After narrow losses to Australia and South Africa, England were given little chance of knocking off the World Champions and the heavyweights in the world of rugby, the All Blacks. New Zealand were looking to extend their unbeaten streak to 21, not having lost a match since their Tri-Nations encounter with the Wallabies in August of 2011. The game had mis-match written all over it and the question wasn't who was going to win, rather how much the All Blacks could put on the 5th ranked side in the world.
From the outset, it was clear England had come to play and were looking to try and restore some pride before heading into the Six Nations next year. Their opponents, on the other hand, were untidy and scrappy. A far cry from the usually punctual, merciless black machine.
The first 20 minutes were played at a quick pace, solid end-to-end rugby. Something a Twickenham crowd gets to witness very rarely.
England struck the first blow with Farrell slotting a penalty in the 26th minute. A couple of minutes later Carter missed his second penalty, a glimmer of hope started to flicker.
Farrell continued to punish New Zealand as he converted a strong period in offense for England, first through a penalty and then shortly after a nice drop goal. English fans never boo a drop goal and they certainly weren't going to boo this one.
When the English back row, who were putting on a stellar performance, turned it over again in the 39th minute the crowd was in raptures. But nothing could compare to the deafening roar that echoed round the stadium as Farrell sent England into half time 12-0 up with another perfect penalty kick.
England had defended well all half, with less missed tackles and were rewarded with a dream half time lead.
In the second 40 the match was taken to the next level.
New Zealand came into the second half looking to chip away at the 12 point deficit and mount a comeback. Regathering the kick off was the first step. Winning the scrum feed was the second. Collapsing the scrum was not the third step. England's IRB player of the year nominee, Farrell, added another 3 to the total. And for the fifth time in the match the Twickenham seats were emptied as the Sweet Chariot belching, English faithful were on their feet. But amidst the euphoria, deep down they knew the All Blacks were eventually going to find their niche and whilst penalties were great it was going to take more to win, trys were needed. Something England had only managed one of in their previous two matches.
New Zealand needed a spark to kick them back into gear. Enter Cory Jane, arguably the best winger in international rugby. With pace and slick hands and through feeding England the games best fend, Jane was able to create two try scoring opportunities in which the All Blacks capitalised on. Carter tapped on the conversions and it was a one-point ball game.
England could either be intimidated by the whirlwind three minutes that had just led to the kiwis march back into the game and let them barnstorm away to a convincing win or they could fight fire with fire and have a crack at New Zealand line.
Three minutes later they had their answer. Poor communication from Kieran Read and Conrad Smith left a gaping hole in the defensive line which inside centre Barritt cut through, he flung it out to Tuilagi who didn't have quite enough pace to make it to the line but did have enough skill to give it back to Barritt for the 5-pointer.
England were playing out of their skins.
With a line out 40 metres from the tryline, England had the chance to launch another attack. Farrell distributed a crash ball to Tuilagi running at Carter. Carter let Tuilagi run over him with an uncharacteristic missed tackle and the crowd erupted. The English thirteen then palmed off a mediocre attempt from Aaron Smith and put the pill on the chest of a flying Ashton who sprinted, swan dived and scored to end an 11 game try scoring drought, but more importantly put England ahead by 11.
For the English fans who were still chipping away at their teeth as Farrell missed a second conversion, their nerves were put to bed when Tuilagi, who had played a part in both tries, intercepted an average pass from Read to Carter, who had respectively let through the English for their first two tries. The stars were aligned.
For the next 10 minutes England kept their foot on the pedal and added another six points. It was too good to be true for the Poms.
New Zealand scored a very classy, consolation try in the 76th minute. But their day was summed up as they ended with England holding them up over the line.
The surreal state at Twickenham had hit is peak.
England won 38-21, in what was their biggest win over the kiwis and their first win against them since 2002. The crowd had been treated to the best game of the year.
A superb 2012 season for the All Blacks, which saw them maintain their superiority in the rugby world ended on a bittersweet note.
Whilst he didnt receive man of the match (Tom Wood), the rise of Manu Tuilagi continued. He gets better every game. After bursting onto the world scene in 2011, the Samoan superstar has gone from strength to strength. A strong World Cup ensured his place at the top of England's rugby talent. This year he has continued to prosper and the 21 year old capped off 2012 in impeccable fashion with his most valuable performance in the white jersey. He beat Nonu in the battle of the midfield Goliaths and at times made Carter look soft. His strength in both attack and defence will be a major asset going forward to not just England but also the British Lions.
