Stuart Lancaster has urged his England squad to “bottle the frustration” of their narrow defeat in the first Test and still firmly believes they can win their best-of-three series against New Zealand. The England management and players admitted they missed a golden opportunity at Eden Park but are determined to bounce back in next Saturday’s second Test in Dunedin.
“The overriding emotion in the changing room is frustration at having not got across the line, despite having done so much good work,” Lancaster said. “What we must do as a coaching team is bottle that frustration and turn it into a positive mindset for next week.
“It definitely feels like we missed a chance. We created lots of opportunities, made line breaks and our set piece was good but it’s fine margins. At 15-15 it’s all about territory and how you manage and close out the game.
“We had opportunities to clear our line a bit and play in their half and put pressure on them. We’re desperately disappointed, having fought so hard to be in the game for so long. It was a tremendous effort and it’s tough not to come away with anything.”
Lancaster is braced for “a massive game” in Dunedin, with a number of tricky selection decisions awaiting him. “The game next week is huge for us because we want to tie the series and go to a decider in Hamilton believing we can win it.
“They will have a similar side, while I imagine we will make a couple of changes. They will definitely improve but we’ll improve as well. We’ll learn a lot from this game. We do that well as a team and we learn quickly. We perhaps didn’t get the rub of the green – but let’s leave it there.”
Chris Robshaw is similarly convinced the series is far from over. The England captain said: “We’re extremely proud but we can’t be happy with that. We’re coming down here to win a Test series, simple as that. We’re 1-0 down but there are two Tests left and we see the bigger picture. As a squad, we’re in a good place but it’s one thing being in a good place and it’s another thing winning. We will get better.”
The New Zealand head coach, Steve Hansen, indicated New Zealand would be increasingly hard to beat as the Test series progresses. “We know now this will be one of those special Test series … we’ll probably have to be 30-40% better next weekend.”
He also rebuked those who predicted a weakened England team would be comprehensively thrashed. “Now I hope you’ll see what we’ve known all along and that’s what a good team England are.
“It was one of those games which someone had to take by the scruff of the neck. Logic would have said [Aaron] Cruden should have kicked the penalty but I think England would have enjoyed that. We’re always encouraging the players to play what’s in front of them, so we were very supportive of what he did.”
