England vs. All Blacks: Former players reveal the secret to beating New Zealand

The Challenge of Facing the All Blacks: The English Perspective

Danny Care, reflecting on his experiences against the All Blacks, evokes the feeling of bewilderment that follows defeats. Despite having been part of England’s memorable victory over the All Blacks in 2012, the memory of post-match confusion persists. “You find yourself analyzing the game,” Care recounts. “At 75 minutes, you think ‘we’re going to win’. And a few minutes later, you’ve lost by two tries and everyone in the locker room is asking, ‘how did this happen?'”

An England victory over the All Blacks is a momentous occasion for any generation. Out of 46 encounters in 120 years, England has only won eight. Their last triumph was in the 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-final, with a score of 19-7, considered one of the best performances since they beat the All Blacks in Wellington in 2003. That victory anticipated their 2003 World Cup win and saw them play with 13 men at one point. England’s last victory at Twickenham was in 2012, a highly valued achievement.

“It was one of the biggest wins for our generation,” says Care. “But 13 years later, it’s incredible to say that beating the All Blacks once at home was the biggest achievement of that generation.” Steve Borthwick’s team has the opportunity to secure England’s first home victory against the All Blacks since 2012. Although it’s on their minds, they try to approach it like any other match. Jamie George commented after the victory over Fiji: “Many teams are in awe of the history and the incredible players of the All Blacks. It’s easy to fall into that. I’ve probably done it myself.”

Those who preceded George can be identified. “Playing against the All Blacks is a curious thing,” says Chris Ashton, who beat the All Blacks in 2012. “You act a certain way against them, I don’t know why. Until you’ve experienced it, you can’t understand why you’ve given them so much advantage when you know you should have played better.” Care adds: “I think I’ve played against them nine times, and in two or three matches, you’re one point apart and end up losing. I think they have so much history and tradition, there’s something special about that team and that jersey. Every time you play against them, I think, whether subconsciously or consciously, you’re always aware that at any moment you can be surpassed.” Eddie Jones, current coach of Japan, oversaw England’s victory in the 2019 World Cup; before the match, he used a samurai sword to cut a kiwi. “I think they still have an aura,” says Jones. “You hear the players talk about it. They talk about how the All Blacks do things, and how they are this and that. They are an outstanding rugby country and players, but like anyone, if you put enough pressure in the right areas, you can do it. They want to be great, but if you can make them small, you can beat them.”

England’s first victory over the All Blacks was in 1936, known as the Prince Obolensky match. Since then, England won in Auckland in 1973, at Twickenham in 1983 and 1993, and then came the consecutive victories in 2002 (31-28 at Twickenham) and 2003 in Wellington, which established England as a World Cup favorite.

In 2012, England had their best performance during Stuart Lancaster’s tenure, beating the All Blacks 38-21. “There were rumors that the All Blacks had been ill during the week, but Manu [Tuilagi] was unstoppable that day, you just had to give the ball to Manu and let him do his thing,” says Care.

Ashton adds: “I was still thinking about that game, ‘there’s still time, they’ll come back, they’ll come back, they’ll come back’. I only believed it when it was mathematically impossible with the time on the clock. You always feel that, no matter the score, they always have the players they have, they’ll always find something.” Since that victory in November 2012, the 2019 triumph is overshadowed by a history of All Blacks dominance. As Care said, the players are left bewildered after being outplayed by the Kiwis. “You wonder how that happened,” says Care. “When are we going to take the next step and get this, this elusive victory over them.” When analyzing what was said after each defeat since 2014, similar themes are observed. From the three test matches in New Zealand in 2014, Lancaster lamented the lack of precision in the last 20 minutes in Auckland, captain Chris Robshaw said they needed to be more ruthless in Dunedin, and a week later, Lancaster felt annoyed by how England did not exert enough “pressure on the scoreboard” in Hamilton. “You always had to be first on the scoreboard and start first. If you fell behind, I felt it almost didn’t make sense to continue the game,” says Ashton.

