In the wake of England’s one-point defeat to New Zealand on Saturday, the emotion was plain to see; anguish was etched onto the faces of the English players and coaches alike. The All Blacks, conversely, were delighted with the win and, I am sure, a little relieved. They were pushed close. Of that there is no doubt.
In truth, the one-point margin may have somewhat flattered England and their second-half performance; Mike Brown’s try 10 minutes from the end was questionable at best and New Zealand’s awe-inspiring performance in the third quarter was fully deserving of the 15-point lead it yielded. However, the fact is that England did score two converted tries when they could have easily let their heads drop as the game neared its end, which proves their character as a team.
It is undeniable that England will learn a great deal from these closely-fought back-to-back losses in New Zealand. If they had been on the receiving end of two crushing defeats, it would have been extremely detrimental for this team. The fact that they held the lead and came so close to winning on two occasions, and seemed comfortable controlling both games for some periods of time, means that next time they will not make the same mistakes. The improvements in game management will be huge, and if they find themselves leading the third and final test against New Zealand next week, one has to imagine that they would be much better prepared to preserve it and see out the match.
Stuart Lancaster has also learned a lot from both tests. Firstly, he has learned about the strength and depth of this England squad; it seems a long time ago that the pundits were predicting a 30 or 40-point loss for the weakened England side that took the field against New Zealand a week ago. Secondly, he has learned about what choices in selection he should or should not be making. This refers mainly to Manu Tuliagi. Apart from an opportunist break that saw him sprint 90 metres towards the New Zealand line (only to be denied a try by Ben Smith’s sensational try-saving tackle), Tuilagi did not set the field alight from the wing. Lancaster may choose to select him on the wing again and give it another shot, but many are calling for him to return to the centre, saying that his go-forward ability was missed in the centre and that he is too potent to be wasted on the wing. It is better that Lancaster knows this now, rather than being unsure about it as a selection choice in the build-up to the world cup.
England have also come close to dispelling the myth of the All Blacks’ perceived ‘superhuman’ ability. They have proved that New Zealand can be rattled and taken very close, and they were so very close to proving once and for all that New Zealand are beatable. England have one more chance to do so in the final test. They will go into that test with a better chance of winning than they did for the first or second one, and even though the series is lost, a single win in New Zealand against the All Blacks would boost England’s belief and confidence, and say a lot about how far they have come since Stuart Lancaster’s tenure as England Head Coach began.
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