All Blacks v England: What Twickenham loss tells us about team’s decline – Phil Gifford

THE FACTS

The nightmare 33-19 defeat of the All Blacks by England in London was made all the more painful for Kiwis by the fact it demonstrated all the problems New Zealand have struggled with this season.

At test match level, consistency is one of the most important attributes and the scary thing is it’s also one of the hardest to recover if it’s lost. This year, the All Blacks have too often been a team of quarters, not of 80 minutes. Sometimes they’ve got away with it, most notably in their last-gasp win against Scotland.

But at Twickenham, a terrific start soon drifted away, and the cruel reality was that the final score was a fair reflection of the match. Hopes of a Grand Slam evaporated to the strains of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot rolling around a packed stadium.

What the game also highlighted was that South Africa, without question, currently are the No 1 side in world rugby. We are still ranked at No 2, a fraction ahead of England. However, you can’t help but feel that it really is a case of statistics lying. If right now, you had to put your house on a rematch between England and New Zealand, which side would you feel most comfortable betting on?

So, what now?

There will be – you can guarantee – some fervent calls for sacking the coaching group, led by Scott Robertson. It might happen, but the problem is that there is not a large group of potential replacements lurking in the wings. Jamie Joseph is a good man and a good coach, but his record at Super Rugby doesn’t compare to Robertson’s, and it’s hard to calculate what his time as head coach of Japan means compared with running a tier-one international side.

What would seem a more prudent pathway for New Zealand Rugby (NZR) would be to hunt out experts in specific areas. A good start would be to encourage more use of Sir Wayne Smith in preparation. He already has a fairly loose arrangement with NZR and the All Blacks. While he’s adamant his days as a fulltime member of the coaching staff are behind him, his passion for the game is still intense. It’s hard to imagine All Blacks backline defensive patterns looking as scatter-gun as they did at Twickenham if Smith had spent some quality time with the side.

Man of the match

No question marks here. England’s first five-eighths George Ford was the most commanding figure on the ground. He changed the course of the test with his two drop goals before halftime. Cool under pressure, he made few errors during the game.

Sadly, Beauden Barrett, one of the most astute and articulate international players I’ve ever met, had a nightmare afternoon, highlighted by a botched kick to touch from a penalty. The heady days when Dan Carter ruled in the No 10 jersey feel a lot more than just one decade ago.

Selection dilemmas

It didn’t help that Fabian Holland, the form lock in 2025, couldn’t play, but in the golden first quarter, the All Blacks dominated the lineouts anyway.

The big issue was that while England settled, got organised and played with more and more confidence all over the field, the All Blacks began to wobble. Perhaps they might have travelled better if Damian McKenzie had started the game, rather than coming off the bench in the second half. By then, England were playing so well that basically a miracle would have been needed for the All Blacks to win the game.

The loss of Cam Roigard to injury didn’t help, but the problems were much bigger than not having a halfback who constantly keeps the opposition in two minds. Richie McCaw voiced a harsh truth when he said an All Blacks team is not where you develop players. The development should occur before a player is selected for test matches.

The pool of talent right now may be a little shallow.

Onwards to Cardiff

A win in Cardiff on Sunday now feels absolutely essential for the All Blacks. If they’d beaten England, the Welsh test would have basically been a lap of honour to celebrate the Grand Slam. Now a loss to the Welsh – a side that is currently a sad reflection of the state of rugby in what was once a stronghold of the sport – feels like a catastrophic possibility.

It would damage the image of the All Blacks a great deal more than the loss to England has, and could have the effect of triggering some brutal reaction in the NZR boardroom.

Not pretty in Oz, either

All in all, it was an ugly weekend for Southern Hemisphere rugby. The All Blacks losing to England, as was often mentioned by former and current All Blacks during the week, is painful enough.

Just to rub in what is currently a great time for the northern teams, Australia, who under Joe Schmidt had shown signs earlier this year of a real revival, were totally put to the sword by Ireland, who administered a 46-19 hiding in Dublin.

One image that lingers – and could apply to both Anzac sides – was a television shot of Scott Robertson at Twickenham burying his face in his hands.

Phil Gifford is a Contributing Sports Writer for NZME. He is one of the most-respected voices in New Zealand sports journalism.