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New Zealand’s reign as Rugby World Cup champions is over. The All Blacks were beaten 19-7 by a magnificent England performance in a pulsating Semi Final in Yokohama that delivered on all expectations. A suffocating defensive effort took away the space from the two-time defending champions with flankers Tom Curry and Sam Underhill along with man-of-the-match Maro Itoje outstanding.
England were fire and brimstone from before the opening whistle. When the All Blacks presented Kapa o Pango, a white ‘V’ enveloped the haka in a sign of things to come. From the opening whistle it was clear that New Zealand were up against it, and inside two minutes Manu Tuilagi crashed over in a stunning opening. Owen Farrell’s conversion made it 7-0 with New Zealand yet to enter the game.
The onslaught continued for the entire opening half. New Zealand’s ball carriers were blasted backwards and England’s tactical kicking game kept the All Blacks on the back foot. A second try appeared to be scored on a scorching line from Underhill, but the TMO review ruled that Curry had obstructed a defender and New Zealand breathed a sigh of relief.
It was only a temporary reprieve. Ford pushed a drop goal attempt just right of the posts, and then Curry pounced at the breakdown to win a turnover. With Farrell nursing a leg complaint, Ford stepped up to send over three points off the tee to make it a 10-0 game at halftime.
No answers were found by New Zealand during the intermission. Instead it was England who came out just as they had in the opening half. Elliot Daly sent a long-range penalty wide left, and then a try from Ben Youngs was called back when an exchange in the preceding maul was spotted going forward. Ford settled for another penalty as England stretched away.
At last a try came for the All Blacks, but it was hardly of the vintage variety. An overthrow at the lineout on England’s 5 meter line gave Ardie Savea the easiest five points of his career, with Richie Mo’unga making in a full seven to put some air back in New Zealand’s sails.
There would be no coming back. Underhill clattered into Beauden Barrett to earn another three points via Ford’s boot. An overlap gave Sevu Reece a hint of an opportunity but the speedster was closed down and tossed into touch. At the other end New Zealand’s discipline was on the wane as Ford landed his fourth penalty to make it a 12-point gap.
With only ten minutes to play the odds were stacked against the All Blacks and for once there was no magic left in the hat. England swarmed them at every turn and forced more errors, the frustration clear on the face of captain Kieran Read. Ford missed a final penalty attempt but it made no matter. The job was done, and England will play in the World Cup Final for the first time since 2007.
SCORING
ENGLAND 19
Tries – M. Tuilagi (2′)
Cons – O. Farrell 1/1 (3′)
Pens – G. Ford 4/5 (40′, 50′, 63′, 69′), E. Daly 0/1
Drop goals – G. Ford 0/1
NEW ZEALAND 7
Tries – A. Savea (57′)
Cons – R. Mo’unga 1/1 (58′)
TEAMS
ENGLAND
1 Mako Vunipola (17 Joe Marler 70′), 2 Jamie George (16 Luke Cowan-Dickie 70′), 3 Kyle Sinckler (18 Dan Cole 47′), 4 Maro Itoje, 5 Courtney Lawes (19 George Kruis 54′), 6 Tom Curry, 7 Sam Underhill (20 Mark Wilson 70′), 8 Billy Vunipola, 9 Ben Youngs (21 Willi Heinz 63′), 10 George Ford, 11 Jonny May (22 Henry Slade 45′), 12 Owen Farrell (capt.), 13 Manu Tuilagi (23 Jonathan Joseph 74′), 14 Anthony Watson, 15 Elliot Daly
NEW ZEALAND
1 Joe Moody (17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi 63′), 2 Codie Taylor (16 Dane Coles 49′), 3 Nepo Laulala (18 Angus Ta’avao 54′), 4 Brodie Retallick, 5 Sam Whitelock (19 Patrick Tu’ipulotu 66′), 6 Scott Barrett (20 Sam Cane HT), 7 Ardie Savea, 8 Kieran Read (capt.), 9 Aaron Smith (21 TJ Perenara 54′), 10 Richie Mo’unga, 11 George Bridge (23 Jordie Barrett 49′), 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 13 Jack Goodhue (22 Sonny Bill Williams 54′), 14 Sevu Reece, 15 Beauden Barrett
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (France) & Romain Poite (France)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Attendance: 68,843
