'Little boys bullied' - English media reacts to defeat of All Blacks
The Rugby World Cup will have a new home for the next four years after England knocked out the All Blacks with a stunning 19-7 semi-final win. Here is how the English media responded to the match:
Mick Cleary of the Telegraph UK:
“Eddie Jones wanted his side to create history by knocking New Zealand off their perch. And it wasn’t a nudge that they gave the All Blacks. It was a bloomin’ great wallop in the ribs, reducing the world’s most accomplished team to not just mere mortals but also-rans. The victory was more emphatic than the scoreboard indicates.”
The Mirror:
“Eddie Jones had spoken in the week of his confidence that the Red Rose could book a first final place since 2007, and they duly defeated the All Blacks – tournament winners in 2011 and 2015. And the Red Rose duly produced with a magnificent, powerful display, as they continue their quest to match the 2003 achievement of becoming world champions.”
(Continue reading below…)
Stephen Jones for The Times:
“This was one of England’s greatest sporting days – and I am not just talking rugby here. The planning, execution, defending and attacking of this breathtaking England team made it arguably their greatest day, a performance they will find hard to surpass if they win the final at the same venue next Saturday.
“New Zealand lose occasionally but they are never crushed. So this was a glorious first. Forget the scoreboard. They scored one lucky try and for the rest of the evening, they looked like little boys being bullied outside the sweet shop. They were lucky not to lose players to the bin and there was a time when Marius Jonker, the TMO, was a far bigger danger to England than the opposition.
“Sam Underhill and Tom Curry, the flankers, cannot play that well twice in two games, surely. Well, maybe you can. They did. The England defence was stunning with Maro Itoje and Manu Tuilagi off the planet.”
It was undoubtedly the biggest win of Eddie Jones’ tenure as @EnglandRugby head coach
– @alexshawsport rates the England players #ENGvNZL https://t.co/Vyfsov38Qe
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 26, 2019
Paul Grayson for BBC Radio 5 Live
“England got it absolutely right. The quality of some of the tackling – you were never two passes away from a dominant hit and they picked when to go in and compete almost perfectly. England spent the whole of the second half forcing New Zealand to play out from their own third. They were physically and mentally dominant today.”
The Independent:
“New Zealand were supposed to emerge for the second half like a wounded animal. England had rocked and out-rucked, even out-leapt at the lineouts Steve Hansen’s side had so pointedly targeted. For each inch that Eddie Jones’ side played brilliantly, they had strangled the myth of the All Blacks far from reality.
“But, when the inevitable fightback came, an early charge, a quick cycling through the backline that had until then been so deflated, England acted so quickly to extinguish it. Everyone believed England would crumble in the face of this adversity, but the fall never came and now, surely, after dethroning the champions, they are ready to carve an era of their own.”
– New Zealand Herald
WATCH: Eddie Jones, Owen Farrell and Steve Borthwick speak with the media following England’s 19-7 win over New Zealand
Comments on RugbyPass
Mack Hansen, Ethan Roots, Taine Plumbtree, Louis Lynagh, Emmanuel Meafou? Which country do you want to pick your Barbarians from?
3 Go to commentsInstead of apologising, try to act like an adult, fcknut.
1 Go to commentsLooks like the Force twisted his leg…ahem arm
5 Go to commentsScotland should change their name to the Barbarians
3 Go to commentsThe game was already over leave the bloke alone ….from a Welsh fan 😀👍
2 Go to commentsShamefully the Toulouse players acted like footballers, falling down feigning injury at the slightest knock. About time refs penalised this play acting.
7 Go to commentsAnother non Scot for the anti Scot Townsend. Soon there will be no Scottish born and bred players in the National team.
3 Go to commentsGreat comeback to the playing field by Richie Mo’unga after the loss of his father. A great performance by Richie . I know him well and he is a great guy. On and off the field one of the greatest for the Crusaders. Scott Robertson would have loved him in his All Black’s side. A very missed player and person.
2 Go to commentsYeah nah he comes across as a funny bloke, but that stopped abruptly after the Nutcracker Prince debacle✋
2 Go to commentsAt this point I can’t watch him without thinking he’s a dirty slimebag. He should have been banned for the same amount of time that Quinn was out. It took Tupaea near on a fricking year to get fit enough to play again and his leg will never be the same. The other crap thing is that he was at ABs level and now he has to claw his way back there when he could have had several games under his belt.
5 Go to commentsThe Black Ferns 7’s have been without Captain Sarah Hirini now since Dec 23 in Dubai where she suffered a bad ACL injury - hopefully she is on the road to recovery for Madrid and Paris. Now also have Tyler King and Shiray kaka on the Injured List but the Team still found a way to win in Singapore and claim the overall Title.
1 Go to commentsUtter grub, hope he gets his leg broken. Shocking he is still playing after intentionally breaking quinn tupaeas knee
5 Go to commentsGreat to see NZ 7s teams finally coming into form and playing at the level that is expected of them.
2 Go to commentsChief Cheapshot on the market again.
5 Go to commentsCrusaders went all in to buy Hotham and Kemara staight from Hamilton Boys. Then they picked up Reihana and Hohepa; all have been dropped for superstar Havili, who is a very good fullback, that’s it. Ennor and Goodhue were schoolboy stars too but went backwards at the Crusaders. Maybe they have finally decided to give another poach Levi Aumua the ball?
16 Go to commentsJoe S has some talent to pick from. The Reds loosies look the best in Super? Aus might just give Razor a headache this year. Int. experience v Cantab greenhorn:) Should be fun.
16 Go to commentsEnd to end play, “THE FANS” this game was entertainment of the best. The conditions added to the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsSorry to say, but sadly the sadas were just ordinary and havilli at 10 as an abs selection just won’t cut it. He’s better suited in the centre’s and is a victim of past charge down kicks, he’s too slow under pressure. There’s better talent further north and I don’t mean dmac however I believe razor will sort him out. A feature of his presents on the park is the fact that the guys will follow him.
16 Go to commentsMarler was brilliant throughout both in the scrum and open play. His slap made virtually no contact with Ramos who milked it for a penalty when he could have been a decent sportsman and laughed it off, it was non-violent and shouldn't have been penalised. Smith failed repeatedly to kick when necessary and put up a couple of bombs into the TLS 22 that just handed back possession at key moments to the other side.
3 Go to commentsCros was outstanding and rightly awarded France TVs player of the match award. Mallia was brilliant as usual (the y is below the 6 on a UK keyboard and he deserves better than that). Level also seems to have been scored harshly as he walked the ball into touch under pressure from a Lynagh kick from well outside his own half which should never have led to a 50-22. Agree with BullShark that Dupont, while class at times, seemed to go missing for patches in the second half with props, hookers and wings frequently filling in at 9 as he couldn't get off the deck and up to the next ruck on time. A 7 by his standards at best, his kicking was also too long, too often. Kinghorn's overall contribution was worth well more than a five.
7 Go to comments