoreline on Saturday, Henry predicted the All Blacks will face a better England team in the second Test next week.
”England were a bit tired. It’s the end of a very, very long season for them,” he said. ”They’ll be very good next week, don’t worry about that.”
Henry made his mark on the team with his first selection, giving three players their first taste of Test rugby on Saturday. Jono Gibbes started at blindside flanker and had an outstanding game in lineouts, while Nick Evans and Sam Tuitupou took the field from the bench. — Sapa-AP