Image by Getty Images via @daylifeAll Blacks beat England in dour test...
The All Blacks rumble on and poor old England stumble on, though at least Martin Johnson's men were able to make a lot more of a game of it at Twickenham today than their critics were predicting.
In the end the All Blacks, still playing as though they've left their handbrake on, were comfortable 19-6 winners as they kept alive a couple of remarkable records in these autumn internationals
They still haven't lost in one of these November test matches since Graham Henry took charge in 2004, and they kept their line intact for another international in a run up here which stretches back to 2006. Defensively, these All Blacks are right on top of their game.
The same can't quite be said of the black attack, which once again managed just one try in 80 minutes of rugby, and despite a succession of promising raids, the final pass or the key break just couldn't be made. Once more you were left with a suspicion that despite their success, these New Zealanders still have a long way to go on the improvement chart
.
Still, this is test rugby. And as the All Blacks told us in the buildup, it's about winning first and foremost. By doing so with a degree of comfort today the New Zealanders not only retained the Hillary Shield but left English rugby with another week of navel-gazing
In the end the All Blacks, still playing as though they've left their handbrake on, were comfortable 19-6 winners as they kept alive a couple of remarkable records in these autumn internationals
They still haven't lost in one of these November test matches since Graham Henry took charge in 2004, and they kept their line intact for another international in a run up here which stretches back to 2006. Defensively, these All Blacks are right on top of their game.
The same can't quite be said of the black attack, which once again managed just one try in 80 minutes of rugby, and despite a succession of promising raids, the final pass or the key break just couldn't be made. Once more you were left with a suspicion that despite their success, these New Zealanders still have a long way to go on the improvement chart
.
Still, this is test rugby. And as the All Blacks told us in the buildup, it's about winning first and foremost. By doing so with a degree of comfort today the New Zealanders not only retained the Hillary Shield but left English rugby with another week of navel-gazing
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