Feisty England provides stiff challenge for All Blacks

Billed as a key form pointer ahead of next year's World Cup, Saturday's Twickenham Test merely underlined the consensus that England has the potential to win the tournament but New Zealand is a strong favorite to retain its rugby title.

Coaches are forever seeking the positives from defeat but in Stuart Lancaster's case there was plenty to enjoy, albeit crammed into the first half which England won 14-11 before the world champion assumed total control to notch a 24-21 triumph.

Despite not playing since losing the third of three Tests in New Zealand in June, England was much the more cohesive unit and for the first 14 minutes it was one-way traffic.

Wing Jonny May showed electric pace to score the opening try and England was twice inches away from a second.

The untried center partnership of Kyle Eastmond and Brad Barritt clicked immediately while debutant wing Semesa Rokoduguni looked comfortable in an England shirt.

With its pack smothering the visitors, England should have been further ahead and paid the price as the All Blacks quickly regrouped after the break and took a death grip on the game.

"We had some young lads making their debuts (replacements lock George Kruis and winger Anthony Watson), the pack was excellent, lineouts were good and there was clearly some good rugby on show in that first half," Lancaster said.

"At 14-11 it was crucial to kick on early in the second half but we didn't and that's the sense of frustration. We put ourselves in that position to get a win and in the third quarter we didn't execute it as well as we should have done and we let the game slip away."

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said his team lacked urgency in the first half, something he addressed during the break.

"To be as close as it was at halftime was a tribute to our mental fortitude and in the second half, when we started reacting with more urgency, I thought we controlled the game pretty well," Hansen said.

He was particularly pleased by the way his side dealt with the sin-binning of hooker Dane Coles midway through the second half. The All Blacks took the numerical disadvantage in their stride, maintaining their stranglehold on the game and even adding a penalty.

"The reality is that we won the game in that 10 minutes," he said. "We reacted well, we dug in and won that period 3-0 and I think that hurt England a bit."

Hansen was typically blunt when asked about the relevance of Saturday's result to the World Cup, when the teams could meet back at Twickenham in the final in 11 months time.

"Any talk of a psychological advantage is baloney," he said. "There is none.

"This was about winning today. You get pleasure or disappointment out of that but that's it.

"World Cups have shown form goes out of the door and though some people are assuming we are going to play England, we're certainly not."

(China Daily 11/10/2014 page23)