England vs. All Blacks: Why is it so difficult to beat New Zealand?

The Challenge of Facing the All Blacks: The English Perspective

Danny Care, when recalling his experiences playing against the All Blacks, evokes a feeling of bewilderment after defeats. Although he was part of England’s memorable victory over the All Blacks in 2012, it is the confusion after a defeat that endures in his memory.

You’re there, reliving the match. At 75 minutes, you think, “We’re going to win.” And a few minutes later, you lose by two tries and everyone is scratching their heads in the locker room wondering why that happened.

Danny Care

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

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

Danny Care

Steve Borthwick’s team has the opportunity to secure England’s first home victory against the All Blacks since that 2012 triumph. This is present in their minds, but they try to approach it like any other match. Jamie George commented: “What many teams do is be in awe of the All Blacks, with their history and all their incredible players. It’s easy to fall into that. I’ve probably done it myself.”

Chris Ashton, who defeated the All Blacks in 2012, shares a similar perspective: “Playing against the All Blacks is a curious thing. You act a certain way against them, I don’t know why. Until you’ve experienced it, you can’t really understand why you’ve given them so much advantage when you know you should have played better.” Care added: “I think I’ve played against them nine times, and in two or three games, you’re a point away and end up losing. I think they have so much history and tradition, and 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 hurt.” Eddie Jones, current coach of Japan, oversaw England’s victory in the 2019 World Cup. During the preparation, he took a samurai sword and cut a kiwi.

I think they still have an aura. You hear players talk about it. They talk about how the All Blacks do things, and how the All Blacks 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 achieve it. They want to be big, but if you can make them small, you can beat them.

Eddie Jones

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 favorite for the World Cup.

In 2012, England had their best performance during Stuart Lancaster’s tenure, beating the All Blacks 38-21. “There was a bit of talk about the All Blacks having been sick during the week, but Manu [Tuilagi] was unstoppable that day, it was just a matter of giving the ball to Manu and letting him do his thing,” says Care.

Ashton adds: “I still thought 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 come up with something.”

Since the November 2012 victory, the 2019 triumph is surrounded by the dominance of the All Blacks. As Care said, the players are left bewildered after being outplayed by the Kiwis. “You wonder how that happened,” says Care. “Like, when are we really going to take the next step and get this, this elusive victory over them?”

When analyzing what was said after each defeat from 2014 until now, similar themes are observed. Of the three test matches in New Zealand in 2014, Lancaster lamented the lack of precision in the last 20 minutes in Auckland, then captain Chris Robshaw said they needed to be more ruthless in Dunedin, and a week later, Lancaster was upset about how England didn’t 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 match,” says Ashton.

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In 2018, England came close at home and thought they had won at the last moment, 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 the preparation trying to get rid of this myth of the All Blacks, or aura, about how they are invincible,” said Joe Marler after the victory. “I automatically thought they had the best players in the world from 1 to 15 because that’s how you think.” England’s mood was set with Jones brandishing that samurai sword, then came the (unproven) accusations of spying and, by the time the All Blacks lined up for the haka, England formed an arrowhead shape to respond.

We tried to pick a team that was abrasive; you need abrasive players. Once you match their physicality and their fitness, you’re getting there. For the haka, we had a conversation 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 take you on’.

Eddie Jones

Owen Farrell faced the haka with a slight smile, while Marler crossed the halfway line and incurred a penalty for England.

It’s a good plan when you win, but if you don’t, you’re arrogant. 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 perceived 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 inviting the journalist to a meeting outside for a serious conversation. 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, recalled what it was like to face the All Blacks, drawing on memories of his own playing career. “I’ve been on teams that have gotten on the plane without true faith,” Borthwick told reporters. “There have been some series where that has happened.” England pushed them in two Tests, but departed with the usual regrets. Captain Jamie George said that “fine margins” caused them to lose 16-15 in Dunedin, and looked for the positives in 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 emerge victorious with a 24-22 win. “That legacy plays a part, I think,” says Care. “That game where Fordy hit the post with the penalty and then missed the drop goal, if that was 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.” 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 the first blow, and seize every single opportunity. Phew. It’s not an easy task.

I remember it’s quite easy to get lost in how good the All Blacks are. But I do believe that slight aura of being defeated has disappeared… But then again, we’re here talking about the few victories England has had!

Chris Ashton

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 team members haven’t started playing against New Zealand. Coaches can give you all the information and attach emotion to it, but without you having really experienced it, it’s quite difficult for you to understand what it’s like.

Chris Ashton

Borthwick’s team must stick to their game plan to beat the All Blacks on Saturday, but also find a mindset where they can put aside the previous history, look 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 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 to 10 wins 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.

Danny Care