England vs. All Blacks: New Zealand’s aura and the challenge of winning

England’s Challenge: Breaking the All Blacks’ Curse

Danny Care, evoking his experiences against the All Blacks, remembers the confusion after the defeats. Despite the memorable victory of 2012, it is the frustration after the encounters with the All Blacks that endures. “You sit down to analyze it,” Care comments, “and at 75 minutes you think ‘we’re going to win’. Then, in a matter of minutes, you lose by two tries and everyone in the locker room wonders, ‘how did this happen?'” Beating the All Blacks is a milestone for any generation. Out of 46 encounters in 120 years, England has only won eight. Their last triumph was at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, a performance considered the best since 2003. That victory foreshadowed their triumph in the 2003 World Cup and demonstrated their ability even with fewer players.

It was one of the biggest victories for our generation. But 13 years later, it’s incredible to say that beating the All Blacks at home once was the biggest achievement of that generation.

Danny Care

The Steve Borthwick team has the opportunity to secure England’s first home win against the All Blacks since 2012. Jamie George, after the victory against Fiji, said: “Many teams are awestruck by the history and incredible players of the All Blacks. It’s easy to fall into that. I’ve probably done it.”

Danny Care and the England team know the difficulties of facing New Zealand well.Chris Ashton, who defeated the All Blacks in 2012, shares a similar perspective. “Playing against the All Blacks is curious. You act a certain way against them, I don’t know why. Until you’ve experienced it, you don’t understand why you give 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 away, and you end up losing. 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, Japan’s coach, oversaw England’s victory in the 2019 World Cup. “I think they still have an aura. You hear the players talk about it. They talk about how the All Blacks do things, how they are this and that. They are an exceptional rugby country and players, but like anyone, if you put enough pressure in the right areas, you can do it. They want to be big, but if you can make them small, you can beat them.” The first victory of England over the All Blacks was in 1936. Since then, they won in Auckland in 1973, at Twickenham in 1983 and 1993, and in 2002 and 2003, establishing themselves as favorites for the World Cup. In 2012, England had their best performance under Stuart Lancaster, 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 job,” says Care.

England’s victory in the 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-final over New Zealand is seen as one of their greatest victories.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 have something.”

Since the November 2012 victory, the 2019 triumph has been overshadowed by the dominance of the All Blacks. Care observes that the players feel bewildered after being surpassed by the Kiwis. “You wonder how that happened? When will we take the next step and achieve this elusive victory?”.

Analyzing the defeats since 2014, similar themes repeat themselves. In 2018, England was one point away at home, and believed they had won at the end, but Sam Underhill’s try was disallowed. A year later, they achieved victory against the Kiwis in Yokohama. Joe Marler said after the victory: “We went into the match trying to get rid of this myth or aura of the All Blacks, of how invincible they are. I automatically thought they had the best players in the world from one to fifteen, because that’s how you think.” England’s mood was marked by Jones with a samurai sword, followed by accusations of espionage. When the All Blacks lined up for the haka, England responded with an arrow-shaped formation. “We tried to choose a team that was aggressive, you need aggressive players. Once you match their physicality and fitness, you’re getting there. For the haka, we had a chat 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 are here to face you.'” Owen Farrell faced the haka with a smile, 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!”

After the match, the All Blacks coach, Steve Hansen, was asked about his team’s lack of commitment. Hansen responded by offering the journalist a conversation. The two met again in November 2022, with England coming back from 25-6 to draw 25-25, but that was Jones’ last season in charge of England. Steve Borthwick succeeded him and, before his 2024 tour of New Zealand, 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 got on the plane without true faith,” Borthwick told reporters. “There have been some series where that has happened.”

England put them under pressure in two tests, but left with familiar 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 missed kicks by George Ford allowed the Kiwis to win 24-22. “That legacy plays a role, I think,” says Care. “That match 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 match.” Therefore, judging by what those who have fallen short in the past have said, to beat the All Blacks you need to: look beyond their history and aura, strike first and seize every opportunity. Phew. It’s not a simple task.

Steve Borthwick’s team will face New Zealand again at Twickenham on Saturday.“I remember it’s quite easy to get lost in how good the All Blacks are,” says Ashton. “But I think that slight aura that you’re going to be defeated has gone… But then again, we’re here talking about how few victories England has had!” New Zealand’s win record under Scott Robertson is 76%, and there is a perception that the All Blacks are fallible. But ask Scotland, who had the opportunity for immortality last weekend, only to be unable to stop the Kiwi machine once it got going. 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 players haven’t played against New Zealand. Coaches can give you all the information and attach emotion to it, but without you having really tasted 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 don’t leave the match saying ‘oh, you know, I should have done better there'”. Borthwick’s team must stick to their game plan to beat the All Blacks on Saturday, but also find a mindset where they can park the previous history, see beyond the incredible history of the All Blacks and reduce the contest 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 and watch them. You need to be the spectacle, not be a part of it.” Borthwick’s team is on a nine-match winning streak. 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 10 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.”