England Humiliates New Zealand: Ford and Itoje Demand More Successes

George Ford and Maro Itoje demand that England maintain the winning streak after the convincing 33-19 victory over New Zealand. England toppled the All Blacks at Twickenham for the first time in 13 years and will close their autumn against Argentina on Sunday, seeking their eleventh consecutive win. Coach Steve Borthwick confirmed that British and Irish Lions second row, Ollie Chessum, has not recovered from a foot injury and will miss the match against the Pumas. England will move up to third place when the updated world rankings are released on Monday and, for Ford, the architect of New Zealand’s defeat, this should not be a one-off.

The last time we beat New Zealand at Twickenham was in 2012, that was a long time ago. If you look at it in that context, this is a great result.

George Ford

Ford, who was named man of the match, added that the goal was to prepare well and attack the game. The team felt that if they did that, they would have a good chance of getting the desired result. The message of ensuring that the success over the All Blacks is the beginning and not the end was repeated by captain Itoje, who celebrated only his second victory with England against the heavyweights.

I’ve played against them several times and I’ve been lucky enough to beat them a few times too. It’s always difficult.

Maro Itoje

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Itoje recalled that only eight England teams had beaten New Zealand before them.

We want that number to grow. We are happy to be number nine, but we don’t want to wait another six years for number 10 to arrive. We hope we can continue building as a team.

Maro Itoje

Borthwick felt that the victory would have been even more resounding if England had converted their opportunities in the first half, although they still managed four tries to justify their position as favorites. It was an action-packed performance that made people think about what could be achieved at the 2027 World Cup, and although Borthwick asked for perspective, he sees a bright future.

If the players continue to strive to develop, remain ambitious with their dreams, and continue to train at the level they do, then I believe they have a great margin for growth.

Steve Borthwick