Possibly the most intense sporting fixture involving England this weekend is taking place a long way from Manaus and Lord’s. There is not generally much of a samba beat in the South Island of New Zealand in winter but the second Test between the All Blacks and England, a pivotal contest for both teams, has all the other ingredients to be a classic.
The way Kiwis view rugby is not dissimilar to Brazil’s relationship with football. Leaving aside their eponymous fruit or nuts, their respective national games tend to define how others see them. So when an England side pitch up making confident noises about keeping the three-Test series alive going to Hamilton next week, they are not merely challenging 15 men in black. The self-styled “Stadium of Four Million”, as New Zealand dubbed itself during the 2011 Rugby World Cup, is on the edge of its collective seat.
On the front of this week’s Otago Daily Times sports section, by way of illustration, sat a full-page image of a long-beaked Kiwi taking a chainsaw to a red rose bush alongside the caption: “It’s That Time Again”.
Wishful thinking? Quite possibly if the positive vibe within the England camp translates into an 80-minute performance of similar intensity to the narrow first Test defeat in Auckland. If they go 2-0 down, however, the shortest days of the year daylight-wise in these parts will feel interminable. “They have spoken about going up another 30% so we have to match that,” said Graham Rowntree, England’s forwards coach. “We’ve driven standards hard this week because we have to be better.”
In the face of such challenges, England increasingly deliver. If they do lose – with the glaring exception of Wales in Cardiff last year – it is not by much. They have drawn against the Springboks in South Africa, beaten every other major nation and finally have the kind of back-line balance Stuart Lancaster has craved ever since he took charge. All that now remains, in the 14 Tests between now and the 2015 Rugby World Cup, is to turn narrow defeats into victories and optimistic words into lasting deeds.
Which is why the selection of Manu Tuilagi on the right wing is so interesting. There continue to be those who fret about his defensive positioning and what happens if he is isolated beneath a high ball. He may not float like a butterfly when airborne but what about his potential ability to stun teams in other respects, thundering in from his wing on to inside balls from Owen Farrell or Billy Twelvetrees? England’s try-scoring record when Tuilagi has started at outside-centre is nothing to write home about; by redeploying him alongside the midfield duo of Twelvetrees and Luther Burrell, who transformed England’s strike-rate during this year’s Six Nations, Lancaster is hoping for the best of both worlds.
More of a power surge is assuredly heading New Zealand’s way. Burrell, Tuilagi, Twelvetrees and Farrell pack a more physical punch than Kyle Eastmond, Jonny May and Freddie Burns. When it was put to Danny Care on radio this week that a collision between Julian Savea and Tuilagi would be like two double-decker buses colliding at high speed, the scrum-half instantly put his money on the latter. “Wing is a totally different position to centre,” growled said Steve Hansen, the All Blacks coach. Correct but, as his own Ben Smith has shown, the best players can shape a game regardless of the number on their backs.
It is also possible to detect a grudging respect for the visitors, exemplary ambassadors for their country so far. A solitary member of England’s 23-man squad – Geoff Parling – has passed the age of 30 compared with nine of New Zealand’s finest. Are one or two Kiwis edging towards over-ripeness? So it is being whispered, with the next World Cup still 15 months away. That said, as Lancaster pointed out, any side unbeaten in 34 of its last 35 Tests is not winning games by accident. They tend to raise themselves in the second Test of most series, often considerably. Nor will they make as many handling errors as in Auckland, when they caught the ball with the sureness of match-fixing cricketers.
At least the venue will not concern England unduly. They have already won beneath the roof of the impressive Forsyth Barr Stadium more often than the All Blacks, having seen off Argentina, Georgia and Romania in the 2011 World Cup pool stages. They had less happy memories of Carisbrook, the city’s broodingly atmospheric old ground which has now been demolished. It transpires the Observer may have played some part in that decision, Eddie Butler having wielded the sword of truth a decade ago by describing it as a “primeval, cold and old” ground where “they sell meat pies low on temperature and high on gristle”. The Otago Rugby Union decided enough was enough and, a mere NZ$200m (£103m) later, the replacement arena is a place fit for rugby and pastry connoisseurs alike.
This particular contest, even so, could contain plenty of gristly collisions early on, both up front and behind. It is no coincidence England have retained the same front five which gave New Zealand set-piece problems at Eden Park, with Courtney Lawes, Dylan Hartley and Billy Vunipola available to rumble on in the second half. If Kieran Read and Dan Carter – making a low-key grade comeback for his home club Southbridge this weekend – were both available, New Zealand supporters would feel rather more secure.
But they are not and England have a rare whiff of southern comfort in their nostrils. The last time they faced the All Blacks here a decade ago, they were 30-3 down by half-time. On their previous visit to the old “House of Pain”, in 1998, they lost 64-22. They are made of sterner stuff nowadays, as New Zealand are discovering. If the All Blacks start sluggishly again they could find themselves dancing to England’s tune for once.
Teams
New Zealand Ben Smith (Highlanders); Cory Jane (Hurricanes), Conrad Smith (Hurricanes), Ma’a Nonu (Blues), Julian Savea (Hurricanes); Aaron Cruden (Chiefs), Aaron Smith (Highlanders); Tony Woodcock (Blues), Dane Coles (Hurricanes), Owen Franks (Crusaders), Brodie Retallick (Chiefs), Sam Whitelock (Crusaders), Liam Messam (Chiefs), Richie McCaw (Crusaders, capt), Jerome Kaino (Blues). Replacements: Keven Mealamu (Blues), Wyatt Crockett (Crusaders), Charlie Faumuina (Blues), Patrick Tuipulotu (Blues), Victor Vito (Hurricanes), TJ Perenara (Hurricanes), Beauden Barrett (Hurricanes), Malakai Fekitoa (Highlanders).
England Mike Brown (Harlequins); Manu Tuilagi (Leicester), Luther Burrell (Northampton), Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester), Marland Yarde (Harlequins); Owen Farrell (Saracens), Danny Care (Harlequins); Joe Marler (Harlequins), Rob Webber (Bath), David Wilson (Bath), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Geoff Parling (Leicester), Tom Wood (Northampton), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, capt), Ben Morgan (Gloucester).
Replacements Dylan Hartley (Northampton), Matt Mullan (Wasps), Kieran Brookes (Newcastle), Courtney Lawes (Northampton), Billy Vunipola (Saracens), Ben Youngs (Leicester), Freddie Burns (Gloucester), Chris Ashton (Saracens).
Referee Jaco Peyper (South Africa).
