2019 Rugby World Cup: How I beat the All Blacks - Chris Robshaw, Raphael Ibanez, George Gregan and Ian McLaughlan reveal how they took down New Zealand

Former players who have beaten the All Blacks reveal how they took down NZ.

Chris Robshaw

England 38-21 New Zealand - December 1, 2012, Twickenham​

Chris Ashton runs in for an England Try as captain Chris Robshaw celebrates behind him. Photo / Photosport

I will never forget the way Manu Tuilagi played that day, running through people, swatting off New Zealand's players. Honestly, without him we would not have had that scoreline. He was incredible, a man possessed; he was tackling, smashing people, carrying, getting intercepts, he scored a try, he set up other tries. If England are to win this weekend they need him to produce a performance like that.​

Defensively we smothered them but we had a bit of luck that day. Dan Carter missed a couple of kicks that he normally would have slotted over in his sleep. Then we managed to keep on building, and just after half time were 15-0 up. Then they scored two very quick tries. I heard the whole crowd go "ooh" almost as if they were thinking, "here they come, this is what the All Blacks have been waiting for", but Manu was unrelenting; he was the real force behind our eventual win. It was only towards the end when we started to pull away that I started to feel like we could do it. Only in the last five minutes did it feel like a done deal.​

Against New Zealand the whole team has to play well and we had 15 guys on form, with Brad Barritt not far behind Manu. In my six times playing them that was the only victory I had, which shows how special and rare it is.​

Facing the haka at Twickenham that day was quite something. The crowd's singing engulfed and almost silenced it. It helped get us off to the perfect start. There was a real edge and intensity about the match like anytime you play New Zealand, but also something of a party atmosphere.​

There was real excitement and tension – maybe because we had such a low win ratio against them – and as players we lived off that energy. That spurred us on. I had a lot of friends and family there, and it is a memory that will stay with me for the rest of my life.​

Richie McCaw, who was the captain, and the team were very respectful after that match. McCaw always tested you as a back row, he was a guy I grew up wanting to be like. So, to have the opportunity to play against him and swap jerseys with him was very special. They don't get beaten too often, they were trying to set a record of unbeaten matches, we stopped that but they were very gracious.​

It is one of the best games and results in my career. But there was so much more than just the match - the atmosphere, the team, the fun we had afterwards, there were a couple of sore heads.​

You always want to be the ones to upset the odds, to be the ones to make history in an England shirt and that is the opportunity the guys have this weekend. I think we are in a strong position to beat them again.

Raphael Ibanez

France 20-18 New Zealand - 2007 World Cup quarter-final, Millennium Stadium

All Black Luke McAlister tackled by French captain Raphael Ibanez. Photo / Photosport

When we linked arms for the haka and advanced on the All Blacks, it was not a sign of disrespect. It was just a way for us to create momentum and positive energy like the All Blacks were doing. But it was a special moment that galvanised us and gave us a rush of adrenalin.

I did not really anticipate it working so well when I told the players what we would do the night before the game. It created a unique mood for our team, a coming together, but we still had 80 minutes to play. Whatever emotional mood you bring about, you must still be able to play with a cool head.

There are two factors you must not forget when facing New Zealand.

irstly, do not play them as if they are just another team. Go at them, really go at them. Ignore their record and the black jersey and all that goes with that. They are the opposition and you must take your game to them.

In terms of the specifics, we made sure that winning breakdowns and dominating in the collisions was a key part of our strategy. Whatever the All Blacks do, and they do it so well, there is still always a chance. You have to believe you will get those chances, and we did with tries from Thierry Dusautoir and Yannick Jauzion.

What you must have if you are to ever beat a New Zealand team is resilience. You have to play for 80 minutes to seize the moment and that is what we managed to do. It was a great feeling.

George Gregan

Australia 22-10 New Zealand - 2003 World Cup semi-final, Sydney

George Gregan in action against the All Blacks. Photo / Photosport

"Four more years! Four more years!" Yes, that was me with a bit of grandstanding over my opposite number, Byron Kelleher, caught on television just before the end as we knew that we were on our way to the final and New Zealand would have to wait another four years to have a crack at winning the title.

We were confident we could cause an upset. We had lost the Bledisloe Cup that year to New Zealand and had even conceded 50 points to them in Sydney. However, it was the game in Eden Park that persuaded us that we could win if we were to meet again. That was the message Eddie Jones, our coach, kept repeating. We had only lost by four points in Auckland (21-17) and knew we troubled them.

It was that simple belief that fuelled us. We had also trained well for this stage of the tournament. There are some similarities to what Eddie is doing with England. He had taken us to a hot-weather camp in Darwin. And, boy, that was hot. As was Sydney for the semi-final. It was 30C in the afternoon prior to kick-off. The next day (for the England v France semi-final) it tipped it down and did not stop for the rest of the week. So, yes, you do need a bit of luck.

There is no magic formula, though, that you bring out for such occasions. You have got to have a good set-piece, be strong defensively, sharp in attack and take your chances. One thing you must not do is kick poorly because an All Blacks back three will invariably shred you if they do.

We set out to keep the ball in hand right from the start, going through the phases and make New Zealand tackle. It was to send a message to them that we were not going to hand it to them. Sound boring? Yeah, but that is what it is about – mastering the detail. Eddie has not changed in that regard, either.

People often wonder if we targeted their fly-half Carlos Spencer. No, we did not. Why would we? Carlos had been on fire for the Auckland Blues as they won the Super Rugby title. Carlos is Carlos and he can cut you to pieces with his skill. Stirling Mortlock was taking a bit of a punt when he went for the interception after 10 minutes, but he came up with the goods and went 75 metres to the line. If Stirling had missed that, Carlos would have skinned us on the outside.

Elton Flatley kicked his goals, finishing with 17 points and we were on our way to the final.

Ian McLaughlan

Scotland and Lions prop Ian McLaughlan played all four Tests on the 1971 Lions tour to New Zealand, winning two, drawing one and losing the other. He also played New Zealand four times for Scotland, including his last Test in 1979. His closest margin of defeat for Scotland was 14-9 at Murrayfield in 1972.

The British Lions Rugby touring team in 1971. Photo / Supplied

Many things change, but the one thing that stays the same is that to beat the All Blacks you first have to match them up front. Back in 1971, I was propping against Richie Guy in all four Tests so I got to know him pretty well. I had travelled as an understudy to my fellow Scotsman, Sandy Carmichael, before his tour was ended by a fractured cheekbone in the Battle of Lancaster Park against Canterbury, but I think I did okay in the Tests and we were mainly on the front foot against their front row of Guy, Tane Norton and Jazz Muller.

With our No 8 Mervyn Davies leading from the front, we dominated the rucks and carried the ball well. Outside of us we had incredible half-backs in the Wales and Cardiff pairing of Gareth Edwards and Barry John, and outside them we had fast, inventive backs.

The thing you've got to remember about the New Zealanders is that they are unbelievably innovative and have this capacity to reinvent the way they play the game all the time so that they are always streets ahead of everyone else. They are also able to change their team and tactics from game to game, depending on who they are playing, as they proved when Steve Hansen selected second row Scott Barrett to start in the back row for this game. It will be the first time he's ever played in the back row for the All Blacks – but they specialise in that sort of calculated risk.

But I think if anyone can beat the All Blacks in this World Cup, it's England. They have a good all-round game with tons of firepower up front, and with the two opensides [Sam Underhill and Tom Curry] they should be able to control the pace of the game. But against New Zealand it's also about taking those chances that do come along – if England can do that then they have a good chance. But if they don't...