The All Blacks may have got the victory on the night, and maintained their 19-year unbeaten run at Eden Park but in terms of the performance, not many points would have been given to the men in black.
Perhaps such a scrappy, messy game was to be expected when England announced that this was always going to be their 2nd string team with the likes of Owen Farrell, Dylan Hartley, etc. were unavailable due to their involvement in the Premiership Final last weekend.
Perhaps the All Blacks had read too much into the lack of expectation given to this England side and took the gas off as they seemed stuck in 2nd gear all night.
Alas, the game was very much dominated by good defence out wide and very poor decisions and ball handling skills.
It has been a while since we've seen so many poor performances by individual players in black with the likes of Dagg, Nonu, Ben Smith, etc. failing to move past the average status tonight with dropped balls, dropped passes, missed tackles, etc.
In the end, it took Mr Dependable, Conrad Smith to ensure the ABs would kick off the international season with victory again.
If anything that try just re-emphasized how mentally tough this ABs side is even when they are not at their best in all other aspects of their game - a reminder to the rest of world rugby that they'll need to figure out a way to get through those stick skulls of the men wearing black.
But for Steve Hansen and his charges, it will be a week of contemplation and working hard on their handling and plays.
For England, this was a vital moral victory over a year out from the Rugby World Cup on their home turf. The fact that they came so close to stealing victory at the All Blacks' best home ground with their B team will boost confidence and morale in the team. Ward out on the wing was magnificent after a shaky start as were Ben Youngs, Freddie Burns, Chris Robshaw, Manu Tuilagi and Mike Brown. The first stringers might very well struggle to get back into the side.
Expect the English media as usual to underline their moral victory in the coming week - and expect the ABs to pick up on this and be fired up in the Deep South.
I know this was a second string English team but a few factors remain - the all blacks were expected to continue their 14 game winning streak and their perfect record at eden park since 1994. the English team have also spent a while season together (even the 2nd string players) while the all blacks have had a week. The pressure was on the all blacks to win. When an opposition comes in as the underdog they have nothing to lose...
ReplyDelete