Saq
It is one of the most remarkable records in sport, and even more so in rugby. You have to go back 30 years, to July 1994, and a 23-20 defeat to France, for the last time the All Blacks lost at Eden Park, their Auckland citadel.
England will need to end a 48-test unbeaten run, including 46 wins and two draws, to level the series against New Zealand. As two virtually unchanged teams prepare to face each other, that’s what Steve Borthwick will want.
Another tour de force from Itoje
The build-up to the first Test was littered with rumours about Maro Itoje’s workload at the end of a gruelling season. Before the tour, some wondered whether it would be better to keep him at home or give him a peripheral role to bolster the depth of England’s second row. What followed was a perfect storm.
There may come a time when Itoje’s place is questioned, perhaps if George Martin and Ollie Chessum become a potent duo for Leicester Tigers. But the 29-year-old from Saracen is still capable of exceptional performances. He produced them on the 2021 British and Irish Lions tour, at last year’s World Cup and even in the 2024 Six Nations.
Last weekend, Itoje made an opportunistic try-scoring appearance after a clever throw-in that he would have called himself. Alongside Ollie Lawrence, he was England’s biggest turnover threat, forcing two interceptions. This game, he bides his time as a tackle collapses before pouncing on the ball, jacking it cleanly and presenting the ball to Fin Baxter:
Having emerged as a chief irritant, Itoje has become a strategic leader in the lineout. Those skills were put to the test in Dunedin with Chandler Cunningham-South and Martin the other two main jumpers. There was some early tremor, with a Jamie George throw hitting the back of Cunningham-South’s head, but England were reasonably accurate from there.
On the opposing ball, Itoje made a superb interruption. He rose to catch this touch…
…and was awarded a free-kick later. Marking Ardie Savea, Itoje forced Asafo Aumua into a feint pass.
Mastering the New Zealand touch is essential if England are to conquer Eden Park. Itoje, you sense, has yet to produce a superb performance in this 13-month campaign.
More jamming synergy
The ultra-aggressive blitz defense, like the system Felix Jones has implemented, aims to apply pressure with a tight press that pays particular attention to opposing playmakers. Players press up and inside, often swimming past flat runners to “sack” deeper distributors behind the gain line.
Even if everything goes very well, as it did for England at Forsyth Barr Stadium, there is a trade-off. The approach is prone to conceding breakthroughs over the line. In the first Test, the All Blacks recorded nine. If they scored only 16 points, that is partly down to England’s collective ability to cover behind onrushing defenders.
This is a good example. TJ Perenara serves Ethan de Groot, who lays the ball off to Damian McKenzie. Martin rushes past Samipeni Finau, one of the All Blacks, to smash McKenzie. Behind him, however, Cunningham-South bites Patrick Tuipulotu rather than closing in to follow Martin. This leaves a huge gap for Scott Barrett and McKenzie sends him through.
But look closely at Ben Earl. Initially facing De Groot, he turns around and rushes under the front line to take down the aircraft carrier:
On the wings, these readjustments are even more vital. Here, New Zealand have just forced a turnover on the restart after Immanuel Feyi-Waboso’s try. They have spread the ball to the opposite flank. As McKenzie collects a pass from Savea, with Stephen Perofeta and Rieko Ioane heading to his outside, Feyi-Waboso fires wide.
McKenzie takes the invitation to find Mark Telea over the top, but Feyi-Waboso is athletic enough to brake and back, guiding Telea towards the touchline. Henry Slade covers well too, and is unlucky to strike:
From this position, as McKenzie plays the pass to Telea, Feyi-Waboso appears to have endangered England by leaving a huge gap:
Overall, England are learning to adapt to the compromising situations they find themselves in with such an aggressive blitz. George Furbank, who covered a lot of ground by swinging from flank to flank and getting on the outside shoulders of his wingers, was a key element, so Freddie Steward must pick up the slack.
England will need to reiterate their effort and commitment in Auckland and in Perenara’s absence they may also have specific plans to upset Finlay Christie.
Cheer up at the breakdown
According to Stats Perform, England lost eight of the 76 rucks they spent in possession in the series opener. That return is crippling for teams, as surrendered rucks can mean a variety of damaging things: a penalty conceded, an attack derailed or a counter-attacking opportunity missed.
