Why England's semi-final victory over All Blacks meant more than World Cup title
England loose forward Tom Curry has revealed that their World Cup semi-final upset over the All Blacks in October meant more to some English fans than winning the tournament.
Speaking to the Daily Mail as part of a ‘Great Sporting Moments of 2019’ series, the star 21-year-old, who played a leading role in the 19-7 defeat of the New Zealanders, said the result was savoured among the English faithful despite their ill-fate in the World Cup final against South Africa a week later.
“Someone came up to me and said, ‘The World Cup will be remembered for you beating New Zealand, not South Africa winning it’,” Curry said.
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“That probably hit me the hardest as it showed just how much the result of that one game meant to people here.”
Former England coach and World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson labelled the win as “the best in English rugby history” in a match where the All Blacks were uncharacteristically dominated across all facets of the match.
Prior to kick-off, England had surprised the Kiwis by lining up in a V-shape formation when facing the haka, and many believed that that challenge spurred Eddie Jones’ side on to produce a spell-binding performance in Yokohama.
Greig Laidlaw's retirement from Test rugby has generated much response, with Stuart Hogg among those paying tribute https://t.co/In57VVJF7v
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“Their players were just looking around and didn’t seem to be able to fix on anyone,” Curry said.
“It gave me a lot of confidence because it looked like they were a bit unnerved by what we had done. They are just used to staring someone out.
“I also remember Manu’s try so well, because it was everything we had spoken about – the quick start, going at them, not letting them attack us. We were always at them.”
It’s an assertion that has been backed up by Curry’s teammate and fellow loose forward Billy Vunipola.
?”We wanted to send a bit of a message ourselves – bring it on,” the 27-year-old No. 8 said.
“That’s what they do when they’re doing the haka. They’re laying it down, so we thought, ‘Bring it on, we’re coming back for you a little bit’.”
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Vunipola’s older brother and England loosehead prop Mako doubled down on his sibling’s sentiments.
“We wanted to make sure they understood that we would be ready for the fight,” he said.
“We knew it would rile them up, it probably felt like we disrespected them. We meant no offence by it, we just wanted to let them know we were ready.”
While the English matched their pre-match challenge with a performance which nullified everything that the All Blacks threw at them, they couldn’t replicate their efforts in the tournament final against the Springboks a week later, going down to Rassie Erasmus’ men 32-12.
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The value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
3 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
10 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
10 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
54 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
3 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
51 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
54 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
54 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to comments