England win over All Blacks can be launch pad for 2027 Rugby World Cup

LONDON – When England famously beat New Zealand in 2003 with 13 men and won in Australia for the first time, it gave the squad an unswerving belief that they could beat anybody and months later they clinched their maiden Rugby World Cup.

Now, having beaten New Zealand 33-19 on Nov 15 after three narrow defeats in 2024 and taking their winning run to 10 matches, there is growing belief that they are equipped to make a serious assault on a second World Cup title in Australia in 2027.

It was England’s first victory over the All Blacks since the 2019 World Cup semi-finals, arguably their greatest performance, and their first at home since Manu Tuilagi ran riot in 2012.

They lost in the 2019 final to South Africa and, against all odds, new coach Steve Borthwick took his team to within minutes of a return before losing by a point to the Springboks in the 2023 semis.

There was then a fair amount of pain and criticism as he tried to find ways to win in different styles, while building squad depth.

The project took a considerable step forward on Nov 15, when he was able to bring Six British and Irish Lions off the bench to finish off a match in a situation that in 2024 was routinely getting away from them.

“There were a lot of positives from that, a lot of things that the players can be rightly proud of,” Borthwick said.

“You knew there were going to be tough times playing against a top-quality team in New Zealand, but they were so composed.

“It’s a team that’s developing, a team that’s growing. I said that at the time (in 2024) that it’s a team that needs experience together and that’s exactly what they’re doing each time – go away each week and train really hard and being focused on what to improve and that’s showing on the pitch.”

He added: “The team has a lot of belief – in our preparation, in the way we are trying to play and in the ability we have within the team.”

Asked about the relevance of the victory for England’s World Cup prospects and the December draw, Borthwick played it down, describing how captain Maro Itoje had addressed the squad before the game.

“He talked about when the team were 14, 15 years old, dreaming of playing for England against teams like New Zealand, dreaming of beating teams like New Zealand,” he said.

“He asked the players to go out and play with that intent and the boys took those dreams to the pitch today, and I thought they were outstanding.

“About the World Cup draw, it helps, but this isn’t about that. This is about trying to achieve special moments, special memories. Today is one of them.”

Borthwick also had high praise for man-of-the-match fly half George Ford, whose two drop goals late in the first half helped England recover from 12-0 down to 12-11 and he landed a late penalty to take them two scores ahead.

“George Ford is a brilliant player. I think he’s an outstanding leader and an even better person,” he said.

“I know you like to talk about, 12 months ago, a ball hitting a post (when his penalty miss enabled New Zealand to hang on to a two-point win) but when he pulls on the England shirt, he’s just such a consistent performer.

“I’m delighted for him and all the players and they should enjoy themselves tonight and then recover well because we’ve got Argentina a week on Sunday.”

New Zealand coach Scott Robertson, meanwhile, rued his side’s lack of cutting edge.

He was magnanimous in defeat, however, telling reporters that England “just finished a bit more than us”.

“I think we created a lot,” he added. “There’s so much good stuff that we did out there, we just didn’t take advantage of it.” REUTERS