It has taken a while but Stuart Lancaster’s England squad finally know how it feels to win on New Zealand soil. If the opposition for Saturday’s third and final Test are likely to be far tougher, the touring midweekers have at least demonstrated how to put a Kiwi team away if the opportunity arises. Six tries in total, four of them in the first-half, will do visiting morale no harm at all.

Despite the absence of 10 All Black squad members, including Richie McCaw, Kieran Read et al, there were still six internationals in this Crusaders’ squad, yet England were never remotely in danger of losing. The inevitable frustration prompted by successive defeats to the All Blacks in the opening two Tests has yielded a positive outcome, just as the management hoped it would.

They will have been particularly cheered by the performance of Sale’s Danny Cipriani, who posed a regular creative threat at fly-half during his 47 minutes on the field and generally propelled his team into the right areas of the field. Matt Kvesic, Alex Goode, James Haskell and the captain Ed Slater also made decent impacts and, collectively, there was an impressive air of purpose in the final week of a long season.

Cipriani once again looked a man absolutely relishing his second bite of the international cherry after a lengthy period in exile. Not all his kicks from hand found their precise target but, crucially, his option-taking was mostly spot on and he retains the ability to make things happen on and around the gain-line.

His confidence seems to be increasing daily and his desire to be part of next year’s World Cup has also done wonders for his sense of esprit de corps. “As a team I thought we had control of the game throughout and that’s what’s important,” said Cipriani. “The whole point was to make sure we put in a good performance everyone could be proud of. It was very important we gave the squad a lift going into the third Test.” Given England have not beaten any Kiwi opponents in New Zealand since 2003, there was a dash of historical significance, too.

England would have played games in Christchurch during the last World Cup had the devastating earthquake of 2011 not intervened. This was the first visit by any international side since and large parts of the city remain shattered, awaiting final insurance and structural engineering decisions. The temporary arena erected as a replacement for the unusable old Lancaster Park generated a better atmosphere, even so, than many permanent venues, with the traditional pre-match lap by sword-wielding horsemen unaffected. It certainly galvanised England, who had two smartly taken tries on the board inside seven minutes.

The first was nicely engineered by Cipriani, his accurate inside ball sending hooker Joe Gray over, while the second came courtesy of a bad defensive mistake by winger Johnny McNicholl. Assuming Goode’s grubber kick would bounce out of play McNicholl was outwitted by the chasing Ben Foden who hooked the ball back into play and touched down for the softest of scores.

On a cool, clear evening the Crusaders also lost their captain, George Whitelock, towards the end of the first quarter but his talented replacement Matt Todd burrowed over for a try at the other end within three minutes of coming on. The respite was temporary, Brad Barritt shouldering through the defence to score England’s third try inside the half-hour mark.

Good work by Slater, Kvesic and Henry Trinder soon teed up Goode for a fourth, again converted by Cipriani, to increase England’s interval lead to 26-7. The pace did slacken slightly in the third quarter as the breakdown battle intensified and England introduced a raft of replacements but a sharp piece of finishing from the distinctly rapid Anthony Watson, put away by Worcester’s Chris Pennell, restored some lost momentum. Watson is still eligible for the England under-20 side and his progress next season will be fascinating to watch.

Pennell also scored a last-minute try which will mean plenty to him and everyone connected with Worcester. To win selection on this tour despite playing in a relegated team says an awful lot about his form and fortitude and he now has a Test cap as a reward. The only player more delighted was probably the ex-Crusader Michael Paterson, who came off the bench in the second half to tackle his old team-mates, having now committed himself to the England cause. The touring team had already done their best to be popular visitors to Christchurch, donating 10 signed jerseys to the charitable trust set up to assist victims of the 2011 earthquake. It is a modest gesture but, on and off the field, England have earned themselves plenty of new friends on this trip.

Crusaders

Taylor; McNicholl, Lee-Lo (Thompson, 69) Fonotia (A Whitelock, 51), Tuitavake; Bleyendaal, Heinz (Ellis, 51); Perry (Moody, 58), Flynn (Funnell, 58), Laulala (Tokolahi, 76), Tupou (Barrett, 30), Everson, Taufua, G Whitelock (capt; Todd, 19), L Whitelock. Try Todd. Conversion Bleyendaal.

England

Goode (Pennell, 58); Foden, Trinder (May, 57), Barritt, Watson (Bath); Cipriani (Myler, 48), Dickson (Wigglesworth, 48); Waller (Catt, 57), Gray (War, 59), Thomas (Sinckler, 57), Slater (capt), Attwood (Paterson, 68), Haskell, Kvesic, Johnson. Tries Gray, Foden, Barritt, Goode, Watson, Pennell. Conversions Cipriani 3, Myler.

Referee N Owens (Wales). Att 17,300.