pharvey wrote: ↑Sun Nov 20, 2022 6:08 am
Total change from England - could have been 21-0 down quite frankly..... Cracking comeback and fair play to them..
Yep, an astonishing comeback.
The first NZ try was an absolute gift in the 3rd minute, and my heart sank. The second was the result of a refereeing error, as was the disallowed 3rd. Having said that, the All Blacks were so dominant, and England so poor, that 21-0 would have been a fair reflection. I don't think the French ref had the best of games - he seemed to have no idea what was happening in the scrum, making it up as he went along. Van Portfleet had a nightmare game at no. 9. but collectively the entire team seemed to have forgotten how to play coordinated passing/offloading rugby, it was just get the ball and go, head own and eyes shut. Way too many basic errors and a lack of discipline. After an hour I was expecting to write a scathing pharvey-style report suggesting it was time for some major changes.
And then, all of a sudden, with 10-15 minutes left, everything suddenly clicked. With the mounting pressure, the AB defence, which had been outstanding all game, suddenly crumbled in a most un-AB-like manner and all the momentum was with England. The stadium had been silenced for over an hour, but now Swing Low was rolling round Twickenham for the first time since the haka.
Marcus Smith was probably the only person in the stadium who thought kicking the ball into touch to end the game was a good idea. The camera caught some of his teammates looking astonished, and there was quite a bit of booing, which must have upset the lad. I'd have liked to see them go for the win, but they were deep in their own half and it could have gone terribly wrong. I'll take the draw!!
![Cheers :cheers:](./images/smilies/icon_cheers.gif)