With
its huge glass roof and electric atmosphere The Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin
is known as ‘The Caludron of Pain’ and on Saturday it certainly lived up to its
nickname for Chris Robshaw and his men as they ended the Second Test battered,
bruised and defeated by a rejuvenated All Blacks side.
It
was a game of two halves, the first dominated by a rampant England and the
second by the ruthless All Blacks. Once again it was one of the great Test
Matches, the type of Test Match that inspires people to play rugby and that
makes you proud to be a supporter of both your country and the game.
England rode the opening 40 minutes well and the half time
score line of 10-6 in their favour was a fair reflection of the two sides at
that point in time however after 15 minutes of rest New Zealand turned the screw.
The All Blacks dominated for half an hour, they were efficient and clinically
put the match just out of the reach of the men in White. One man in particular
ignited the home side and that was Ben Smith, who owned the 15 shirt and
delivered nothing short of a masterclass. Whilst the final roll of the dice
went England's way, and their relentless pursuit of that final try should be
applauded the night belonged to the home side.
Now,
I’m sure that Stuart Lancaster and his coaching team will come in for
some criticism over the next few days due to the fact that Manu's lack of wing
experience scuppered 7 points and the central partnership of Twelvetrees and
Burrell didn’t quite sing as much as we’ve all hoped that it would! However I
must ask you this... is there ever a good time to try such a switch?? I
honestly don't believe that there is...every
game is huge, every game has a lot riding on it and to really test out someone
in a new position you have to do so against the best, not against a lesser side.
I fully expect Manu to head back into the centre and Chris Ashton or Jonny May
to start in Hamilton, however it was essential, in Stuart's eyes, that this
combination was tried... you may not agree with him but you can't fault his
bravery.
I
expect there will be a few disappointed players in terms of their individual
performances as well as the result, Danny Care was a tad rusty and Mike Brown
and Owen Farrell weren’t at the very top of their games however all will bounce
back strongly in 6 days times. Positively, up front Graham Rowntree
is developing something special, he is creating a pack that causes havoc for
the opposition, whoever they are, both at the set piece and in the loose. Any
questions over David Wilson’s inclusion were buried early on as he had one of
his best games in an England shirt as did one of the unsung heroes of the side
Joe Launchbury, however let’s not focus on individuals, and instead let’s look
at this result and what it means for this England side.
Leading into this tour many spoke of the fact that if England won just one match then it would be deemed a success however from the reaction of our England Camp, both last weekend and today, you know that they wanted more. In the immediate aftermath of the final whistle Tom Wood spoke to Sky Sports and his message was simple ‘it just wasn’t good enough and it hurts.’ This England side are devastated and bitterly annoyed with themselves for losing to the All Blacks, at home, by 1 point. Let me just repeat that; England are bitterly disappointed to losing to the All Blacks, at home, by 1 point, I remember a time when that would be considered a monumental effort and a huge result, however not now. I applaud this desire to achieve and desire to fulfill their potential however I also would urge the players not to beat themselves up too much, positives must be highlighted, taken on board and ultimately built on.
