International – New Zealand fear but beat England

This duel in Dunedin represents almost the best of the best at international level. Two of the last four World Cup semi-finalists in France will meet in a highly anticipated test match. New Zealand start their year while England will be looking to confirm their great success against Japan. For the first time in 2024, the All Blacks have seen a major change: a new captain in Scott Barrett, the youngest of the brothers, and above all a new coach since Scott Robertson, the former Crusaders manager, succeeded Ian Foster and managed his first match. In a fairly balancing act, both teams are looking for flaws, which are few in number, it must be said. If the Tele'a team rushes to “NZ” or even Furbank on the English side a few times, the defences are in place.

However, flyhalf Damian McKenzie reads the aggressive heights of the English curtain perfectly and finds Rees on his flank with a foot pass. The winger started the hostilities in the first quarter of an hour. The English responded with great speed (21 min) through Itoje, sending a tuck after a superbly coordinated touch and putting the pressure back on the Pacific players. As the pace continues to build strongly, New Zealand fullback Perofeta displays his individual qualities and brings down Ben Earl with a lively hook. Savea transfers perfectly to the sidelines and displays his pace to score his team's second try of the match (25). The two countries mark each other but are surgical in the scoring areas. At the break, the two teams are back and forth (10-10).

The English believed in a historic day!

Back from the dressing room, the English set off again with a determined intention to take advantage. After several set-pieces near the line, Mitchell dislodges Smith. Quins' opener sends a laser pass to his winger Feyi-Waboso (48') who just has to shoot. With this second attempt, Steve Borthwick's men take a 15-10 advantage and can therefore believe in a real moment of history. Indeed, the English have not won a match on New Zealand soil since… 2003! Between the desire for achievement for the British and the fear of disappointment for Robertson the first, the match took a more predictable turn.

The two countries interact less and less and this is to the benefit of the All Blacks, who especially won two penalties in the ropes from McKenzie. The Silver Ferns opener managed to overtake both tries and allowed his team to take a small lead (54th and 66th; 16-15). But while he could have given 4 points in advance with a new penalty, he exceeded the allotted time and gave away a penalty to his opponent. Although the English in their camp could have believed in this, the ball that Martin kept on the ground would have killed all hopes. So New Zealand won for the first time under Scott Robertson and launched 2024 successfully, certainly by a narrow margin but fiercely contested.