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The scariest thing about this English side? Three of their best performers won't peak until the next World Cup - at the earliest
All across the park, from 1 to 15, the All Blacks were outplayed by their opposition.
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In the first of 2019’s Rugby World Cup semi-finals, everyone expected a close tussle. The ‘smart’ money was on a narrow victory for the New Zealanders, who entered the tournament as the odds-on favourites to win their third World Cup.
England had other ideas.
The fact that the English emerged victorious after 80 minutes wasn’t a huge shock, however – it was how they bossed the All Blacks across the park.
Ardie Savea and the midfield of Anton Lienert-Brown and Jack Goodhue were probably New Zealand’s best – but they were still outperformed by their opposites.
Replay this game nine times and you’ll get all sorts of results. The fact that England comprehensively outplayed New Zealand in a one-off match doesn’t mean they’d do it on the regular – the two sides are still neck-and-neck.
Look ahead to the future, however, and it’s easy to see why England fans might be confident that their nation is entering a historical purple patch, rivalling the great England side of 2003.
The fact of the matter is, many of England’s top performers from Saturday night aren’t even nearing their peak years.
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Maro Itoje, Sam Underhill and Tom Curry, three of England’s best, were also the three youngest players in their 23.
BREAKING#RWC2019 #englandrugby https://t.co/FXGBYwwfwn
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 26, 2019
Whilst it would be ludicrous to suggest that those three on their own were the difference between the two sides, they are certainly the three that any future New Zealand teams will fear coming up against.
Itoje and Underhill were two of England’s three top tacklers, with 31 between them. Itoje also wrangled 3 breakdown turnovers, whilst Curry managed a match-high 4 – often with Underhill in support. On more than one occasion, Underhill also forced penalties and he put in three key tackles – one on Kieran Read and one on Jordie Barrett – that put the All Blacks on the backfoot.
It was three incredible performances from three exceptional players – and there’s every reason to believe they’ll just keep getting better and better.
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Flanker-cum-lock Itoje has a very good shot of captaining England once Farrell’s place in the starting lineup comes under pressure (though he showed no signs of slowing down in his ‘old’ age).
This was supposed to be the World Cup where Itoje further announced himself to the world after an excellent British and Irish Lions tour in 2017 – but another good performance from the 24-year-old could cement him as the favourite for the World Rugby Player of the Year.
Itoje, with 32 England caps to his name, has at least one more World Cup left in him but could easily be playing in 2027 too. New Zealand’s captain Read is 32 and whilst he looked turgid against England, he put in an exceptional performance against the Irish in the quarter-finals.
Underhill, 23, is in a similar boat.
Curry, who is just 21, has the world at his feet.
These three remarkable players will be giving the All Blacks nightmares for years to come and could pave the way for a period of English dominance.
England are a team on the rise. Yes, they have a number of players who are entering their twilight years and probably won’t feature at the next World Cup, but they also have a spine of young, hungry men who England’s future coach can build a team around.
Look out, rugby world.
England coach Eddie Jones had no complaints about his side’s performance after they dominated the All Blacks:
Comments on RugbyPass
What was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
27 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
83 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
83 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
4 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
27 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
4 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
4 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
27 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to comments