The All Blacks against England, the mostly eagerly anticipated match of the 2013 QBE
Internationals, the match in which the rugby is that little bit faster, the
crowd is that little bit louder and the tickets are that little bit harder to
get!!
Last year’s fixture was one of the best ever in the history of English Rugby and the most encouraging thing was the manner in which England achieved the win. England were cut throat and clinical and when the All Blacks came back into the
match they were simply brushed aside again as our XV stormed to victory.
Needless to say it was an outstanding performance and one that our squad has
been striving to emulate ever since. For the All Blacks it created a massive dent in
their pride and since then they have been on the redemption rampage; this year they've scored 372 of
the best points in world rugby and have not lost a match.
The experience and quality of the All Blacks XV can only be
described as outrageous, their sublime grasp of the basics coupled with the
best creative flair in the world makes them a hand full to say the least. When
you see the names Richie McCaw, Kieran Read, Israel Dagg, Ma'a Nonu and Dan Carter
on a team sheet you know that things are going to get interesting! However if
we discovered anything from last year and indeed from last weekend’s test against
France this set of All Blacks 'Galácticos'
are beatable.
England were written off by many before these 2013 QBE
Internationals even started and yet here we are approaching the final game of
the series and our team have two wins from two. Yes, the performances haven't
been superb (at times!) and yes, we haven't seen a full polished 80 minutes
of rugby but yet that is what Saturday is for right!?! There is no doubt that
our squad has the talent and capabilities, we have seen them in full from some
already and in flashes from others but
to beat the best team in the world for a second time in a row it will take
collective brilliance. Sadly injuries have played a major part in the preparation
for this match, Matt Mullan will be
counting his lucky stars that he is involved, Alex Corbisiero will be cursing his knees and Manu Tuilagi will be shouting from his recovery suite. However we are where we are and it is down to Stuart's match day 23 (here) to step up and do the business. As ever the work horses of Chris Robshaw and
Tom Wood will lead from the front, let us hope that Owen's boot remains on song and that Mike Brown continues to be larger-than-life. Why? Well, because when it comes down
to it pride in the shirt and the 16th man can only help so
much and in matches like this one it is the rugby on the pitch that is all that matters.
I don't need to stress the importance of this game for England, by
now we are all well aware of the context of the Rugby World Cup 2015. However let me say this, if
we do lose on Saturday then it is not over for this team. Instead it
will be used to fuel the fire and will be contextualised that on Saturday 16th November 2013, 2 years away from a home RWC, the All Blacks were the better
team.
So, can England do this? Can they beat the All Blacks again at
home? Well, the statistics and the form books say that it is unlikely, however
when did a true fan ever listen to them!? Our England team will need to
believe, wholeheartedly that they can beat the mighty All Blacks, if they do
not then it is game over before any member of our match day 23 has even stepped
onto the pitch. When the All Blacks are on top of their game they are sublime and yes
they do have some of the biggest talents in world rugby, however despite what many
think we do have weapons that could hurt them. Our England team need to pull out
the performance of the year in
order to compete in and win this game. One way or another it will be
epic, the rugby will exhilarating, the hits will be huge and the tempo will be outrageously fast. So it is time to get your game faces on and to fasten your seat belts because the All Blacks are in town and there is everything to play for at Twickenham.
