England muscle their way to tour opening win

9.00pm - By CHRIS RATTUE

Little ventured, plenty gained.

England made a superb start to their mini tour of New Zealand with a side labelled as second-stringers grinding out a 23-9 victory over New Zealand Maori at New Plymouth.

The manner of last night's victory was a telling reminder to the All Blacks that they face a test match of the real kind in Wellington on Saturday night.

It wasn't pretty to watch but will have gladdened the heart of their head coach, Clive Woodward, who said his side had "strangled" the life out of the Maori effort. It was England's first win on New Zealand soil since 1985, and Maori coach Matt Te Pou described the tourists' performance as ruthless.

"We've played Australia recently and although they were good, they weren't as hungry as what we saw from England tonight. At the ruck and mauls they drove all night ... we found it difficult to clear the ball but that was just the pressure we were under."

The England team which turned up at Yarrow Stadium was the one the rugby world knows and loves to berate. Their one attacking break came in the 74th minute and sealed the victory, after they had spent much of the match with their foot on the Maori throat.

The muted response from the 15,000 crowd throughout told the story of English dominance of possession and territory. England's ability to retain their own possession, including when retreating in defence, was masterly.

In contrast, the Maori were lax with the ball to the end when Carl Hayman and Rico Gear gave up crucial turnovers.

If Super 12 razzle-dazzle is your go, then Yarrow Stadium was not your place. But the English gave a masterclass in sticking to the game plan as the match played out in increasingly heavy rain.

Most of England's angled runs involved forwards carting the ball back towards their mates, and they rarely moved the ball wide. When they did, the tourists were barely competent.

They were saved by a terrific chase back by Ben Johnston early in the second half which prevented a Gear try. It was a rare scare for them, and anything other than an English victory would have been rough justice.

The crowd's frustration with the Maori team's lack of headway could be felt when Willie Walker was loudly cheered after replacing Glen Jackson, who was average behind a beaten pack and had a horror time with re-starts.

While labelled as second-stringers, the English had a wealth of experience with halves Kyran Bracken and Paul Grayson having 69 caps between them, and the side in total boasting around 250 caps.

The English never veered away from their initial approach, when they ground out a 10-6 lead at halftime after playing into wind and rain. And they powered home through second-half penalties to Grayson, and the late try to replacement halfback Andy Gomarsall after Dan Luger's break.

The English had enough ball and territory to have led by a greater margin in the first spell, but were reluctant to move the ball far from their forwards and did not appear penetrative on the flanks.

The Maori opened the scoring with a Jackson penalty in the sixth minute but England scored five minutes later through lock Simon Shaw. The English pack drove Shaw over the line after captain Phil Vickery had turned down a penalty shot at goal for the second time.

England just about owned the ball in the half, and were well worth their hard-fought lead. Grayson and Jackson swapped penalty goals later in the first half, but neither tryline was really threatened. When the Maori did get close to the English line, they were thwarted by either the English scrum or solid lineout defence.

Of the two Maori players holding perhaps most interest, fullback Christian Cullen had precious few chances but flanker Troy Flavell had his moments.

England 23 (S. Shaw, A. Gomarsall tries; P. Grayson 3 pen, 2 con) New Zealand Maori 9 (G. Jackson 3 pen). Halftime: 10-6