The difference in tone inside a week has been remarkable. One minute the All Blacks are on the slide, the next England are being told their hosts’ skills remain innately superior. With the series currently sitting at 2-0 to New Zealand with a solitary Test to play, the final few days of this tour can still settle one or two arguments.
England are certainly not winding down with the end in sight. They have deliberately talked up their midweek game against the Crusaders as “a fourth Test” and are desperate to leave New Zealand with heads held high. For any players wishing to be part of next year’s preliminary Rugby World Cup squad, this is no time to be flicking through holiday brochures.
Hence the genuine anticipation among players such as Leicester’s Ed Slater, Northampton’s Alex Waller and Sale’s Danny Cipriani before the Crusaders fixture. All would love to be in Saturday’s Test 23 but any win in New Zealand is worth having. “We do not intend going home empty-handed, that’s for sure,” muttered Graham Rowntree, England’s forwards coach.
Cipriani, in particular, feels his confidence has already been buoyed by the touring experience, despite having taken the field for only a few minutes of the first Test in Auckland. With Owen Farrell nursing a knee injury picked up in the second Test, another bench opportunity remains a possibility but, either way, the management have been encouraged by Cipriani’s attitude. “He has impressed me and I worked with him when he was a younger man,” said Rowntree. “He has matured and impressed all of us coaches.”
Everyone involved, however, would still love a higher proportion of English players to show the innate attacking skills and timing demonstrated by the New Zealand backs Ben Smith and Conrad Smith after half-time in the second Test. Cipriani, for one, suspects it is ingrained from childhood.
“The All Blacks are always going to be good at what they do: counterattacking and choosing when and when not to attack,” he said. “I think there is a culture from a young age in New Zealand. Look at the way they do their touch tournaments, it’s all about attacking rugby. They learn to step crazy and can step anyone in a phone box.”
But does that mean England are forever destined to be inferior and should now revert to forward-based type? As Cipriani rightly points out: “You can win a rugby game in many different ways.” But he also wonders aloud if English kids are losing their sense of adventure too young. “I was lucky enough to play at Rosslyn Park where they gave us the licence to just go out and play,” he said. “There is a lot based on winning and losing at a young age [in England]. Winning is obviously important and no one likes to lose but the development of players is important, too.”
With Kyle Eastmond – conspicuous by his absence in the midweek lineup – set to be involved on Saturday, the senior management also seem to be acknowledging that England need quicker feet in order to outwit New Zealand’s defence.
“That was probably the quickest Test match these guys have ever been involved in,” Rowntree said. “But when New Zealand went white-hot in that crucial 20-minute period, we didn’t give in.
“It hurts to lose two games in such a close manner but you have to pick yourself up. The lads have got to understand that we have to match New Zealand’s intensity all the time.” Already the final Test of the 2012 South African tour, when the Springboks were held to a draw in Port Elizabeth, is being used as a reference point for the game. “We have spoken about that tour,” Rowntree said. “It will take a big push for us this weekend, but we are going to strive for it.”
If an example of perseverance in adversity is required, England’s players need only look around them. The devastation caused by the major earthquake that hit Christchurch in February 2011, killing 185 people, remains sadly apparent and normal life in the area remains a relative concept. England have donated 10 signed shirts and their game jerseys will carry a logo supporting the Canterbury Rugby Earthquake Relief Charitable Trust.
Conrad Smith, meanwhile, will miss the final Test against England on Saturday because of a broken thumb. The All Black centre will be sidelined for around six weeks and is likely to be replaced in New Zealand’s midfield in Hamilton by Malakai Fekitoa, who made his debut as a replacement in the last 20 minutes of the first Test.
Crusaders v England, 8.35am BST, Tuesday 17 June
Crusaders Taylor; McNicholl, Lee-Lo, Fonotia, Tuitavake; Bleyendaal, Heinz; Perry, Flynn, Laulala, Tupou, Everson, Taufua, G Whitelock (capt), L Whitelock. Replacements Funnell, Moody, Tokolahi, Barrett, Todd, Ellis, A Whitelock, Thompson.
England Goode (Saracens); Foden (Northampton), Trinder (Gloucester), Barritt (Saracens), Watson (Bath); Cipriani (Sale Sharks), Dickson (Northampton); Waller (Northampton), Gray (Harlequins), Thomas (Bath), Slater (Leicester, capt), Attwood (Bath), Johnson (Exeter Chiefs), Kvesic (Gloucester), Haskell (London Wasps). Replacements Ward (Harlequins), Catt (Bath), Sinckler (Harlequins), Paterson (Sale Sharks), Wigglesworth (Saracens), Myler (Northampton), May (Gloucester), Pennell (Worcester).
Referee N Owens (Wales).
