England delivered one of the great Rugby World Cup performances of all time to reach the final of Japan 2019, beating reigning champions New Zealand 19-7 on a special night in Yokohama.
Eddie Jones’s side never looked like losing the match from the moment they challenged the Haka with an inverted V shape formation, with Manu Tuilagi backing up their response by scoring the opening try just 96 seconds after kick-off.
England kept their foot on the gas with a relentless display of power and aggression, and could have scored two more tries through Sam Underhill and Ben Youngs, though both were subsequently ruled out by the TMO for crossing and a knock-on respectively.
But the boot of George Ford kept the scoreboard ticking over and meant that even Ardie Savea’s second-half try did little to help the All Blacks, with England grinding out the win to book their place in the Rugby World Cup final.
Jack de Menezes, Samuel Lovett and Jonathan Liew were all there inside the International Stadium Yokohama to watch the drama unfold, along with this episode’s special guest Ruaidhri O’Connor of the Irish Independent, and the four of them attempt to dissect the magical performance in the hours after the final whistle.
Download the episode here as well as on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or wherever you listen.