By contrast, the All Blacks have lost just three of their 117 games. The points tally reflects aspects such as the cohesion of the support play and the clearance technique. They may not have agreed with all of referee Nika Amashukeli’s interpretations, but England were second best and paid the price.
Amashukeli also oversaw the victory over Ireland in March, which saw a much clearer result of 80 rucks won out of 84. England scored three tries on that basis and advanced up the field for Marcus Smith’s winning drop goal. Borthwick had highlighted the danger of New Zealand’s ruck disruption in early June, and would have been particularly frustrated.
If kicking is a way to ease defensive pressure on the back-end, England had 14 phases of play in a row for Feyi-Waboso’s try. As well as controlling territory and asking questions in the air, England will want Alex Mitchell to move around the ruck and Steward to collect the ball deep.
They will be keen to see Smith running flat out with bodies moving around him. Feyi-Waboso and Tommy Freeman are expected to move around and take touches. It is a matter of the tourists keeping their cool and improving their accuracy to appease referee Nic Berry.
Better use of the bench
It is easy to criticise substitutions in retrospect, especially without a detailed knowledge of the players’ fitness. Yet England lost momentum in the final quarter, slowly letting a 15-10 advantage slip away. Mitchell was taken off after 57 minutes, having played 68 minutes against Wales, 65 minutes against Ireland and 69 minutes against France in the Six Nations.
There were also questions about whether keeping Smith on might have moved England forward, breaking the deadlock they found themselves in in the final ten minutes, or at least shaking them out of what seemed to be a conservative mindset of restraint. In truth, Borthwick just needed better performances from Alex Coles and Tom Curry, who both conceded avoidable penalties.
Ben Spencer was clearly part of a plan to take contestable kicks in an attempt to win back possession or at least hold the hosts back, but New Zealand were too confident in the backfield. Borthwick has faith in his team and has resisted radical changes to his 23-man lineup for the day. Just after half-time, in consultation with his fitness guru Aled Walters, he will have to make more critical decisions.
Boxing smart in the scrum
The first 50 minutes of the World Cup semi-final, with England fielding a front row of Joe Marler, Jamie George and Dan Cole, produced the most convincing scrum performance of the Borthwick era. Since then, to demonstrate how these veterans should be handled in open play, Marler and Cole have been split up. One has started, the other on the bench.
Marler’s foot injury, with Ellis Genge already injured and Beno Obano suspended, has dropped Borthwick down the prop depth chart. Jason Ryan, meanwhile, has turned the All Blacks’ scrum into a fearsome operation. That surge in Dunedin was a telling statement of New Zealand’s dominance:
Fin Baxter, George and Will Stuart should form a solid starting unit and Ethan de Groot’s corners will be closely watched. With Bevan Rodd and Theo Dan, England are likely to be under pressure again in the final quarter. On their own play, they will need to move the ball quickly. On the opposition ball, they will need to dig in and block to avoid penalties. Could Martin be moved to the prop side for extra ball?
Efficiency everywhere
It is clear that England cannot hope to secure a resounding victory with more profligacy at the start. Smith, normally reliable for Harlequins, must take over. Henry Slade is an able replacement. But other areas – winning back clearances, clearing the ball forward from their own half, the launch games that were so sloppy in the first Test – must also be sharper.
A winning mindset
Borthwick’s team don’t want to be seen as a near-manly team. But in the last nine months they have suffered three extremely narrow defeats to South Africa, France and New Zealand. The positive is that they tend to stay in the race.
All week they have demonstrated that only the smallest of margins – a penalty here, a missed shot there – cost them victory in Dunedin. Theoretically, the All Blacks should do better. Yet the English brains, led by Borthwick and Jones, have now taken a look at New Zealand. And there should be no sense of inferiority, as there has been in the past.
Take Sam Underhill, for example. He has faced New Zealand three times, losing twice by the same score, 16-15, and beating them once. Itoje and George played the full 80 minutes of the Lions’ win in Wellington seven years ago and started the match at Eden Park a week later.
The All Blacks team remains much greener, and the weight of history could feel claustrophobic for Scott Robertson’s men in the closing stages – provided England have done enough to stay in touch.
Saq
