All Blacks v England: The power of Twickenham and question of All Blacks improvement – Gregor Paul

Ryan Crotty celebrates the final whistle following the All Blacks' last outing against England at Twickenham. Photo / Photosport

Gregor Paul in London

There is no shortage of optimism or confidence within the English team, media and public that having come within a whisker of twice beating the All Blacks in July, that they can now use home advantage to get the job done in November.

Built into this assumption is that England, despite not having played since they lost at Eden Park, feel they have absorbed the lessons they were painfully taught in New Zealand and that they have taken major steps in the art of closing out big games.

It’s a reasonable take, one that’s certainly valid given the quality of personnel England had at their disposal, and how close they came to winning.

They are a young, relatively inexperienced team and good players learn quickly.

But this growth argument can equally be applied to the All Blacks, who have played seven tests together since they beat England.

That the All Blacks have grown their game since then is undeniable, a point vice-captain Ardie Savea was keen to make when asked after training in London, to assess how the journey under the new coaching group is progressing.

“It has been a journey of growth,” Savea said. “Connecting and coming together as a team and as a family.

“There are a lot of new personnel coming together and I feel we are starting to understand what our game is. We are starting to understand the players around us and hopefully we can connect this week.”

But, of course, the question is not if the All Blacks have improved since they opened their season with two wins against England, but by how much?

The evidence is hard to decipher as a record of seven wins from 10 tests doesn’t tell the full story of how the All Blacks have been plagued by a near constant inability to deliver 80-minute performances.

They started the year with two wins against England that were Jekyll and Hyde in nature, and with one clear exception – the 33-13 victory against the Wallabies in Wellington – they haven’t convinced that this is a problem they have solved.

Savea is right that the team have become more comfortable with their attack patterns, instigated them more fluidly and naturally as the season has progressed, but there just hasn’t been discernible growth in their ability to hold their form through the last quarter.

And it’s too big a failing to ignore or to start getting carried away with where this team is heading and how quickly.

The fairest summation is to say that the good parts of their game have become better and that the potential is undeniable, as the All Blacks have played enough quality rugby in every test to feel that they could justifiably be sitting undefeated in 2024.

In South Africa, they had the scoreboard working for them in both tests. They had the game where they wanted it in the final quarter in both tests and yet, in neither could they hold their composure, structure and discipline to finish what they started.

It was the same when they lost to Argentina in Wellington – they had control of the game for the first 50 minutes or so, but then drifted out of the contest when the mistakes compounded, and they unravelled.

And this story of running hot then cold was precisely the narrative that ran through the England series in July, and so it’s not clear yet how much progress the All Blacks have made in the art of winning big games because ultimately, that art is about knowing how to maintain and absorb pressure and how to still be posing the opposition problems in minute 79.

There’s only been that one game against the Wallabies where the All Blacks surged rather than regressed in the second half, and that does not form a strong enough body of evidence to be sure they can replicate that at Twickenham or throughout this end of year tour.

But it is at least something to foster hope that the All Blacks are growing and learning and perhaps, too, the likely selection of Cortez Ratima at halfback and Beauden Barrett at first five, will give the team the game drivers they need to fulfil the brief of staying in the contest for longer.

And being able to go the full 80 is imperative to the All Blacks chances as Twickenham has become such a uniquely challenging venue, that if they suffer even the slightest hint of a second half fade, it could be catastrophic.

The All Blacks discovered this in 2022 when they were leading 25-6 with just 10 minutes remaining and ended up drawing after England produced one of the most memorable comebacks of the modern era, scoring three tries in nine minutes.

And this is the power of Twickenham – it can be hostile to opponents, so inspiring for England that when momentum shifts occur, they can be almost impossible to stop.

Savea acknowledged as much, saying the intensity of the occasion can and act as a huge momentum driver for England.

“I think England not only bring the physical game, but they have got a bit of razzle and swag to their game as well and with Marcus Smith at 10 they can play from anywhere,” says Savea.

“We saw that the last time we played them at Twickenham. We got up and they came back and drew for us, we have just got to be clinical, nail our job, our role, every moment or try to.

“We have grown a lot since the two tests in New Zealand. It is just a matter of coming together on Saturday and nailing it under pressure. We understand how important the crowd is and the noise that comes with it.

“There will be times when England get up and have the momentum, and we have to get back in the moment.

“We have to expect that and when it does come, breathe and try to nail our next moment.”

All Blacks v England, Sunday 4.10am

Live commentary on Newstalk ZB, Gold Sport and iHeartRadio. Live match blog at nzherald.co.nz.