England’s only previous knockout match against New Zealand came in the 1995 World Cup semi‑final, in which one man stamped his mark on rugby history. Jonah Lomu powered his way over England’s line on four occasions, almost single‑handedly leading the All Blacks into their second World Cup final as England conceded 45 points.
It was a display that prompted the England captain, Will Carling, to jokingly call the New Zealander “a freak” while the England full‑back Mike Catt, who endured a particularly torrid match in Cape Town, recalled ruefully this month: “We’d beaten Australia the week before, won with a drop goal by Rob Andrew. Then along came the big man and he ran over me. The three times after that he just ran around me.”
England’s preparation for that semi-final was vastly different than now. In the final World Cup of the amateur era England paid very little attention to the imposing Lomu, as Kyran Bracken, who was among the replacements that day explains.
“In the amateur era, preparing to face Jonah Lomu was not on our radar. With the absence of a defence coach, all our focus went into how we were going to score tries. It was mainly all about ourselves – the attitude was: “Don’t worry, Tony [Underwood] will deal with him.”
At 5ft 9in and 13st 5lb, Underwood must have been licking his lips at the prospect of coming toe to toe with the colossal Lomu, 6ft 5in and 18st 7lb.
Reflecting on the game, Bracken added how the England players jokingly labelled Catt “the sleeping policeman – but he didn’t really get what that meant”, with the full-back helpless alongside Underwood in his attempts to thwart Lomu.
In 1999 the teams were again drawn in the same pool and it was all about Lomu. “The biggest thing for us was closing Lomu down and not allowing him the space,” says the left-wing Dan Luger. “Everyone was telling me how lucky I was to not be playing against him.”
Having brushed Italy aside in their opening game, England were brimming with confidence. Despite dominating the early stages, England’s first points came after 28 minutes with a Jonny Wilkinson penalty.
As the prop Phil Vickery recalls: “I remember the fast start, but just as it was back then, a lapse of concentration for five minutes and you’re two tries down. New Zealand play the game at a higher level for longer than anyone else.”
Luger says the 1999 World Cup came too early in Clive Woodward’s reign for England to be successful. “Clive was all about attention to detail. We didn’t have the physical preparation yet and that was the process that was to come in the next four years.
“The training wasn’t cutting edge enough. We spent time with the marines which was great from a mental preparation perspective but very poor from a physical preparation point of view – running with logs for 5km and not sleeping in the buildup to one of the biggest games of our lives.”
England were noticeably fatigued in the second half against New Zealand, tied at 16apiece with 25 minutes to play, and they failed to take advantage of the chances that came their way. Lomu proved the difference once more and England were consigned to another defeat.
Vickery says: “They have been the benchmark of rugby for as long as I can remember. They laid the foundations for how the game should be played and are the ultimate test.”
That was the problem England wrestled with in the buildup to their first World Cup game against New Zealand in 1991. Peter Winterbottom, the England openside flanker that day, concurs that New Zealand have always set the standard.
“When Geoff Cooke started in 1988 as the England coach, his whole vision was looking towards the 1991 World Cup,” he says. “In one of the first meetings with Geoff, he asked us who are the best side in the world and we all said New Zealand. He asked how are you going to beat them. We all scratched our heads.”
They identified the set piece as an area in which they could trouble their opponents. But they failed to dominate and England, tryless on the day, were narrowly beaten 18‑12 at Twickenham. “The set piece was where we felt we could get the edge on them. We would have liked to execute our plan better than we did. We made a few mistakes and that gave the All Blacks opportunities.”
England did, however, advance further in the tournament than their opponents in that World Cup, as they eventually lost the final against Australia. Winterbottom admits the opening-day defeat was a crucial lesson. “The senior players sat down after the game and we said we need to be far more hard-nosed. We can’t give sides as much as we gave New Zealand if we are going to be successful.”
Although England’s record against New Zealand at World Cup tournaments makes bleak reading – played three, lost three – the players from those matches believe this time it could be different.
While Bracken and Winterbottom believe that the game is “50-50” and the winners of Saturday’s semi-final will be the World Cup winners, Vickery and Luger are even more optimistic about England’s chances. “I truly believe this England team can go on and win the whole thing,” Vickery says. At least they will not have Lomu to contend with.
