By Falcon1 (assisted by Sponge)
November 10 2002

At cold but dry Twickenham England recorded only their fifth victory ever over the All Blacks, their fourth victory of the fourteen games that have taken place at Twickenham since 1925. At the final whistle the margin of victory was small, but as New Zealand coach John Mitchell is fond of saying: ‘it’s about winning’.

Let us be clear. This was not a great performance by England. There were too many mistakes and too much uncertainty when in possession of the ball to say that England dominated the game. However, despite the fact that they were fielding a number of uncapped players, be under no illusion that this was a weak All Blacks side. The match statistics underline the fact that both sides were evenly matched – neither side lost a scrum, both sides conceded the same number of penalties and only in the lineout do the statistics show a difference: the All Blacks lost three, England one.

At the final count this game turned some early penalty kicks landed by Wilkinson and on a short period after the break when England were totally dominant, the ball being constantly recycled and the passing being slick and sure. Two tries in eight minutes, by Man of the Match Wilkinson and by Cohen, saw the scoreboard magically reading England 31 New Zealand 14.

For the remainder of the match, this was an evenly fought contest, both sides launching attacks and defending well, and both sides making mistakes to lose possession at crucial moments.

Lomu got the first try of the game after England had gone into a six point leads thanks to two penalties from Wilkinson. Receiving the ball on the left wing, Lomu powered his 6feet 5inches and near 19 stone of muscle over the line and through two pairs of grasping England hands to score a try which Blair coolly converted.

To be sitting in the South Stand facing Lomu as he powered his way over was an awesome sight – what it must be like to be within yards of the man I shudder to think.

Wilkinson restored England’s lead with a drop goal, but then we witnessed the other All Black winger at work. I had read much of Doug Howlett – how he had scored two tries on his Test debut and a try a game for his next six games, and how he was the New Zealand 100metre and 110 metre hurdle junior champion - but had not seen him in action prior to this game. The words became reality as Howlett sprinted past Robinson to score a try, giving the All Blacks a 14 – 9 lead.

Another penalty by Wilkinson was followed by England’s first try of the game, from Lewis Moody, receiving the ball from Wilkinson, to give England the edge at half time 17 – 14.

It was immediately after the resumption of play that Wilkinson produced a spot of magic. Following sustained England pressure on the All Blacks line, Wilkinson looked to be going to try another drop goal, realised how close he was to the line, chipped the ball over the defence and collected the bouncing ball from out of the arms of the despairing New Zealand backs to touch down for a try which he duly converted.

Almost immediately Mehrtens fumbled a ball which Cohen gratefully accepted and out-sprinted the All Black’s defence to launch himself through the air in a pose reminiscent of the large aeroplanes that skim over Twickenham every few minutes.

The scoreboard reads 31 – 14, but you can never discount world class teams who do not believe that coming second is an honourable option.

After sustained pressure on the England line, Lomu bundled over Tindall to score again and soon after replacement scrum half Lee, getting his first cap, scored the final try of the game.

The tension was high in the last ten minutes, eased by England winning a lineout against the throw just when the All Blacks were becoming confident, but the final whistle brought jubilation for the England supporters.

Throughout the game the England support had been vocal – the strains of ‘Swing Low’ drowned out the Haka and were heard time and time again as the game progressed – but never during whilst kicks were being attempted, unlike our colonial cousins who seem to have acquired a penchant for this discourteous behaviour.

With this victory England maintain their long unbeaten record at Twickenham and demonstrate that they are now able to meet any of the Southern Hemisphere teams in expectation, not hope, of victory – I have yet to witness a Tri Nation team defeat England at Twickenham – and this is another step on the still long road to the Rugby World Cup.

Wilkinson shines. England win. What a great day.