Do we still care about grand slam tours? If so, the headlines might read that New Zealand’s first attempt at one in 15 years has fallen at the third attempt out of four. But as the All Blacks hung their heads at the end and the English went wild with celebration all around, it is reasonable to think the grand slam was the last thought on their minds.
More pressing will be the 25 unanswered points they conceded in the middle of the match, which will echo to the 17 they conceded last Saturday at Murrayfield. On that occasion they summoned the composure to prevail. This time, they were up against a stroppy England team who are increasingly enjoying the directive to be in an opponent’s face from start to finish.
This, as has been pointed out increasingly, is not a great All Blacks team. They would have to be to handle a side like England on their own patch, once they find the wind in their sails. Which is not to say England are great either, but they do seem to be building an enviable pool of riches in a number of departments. It would require a really good team to beat them here in this mood.
Neither of these sides are the best in the world. That conversation has been put to bed for the foreseeable, South Africa continuing to sweep all before them, even with 14 men. They won in Paris against the mighty France last Saturday, playing most of the match with 14, after one 6ft 8in forward struggled to get low enough to tackle an opponent more or less sitting on the ground at the point of impact. It was the same again on Saturday in Rome. The Springboks, it seems, can win in any number of ways with any number of players on the field.
The rest are jockeying for position in the distance. New Zealand started the game second in World Rugby’s rankings, England in fourth. The former will stay where they are, but England now move ahead of Ireland, those three separated by less than half a ranking point. That feels about right.
No ridiculous reds in this game, but there were a couple of contentious yellows, one for each side. Codie Taylor’s offence at the start of the second half was in itself clearly deliberate, the hooker dislodging the ball as he lay on the deck after a tackle, but England were hardly in a try-threatening position. The hosts scored their second try in his absence, to move into the lead for the first time.
What should haunt the All Blacks more is the way they comfortably outplayed England in the opening quarter to go 12-0 ahead, only to fall away as their hosts kept coming. One thing New Zealand can do, and you sense always will, is play with ball in hand as naturally as they breathe. Has there ever been a time when they have not had at least one player who plays beyond the dreams of most mortals?
Much has been made of their sometime match-winners, Damian McKenzie (last week) and Beauden Barrett, but they are too inconsistent to be ranked up there. Barrett suffered from a masterclass in game management by George Ford.
No, Will Jordan is the man. England came at New Zealand from the off and very nearly made it tell early, but Sam Underhill, ferocious tackler that he is, does not quite have the ball at his command like an All Black. Instead, New Zealand rode the early assault and struck with aplomb, two tries in five minutes.
Both exposed English failings in their defence out wide. Leicester Fainga’anuku’s first was well taken, but it was Jordan’s imperious outside break, in the buildup to Taylor’s try, that was the highlight of the first quarter. He scored New Zealand’s third too, in the final quarter, their first points in 48 minutes, picking a killer line off McKenzie.
It moves him level with Barrett on 45 Test tries for the All Blacks. Doug Howlett is at the top of that list with 49. Jordan is only 27. We can safely say the record will be his before long. Not even out of the question he clinches it next Saturday in Cardiff.
He is the latest All Black with access to a dimension denied almost everyone else, but these days he languishes there on his own. The rest lack a certain authority, which used to come with the black jersey, as if part of its fabric.
Losing a game such as this one, after a commanding opening quarter, will hurt, although one suspects the 43-10 loss to the Springboks in Wellington a couple of months ago is the one that really puts them in their place. Scott Robertson, their coach, twisted in discomfort as he tried to explain this defeat and the concomitant inference that the All Blacks do not strike the fear in opponents they used to. And his homeland does not appreciate that.
No successful grand slam? That is the least of their concerns.
