News
Preview: New Zealand v England
June 20 2008
If Martin Johnson can truly steer the English ship back on course, he will surely be in line for a knighthood. Having once led the England team out of the doldrums on the pitch and to a World Cup, his task is now to do it from the sidelines.
It has to be him, for there is simply nobody else. None of the coaches seem to be able to inspire or instil anything else beyond raw effort. Rob Andrew is a born moaner and excuse-maker and an abject diplomat - his contemptible attitude toward the locals on this tour has created little beyond a deeply unhealthy siege mentality where there didn't need to be one - and the team itself is now breaking ranks.
Olly Barkley's rant about his non-selection for the second Test was refreshingly honest in an age where players rarely say anything of note on the record, but the disillusion thus apparent within the squad is glaringly obvious.
And then there is this allegation dogging no less than four players regarding their post-match antics last Saturday night. Having failed to create much on the pitch, the - as yet unconfirmed - allegation is that some of them went a little too far trying to create some scoring chances off it as well. Stories of Andrew Sheridan having a beer in a pub on a Wednesday night are one thing, a police investigation about something like this is quite another.
The police have been quite open about saying that it is merely an allegation with little corroborative evidence, and it is quite probable that nothing criminally untoward went on. Rumours and claims like this have echoed around New Zealand's rugby before. But the players and manangement should be wondering how they got themselves into that position at all. There's been four years of disappointment since the Rugby World Cup triumph, yet the player behaviour has remained exemplary and above possibility of criticism until now. The depression deepens.
Only Johnson can really make a difference now. Andrew's stock falls more and more as time passes - if the allegations against the quartet are proven, searching questions must be asked of management - and Francis Baron is barely heard of these days. Hopefully he is still hiding in shame after the treatment he and his cohorts meted out to Brian Ashton.
Johnson's task of naming next season's Elite Player Squad on July 2 is the least of his difficulties. As of July 1 he will have to duck and weave through the gauntlet of back-stabbing and mud-slinging that England's management has become, and the impression is that he will not be able to bulldozer the suits out of the way in the manner he used to do opponents on the field.
If Andrew and/or Baron do not fall on their sword as they ought to, Johnson is going to find the proverbial sticking to him through no fault of his own; how he deals with it will be the key to England's future.
Still, he can't do any worse than the management on this tour. 32 players travelled, one went home injured as a result of an injury that was not properly investigated, and several others have been wasting precious off-season time in the pressure-cooker without even being asked to play or bench. What a waste of time and money.
One person has benefitted from it all: namely Graham Henry. Whatever you say about England's performance last week, the following underlines it all: that team England put out ought to have matched the new All Blacks punch for punch. Instead, Henry and his squad are about to sail into the Tri-Nations on a tide of optimism. They have a fortnight to tweak whatever needs tweaking between what will be a comfortable win on Saturday and the opening match of the Tri-Nations against South Africa on July 5, and then we'll see what the deal really is with this team.
The vital signs are good. Richie McCaw is in the mood, Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith are looking like a first-choice partnership - and now we will see what Richard Kahui can add - the front row is as strong as ever and the half-backs are gelling and creating. Perhaps, after Saturday, the 2007 World Cup can finally be banished to painless dim memory. For England, it might be the only memory they will still cherish.
Ones to watch:
For New Zealand: Adam Thomson stood out like a sore thumb for the Highlanders this season, not just for his flopping mop of curly hair, but also for his consistent above-par displays in what was a very average side. A bite at the big time is now here for the taking for the mobile ex-NZ Sevens back row.
For England: The campaign for Tom Varndell's inclusion has been an ongoing one for a while now, but doubts still linger about whether he has the physicality to match it with the international hulking wingers. Sitiveni Sivivatu ought to provide him with the litmus test.
Head to head: "If I know the guy I'm marking is not doing his job that well, I wouldn't come out and bag him," Neemia Tialata said in response to Matt Stevens' assertion that he was not propping up his scrum properly. "I haven't read the article but I heard about it. It makes my job a bit more exciting to hear something like that." We think it's going to make the front row clash a little more exciting for us to watch too!
Recent results:
2008: New Zealand won 37-20 at Eden Park
2006: New Zealand won 41-20 at Twickenham
2005: New Zealand won 23-19 at Twickenham
2004: New Zealand won 36-12 at Eden Park
2004: New Zealand won 36-3 at Carisbrook
2003: England won 15-13 at Westpac Stadium
2002: England won 31-28 at Twickenham
1999: New Zealand won 30-16 at Twickenham (RWC)
1998: New Zealand won 40-10 at Eden Park
1998: New Zealand won 64-22 at Carisbrook
1997: 26-26 draw at Twickenham
1997: New Zealand won 25-8 at Old Trafford
1995: New Zealand won 45-29 at Newlands (RWC)
1993: England won 15-9 at Twickenham
1991: New Zealand won 18-12 at Twickenham (RWC)
Prediction: It's a hiding to nothing. A world-class team swelling with confidence against a disintegrating, tired, rudderless shambles. New Zealand by 25 points.
The teams:
New Zealand: 15 Leon MacDonald, 14 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Rudi Wulf, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Richie McCaw, 6 Adam Thomson, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Neemia Tialata.
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Tony Woodcock, 18 Anthony Boric, 19 Sione Lauaki, 20 Jimmy Cowan, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Mils Muliaina.
England: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Jamie Noon, 11 Tom Varndell, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Danny Care, 8 Luke Narraway, 7 Tom Rees, 6 James Haskell, 5 Steve Borthwick (c), 4 Tom Palmer, 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Lee Mears, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 David Paice, 17 Jason Hobson, 18 Ben Kay, 19 Joe Worsley, 20 Pete Richards, 21 Olly Barkley, 22 David Strettle.
Date: Saturday, June 21
Venue: AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Kick-off: 19:35 (08:35 BST)
Weather: Clear, slight northerly breeze, 7°C
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Touch judges: Mark Lawrence (South Africa), Matt Goddard (Australia)Television match official: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)
Assessor: Stuart Beissel (New Zealand)
By Danny Stephens