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In 2018, England came close at home, and thought they had won at the end, only for Sam Underhill’s try to be disallowed for offside by Courtney Lawes. A year later, England achieved that resounding victory against the Kiwis in Yokohama. “We went into the match having gone through preparation trying to get rid of this myth or aura of the All Blacks, about how they are invincible,” said Joe Marler after the victory. “I automatically thought they had the best players in the world from one to 15 because that’s how you think.”

The atmosphere in England was established by Jones wielding that samurai sword, then came the (unproven) accusations of espionage and, when the All Blacks lined up for the haka, England formed an arrow shape to respond. “We tried to choose a team that was abrasive, you need abrasive players. Once you match their physique and their fitness, you’re getting there. For the haka, we talked about forming a circle around them, but we settled on the V shape. We wanted to silence the crowd and make New Zealand think that this wouldn’t be a walk in the park, and transform that emotion into ‘we’re here to face you'”. Owen Farrell faced the haka with a thin smile on his face, while Marler crossed the halfway line and cost England a fine.

“It’s a good plan when you win, but if you don’t, you’re arrogant,” Jones says. “So, in retrospect, it was a good thing!”

Eddie Jones

After the match, the All Blacks coach, Steve Hansen, was asked by a journalist if he was worried about his team’s alleged lack of commitment. It was a question that suggested that the All Blacks’ defeat was due to them not being mentally prepared for the match, rather than England playing at an incredible level. Hansen responded by offering the journalist a stern word in private.

The two met again in November 2022, with England coming back from 25-6 to tie 25-25, but that was Jones’ last autumn season in charge of England. Steve Borthwick succeeded him and, before his tour of New Zealand in 2024, he recalled what it was like to face the All Blacks, drawing on memories from his own playing career. “I’ve been in teams that have gotten on the plane without real faith,” Borthwick told reporters. “There have been some series where that has happened.” England pushed them hard in two tests, but left with the same regrets. Captain Jamie George said that “fine margins” made them lose 16-15 in Dunedin, and looked at the positives of their 24-17 defeat a week later. The All Blacks visited Twickenham in 2024 and two late missed kicks from George Ford allowed the Kiwis to take the victory 24-22. “That legacy plays a role, I think,” says Care. “That game where Fordy hit the post with the penalty and then missed the drop goal, if that’s against any other team, would it have gone inside the post? There’s something against the All Blacks that if you don’t finish them off, you won’t win the test match.”

So, judging by what those who have failed in the past have said, to beat the All Blacks you need to: look beyond their history and aura, strike the first blow, and seize every single opportunity. Phew. It’s no easy task.

“I remember it was very easy to get lost in how good the All Blacks are,” says Ashton. “But I do believe that slight aura that you’re inevitably going to be defeated has gone… But then again, here we are talking about the few victories England has had!” New Zealand’s win rate under Scott Robertson is 76%, and there is a perception that the All Blacks are fallible. But tell that to Scotland, who had the opportunity for immortality last weekend, only to be unable to stop the Kiwi machine once it got into action. The All Blacks are going for their own Grand Slam tour, seeking a sweep of victories on Northern Hemisphere soil for the first time in 15 years. Ashton believes that England has what it takes to beat the All Blacks, but will need experienced heads to guide them. “Some of the team members haven’t played as starters against New Zealand. Coaches can give you all the information and attach emotion to it, but without you having really tried it, it’s quite difficult for you to understand what it’s like,” says Ashton. “I hope the occasion doesn’t affect them, and that they leave the match saying ‘oh, you know, I should have done better'”. Borthwick’s team must stick to their game plan to beat the All Blacks on Saturday, but also find a mentality in which they can park the previous history, see beyond the incredible history of the All Blacks and reduce the competition to the fundamentals of rugby and small margins. Jones’ advice, recalling the 2019 victory: “Hit them first. Hit them hard. Don’t wait for them. As soon as you start thinking about the aura, you sit back and watch them. You need to be the spectacle, not part of it.” Borthwick’s team has won nine consecutive matches. They are on an upward trajectory, but becoming the ninth team to beat the All Blacks would allow them to join an elite group and signal true progress. “What a boost it would give them to go ten in a row by beating the All Blacks,” said Care. “Ask any England player ‘if you could be part of a winning team against anyone, who would you choose?’ Everyone would choose the All Blacks.”